Gaylord defense still elite, JL starts 1-0; week one takeaways from Otsego-area football
GAYLORD ― High school football is back.
MHSAA football kicked off around the state this week, with Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston all in action between Thursday, Aug. 24 and Friday, Aug. 25.
The Snowbirds fell to Pickford in the U.P. on opening night on Thursday, while Gaylord completed a comeback victory over Traverse City West and JoBurg defeated Harbor Springs on Friday.
Here are the major takeaways from week one:
Gaylord's defense is still elite
Gaylord's offense has built a reputation for its effectiveness on the ground, but the team has been known for its elite defense since head coach DJ Szymoniak took over. Last season's success was the culmination of that focus as the 2022 Blue Devils' held opponents to under 14 points per game in the regular season.
That mindset hasn't seemed to change.
While the story of week one was the fourth-quarter drive and the comeback victory, the Gaylord defense also showed that its unit is still elite, allowing four total first downs, 65 total yards and limiting the TC West offense to negative rushing yards; -2 total yards on the ground after accounting for -24 yards on three Blue Devil sacks.
Minnesota-commit Brady Pretzlaff led the way with five tackles and a sack, while Keaton Abraham (one sack), Russell Hush (0.5 sacks) and Braedon Grutsch (0.5) combined for the other two.
While an expanded, more experienced offense is going to be part of what opposing teams will need to game plan for when facing Gaylord, the Blue Devils' defense remains the focal point.
TAKEAWAYS: How Gaylord beat TC West for the first time in 18 years
JoBurg starts 1-0 for the first time since 2020
It has been a tough couple of seasons for a historically successful football program in Johannesburg, Michigan.
Dwindling turnouts exacerbated by injuries have left the Johannesburg-Lewiston Cardinals in a tough place in back-to-back seasons, entering 2023 with one win in the past two seasons.
That made their opening night victory even sweeter.
JoBurg's 26-6 victory over Harbor Springs on Friday gave the Cardinals and head coach Joe Smokevitch their first winning record since 2020, a year in which they went to the Division 8 state semifinals.
Runningback Nate Hummel led the offense, rushing for 155 yards and two touchdowns, while Thomas Fox ran for 58 yards and a touchdown and Javier Baragrey ran for 92 yards.
New-look GSM offense is still a work in progress
Gaylord St. Mary is the area team replacing the most from their 2022 roster, watching perennial playmakers and team leaders Gavin Bebble, Brody Jeffers and Donovan Blust graduate in the spring.
The Snowbirds still have the talent to compete for the Ski Valley Conference title this season, but the 40-22 opening night loss to Pickford showed some gaps the Snowbirds still need to fill while their resilience to fight back late gave the coaching staff some positives to take away.
TAKEAWAYS: Pickford's fast start too much for Snowbirds to overcome
Finding offensive production when all-state running back Dillon Croff is struggling will be one of the main things the Snowbirds will look to solve moving forward. Most of Croff's team-high 98 yards came late in the second half, well after the game was out of reach.
Still, once he did find his footing, the Snowbirds fought back to finish within 18 points of a talented Pickford team. That may be a sign of things to come as they get set to start their SVC schedule next week at Central Lake.
Contact Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord defense stands tall, Johannesburg wins and GSM offense slowed; three takeaways
