Takeaways: Gaylord cruises past Alpena in homecoming game victory
GAYLORD ― Gaylord's homecoming game featured two programs in very different places in their climb. The Blue Devils, undefeated and rolling through the first five games of 2023, have vastly different expectations than a team like Alpena, winless in Big North Conference play in the past two seasons.
The game played out as such.
Gaylord got up early and never looked back, wrapping up a 50-6 victory to celebrate their homecoming weekend in style on Friday, Sept. 29, pushing the Blue Devils to their first 6-0 start since 2003 while taking a commanding spot atop the BNC standings with a 4-0 record.
Here are the takeaways from another Gaylord victory:
Aungst shines on both sides
After shining in a week one victory over Traverse City West, Gaylord quarterback Caleb Aungst had been pretty quiet through the Blue Devils next four victories.
That changed against Alpena.
Aungst shined in the blowout victory, rushing for 122 yards and two touchdowns while picking off an attempted halfback pass in the first half.
Maybe the highlight of the game, his 74-yard touchdown run on a third-down-and-long play, came on a mixed-up play call, yet Aungst still found a way to score.
"It was a broken play from the start, but the blocks were there," Aungst said.
Rusell and Riley Hush: Word is getting out on Gaylord's Hush brothers
Gaylord defense continues to capitalize on mistakes
Gaylord's first-team defense pitched a shutout, but an Alpena garbage-time touchdown accounted for the lone blemish on the Blue Devils' defense's performance on Friday night.
Still, the defense is allowing just 13.6 points per game after they held Alpena to six points and just a single rushing yard, showing again how tough their defense has been for opposing offenses to solve.
SCOREBOARD: Northern Michigan high school football scores, updates for Week 6
They also accounted for three interceptions (Aungst, Carter Sitz and Isaac Collins), helping push their season turnover differential to +5 through six games. They are both tough and opportunistic; a recipe that makes it hard to sustain any momentum when they're on the field.
Perfect season, BNC title within reach
With three winnable games left on the schedule and two more conference bouts, Gaylord could be staring down some huge milestones; a win over Escanaba next week would clinch at least a share of their first BNC title since 2005, while adding wins over Jackson Lumen Christi and Sault Ste Marie would give the program its first 9-0 season since 2002.
Still, head coach DJ Szymoniak will continue that 'one game at a time' approach that's helped them be so successful.
"The biggest thing is keeping a rearview mirror and keeping it at one game at a time," Szymoniak said. "We start looking ahead of ourselves, we forget about the team we have next week."
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 Blue Devils defeat Alpena Wildcats in Big North action
