Football roundup: St. Mary's breaks in new stadium with win, Gaylord blanks Petoskey
GAYLORD ― As the weeks go on, games for high school football teams become all that more important.
All three Otsego-area teams took on conference opponents on Friday night, with Gaylord hosting the battle for the Jaycees Trophy against Petoskey, St. Mary's debuting their brand new stadium against Bellaire and Johannesburg-Lewiston on the road at Frankfort.
Here is how games went this week:
Gaylord blanks Petoskey, retains Jaycees Trophy
Gaylord's defense was dominant on Friday night, blanking Petoskey in a 9-0 victory to retain the Jaycees Traveling Trophy for the third season in a row.
The Blue Devils held on to a 3-0 lead for most of the game until Russell Hush's 57-yard touchdown in the fourth quarter gave them a two score lead and the eventual win. He rushed for 107 yards and a touchdown while Ty Bensinger led the way with 140 yards rushing.
Gaylord's defense held Petoskey to 104 total yards, with the Northmen rushing for just 25 yards and passing for 79. They also forced three turnovers, intercepting quarterback Joseph McCarthy three times. The offense, meanwhile, had 306 total yards, rushing for 286 yards and passing for 20.
Next up for Gaylord is a pivotal matchup with Cadillac, likely one that will decide the winner of the Big North Conference.
Takeaways: Gaylord shuts out Petoskey, wins the Jaycees Trophy for third-straight year
St. Mary's breaks in new stadium with runaway win
After 55 years of Gaylord St. Mary's football, they officially took their own home field for the first time on Friday, Sept. 15.
The debut game for the new GSM Football field was a resounding success as the Snowbirds ran away from Bellaire 58-0 to improve to 3-1 overall and starting 1-0 on their new field.
Daniel Jacobson had a huge game, passing for 141 yards and three touchdowns while rushing for 33 yards and two more touchdowns, all in the first half.
GSM stays perfect in Ski Valley games (3-0) as they travel to Onaway next week.
Roundup: TC Central's second-half comeback shocks Gaylord soccer, volleyball falls to Trojans
JoBurg blanked by defending NMFL-Legacy Champs
Johannesburg-Lewiston's program is certainly on an upwrads trajectory, already winning more games this season than in 2021 and 2022 combined.
Still, there is still a gap between them and the top teams in their league.
The Cardinals were overmatched by the defending NMFL-Legacy champions Frankfort on Friday night, losing 55-0 on the road to fall to 2-2 overall on the season.
JoBurg will host Sault Ste Marie Korah Collegiate (Canada) next Saturday, Sept. 23.
Contact Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Roundup: Gaylord, St. Mary's football shotout Petoskey, Bellaire
