Wildcats hope to reverse fortunes for homecoming
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ALPENA -- The sting of a close loss may still be lingering somewhat for the Alpena football team.
But with last week's 24-20 loss to Petoskey in the rearview mirror and another home game on tap, the Wildcats hope to give the hometown crowd something to cheer about tonight.
The Wildcats (1-4) host Gaylord at 7 p.m., tonight at Park Family Field at Wildcat Stadium, welcoming the Blue Devils (3-2) for homecoming.
Alpena is 2-3 in its last five matchups with Gaylord and won last year's game 10-7.
Homecoming means a big crowd and plenty of festivities, but the Wildcats are trying to keep the game in focus as they look to break a three-game losing streak.
"We've trying to keep the other events out of our minds and focus on being physical and showing up Friday night," Junior Kaleb Donajkowski said. "Our run defense is really good and they run the ball a lot. But we're thinking they might throw it a little more than they usually do, so our defense has got to step up."
The Blue Devils have won just five games over the previous three seasons, but Gaylord has already improved its offensive input from 2020 and 2021.
"They are (improved) for sure, there's no ifs, ands, or buts about it. They have a lot of faith in what they're doing and I think that's powerful for any team," Alpena coach Eric Mitchell said. "They're playing pretty good on both sides of the ball and they're doing it their way."
The Blue Devils earned one-point wins over Lake Fenton and Kingsley to open the season and topped Petoskey in Week 4 on the road.
Gaylord hopes to rebound from last week's 19-9 homecoming loss to Cadillac.
The Blue Devils' defense held Cadillac in check during the first half, allowing just six points and 121 offensive yards to a team that dropped 46 on Alpena the previous week. But crucial turnovers provided a path to victory for Cadillac, while Gaylord was limited to just nine points.
Gaylord's offense isn't being taken lightly by the Wildcats though and Gaylord's ball control offensive style has proven effective. Last week Gaylord held the ball for the first 14 minutes of the game before Cadillac's first offensive drive.
On the other side, Alpena hopes to prevail against a stingy Gaylord defensive unit that's allowed 15.6 points per game and has created turnovers to open up offensive opportunities.
Alpena's game plan last week was solid and the Wildcats' got production through the air and on the ground. Donajkowski led Alpena's rushing attack with a three-touchdown effort to go with 167 total yards for the night.
"Kaleb had a great week last week, three touchdowns, he had a great week and ran really hard for us. That's really what it takes," Mitchell said. "When we watched the film, the harder we run, the more these safeties are coming up, which opens up deep threats."
Alpena gained 168 yards through the air with quarterback Jake Zann finding open targets, including Brady Pagels, who finished with 109 reception yards.
Mitchell hopes to see more of that offensive balance tonight, knowing that plays Alpena makes in crucial spots could make all the difference.
"We've been able to throw the ball, which opens up some run lanes, and we've got to take open space," Mitchell said. "For us last week, we knew we had to run the ball better, we knew we had to sustain drives in the first half and that's exactly what we did."