With postseason looming, Gaylord eyes share of BNC crown; keys to victory in week seven

GAYLORD ― With every passing week, 'win or go home' football gets closer and closer.

As things stand, it looks as though two of the three area prep teams will be returning to the MHSAA playoffs for their respective divisions; Gaylord, currently 6-0 and ranked No. 5 in the state in Division 3, and Gaylord St. Mary, currently 5-1 and just outside the top ten for 8-player Division 1.

Meanwhile, with Johannesburg-Lewiston's postseason chances seemingly out the window, their focus shifts towards a strong finish in the Northern Michigan Football League-Legacy division.

All three teams will have a chance to build on what have been relatively successful seasons this week, with JoBurg hosting its final home game of the season on Friday, Oct. 6 before GHS and GSM play on Saturday, Oct. 7.

Here are the keys to victory this week:

Johannesburg-Lewiston (2-3, 1-2 NMFL-Legacy) vs. Maple City Glen Lake (3-3, 1-2 NMFL-Legacy)

Last matchup: Glen Lake 19, JoBurg 0, Sept. 16, 2022

Last week: Kalkaska def. JoBurg 41-6, Sault Ste Marie def. Glen Lake 50-7.

Both Johannesburg-Lewiston and Maple City Glen Lake are looking to rebound after tough non-conference losses in Week Six; JoBurg fell 41-6 to Kalkaska, while Glen Lake fell 50-7 to Sault Ste Marie. Still, with both at 1-2 in the conference, the winner of this matchup will have a real shot at finishing third in the league behind East Jordan and Frankfort.

Despite the similarities on paper, there's reason to believe the Lakers will have the upper hand coming into this one, especially considering the way they handled Kalkaska in Week Four (W, 16-6), a team that just took it to the Cardinals last week.

AP RANKINGS: Where Northern Michigan teams stand after Week 6

KEY: JoBurg's defense will be tested by a spread, passing attack yet again, something they have struggled with all season defensively.

East Jordan (L, 52-6), Frankfort (L, 55-0) and Kalkaska (L, 41-6) all had their way against JoBurg's defense running and passing when they were able to spread the Cardinals out and take advantage of their athletic advantages in space.

Teams have shown the ability to slow down the Lakers' offense, with EJ and the Sault limiting Glen Lake to 10 combined points over the past two weeks. It's easier said than done, but the JoBurg defense will have to find a way to get off the field often enough to give their offense a chance.

Gaylord (6-0, 4-0 BNC) at Escanaba (1-5, 0-4 BNC), Saturday, Oct. 7

Last matchup: Gaylord 39, Escanaba 14, Oct. 8, 2022

Last week: Gaylord def. Alpena 50-6, Marquette def. Escanaba 38-20

The undefeated Blue Devils make the first of their two trips to the U.P. to take on the Eskymos of Escanaba, one of the three new schools added to the Big North Conference for football this season.

Escanaba has not had a very warm welcome to the league, still searching for its first conference win with only two opportunities left and staring down the league's top dog, Gaylord.

While it's just the second time Gaylord and Escanaba have met on the football field since 2016, the two schools have developed a bit of rivalry on the softball diamond; Escanaba upset the Blue Devils in the regional finals back in 2022 before Gaylord avenged their loss en route to their Division 2 state title in 2023.

KEY: This might feel like an easy win, but there is nothing easy about traveling over 500 miles before playing a football game, especially for high school kids who haven't done that before.

That travel distance has had its effects; Escanaba battled with a solid Cadillac team when the Vikings had to travel to the UP (Cadillac 43, Escanaba 36), while in the reverse, the Eskymos have not had much success in their trips downstate, going 0-2 in games over the bridge including a 50-0 loss at Petoskey.

Still, if any team is ready to handle a trip like that, it should be a senior-led team like Gaylord.

Gaylord St. Mary (5-1, 5-0 SVC) vs. Whittemore-Prescott (3-3,1-1 NSL-BD)

Last matchup: St. Mary 54, Whittemore-Prescott 18, Oct. 2, 2020

Last week: St. Mary def. Pellston 66-26, Rogers City def. Whittemore-Prescott 40-32

Gaylord St. Mary seems to be rolling right along, now on a five-game winning streak and undefeated in Ski Valley Conference play after suffering a loss to Pickford, one of the top teams in 8-player Divison 1, in the season opener. Meanwhile, Whittemore-Prescott is coming off a tough loss to Rogers City, giving them three total losses in 2023 and putting their playoff hopes in serious jeopardy.

This will also start a stretch of three home games to wrap up the season for GSM, giving the community ample opportunities to see the new stadium in action.

GSM STADIUM: After 56 years of Snowbird football, Gaylord St. Mary gets its own field

KEY: This should be another fun week for GSM if all goes to plan, but don't expect the same runaway result if the Snowbirds rack up over 100 penalty yards as they did in the first half last week.

Still, offenses have found ways to rack up points on Whittemore-Prescott, a team that has allowed more than 50 points in all three of their losses (Posen 56-14, Au Gres-Sims 64-14 and St. Ignace 67-0). If Daniel Jacobson and the Snowbirds' offense are at the top of their game, they could put up a similar point total coming off their 66-26 win over Pellston.

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: Gaylord, St. Mary and Johannesburg-Lewiston keys to victory in week seven