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Alpena falls to Sault Ste. Marie on homecoming night

By Owen Kinzey 3 min read

ALPENA -- The Alpena High School varsity football team hosted its annual homecoming game on Friday against the Sault Ste. Marie Blue Devils.

With a massive crowd behind the Wildcats, the team couldn't get the job done, falling short by a score of 21-6.

Alpena's lack of blocking prevented it from being able to run the ball effectively, resulting in several punts and turnovers.

"Up front, we did not block as well as we could have," Alpena coach Eric Mitchell said. "Granted, they have an incredible D-1 kid and many other physical kids, but that's the place we need to improve the most. It's impossible to get our pass game going without being able to run the ball, either."

Sault received the ball to start the game and pounded the rock right away. Short-yardage gains continued down the field until an 18-yard pass brought Sault into the red zone and down to the three-yard line.

On the next play, Ryver Ryckeghem punched the ball in for a three-yard touchdown, giving the Blue Devils an early 6-0 lead.

A fake field goal was converted immediately after, extending the lead to 8-0.

Alpena's first drive didn't go quite as planned, ending with a punt, but Sault muffed it, which Brady Carlson and the Wildcats recovered.

That turnover set Alpena up at the Blue Devil's 31-yard line, but Alpena (1-6) couldn't take advantage of the opportunity, ultimately turning the ball over on downs.

In the final minutes of the second quarter, a deep shot toward the end zone was taken by the Sault's Callen Campbell, but Alpena's Easton Srebnik made a leaping interception to end the Blue Devils' drive.

Just two minutes later, Sault regained possession, and Ryckeghem scored on a 41-yard rushing touchdown.

The Blue Devils' extra point was no good, so Alpena was only down 14-0 at halftime.

One positive takeaway from the game was Alpena's positive yardage gained on kickoff returns. Carter Stark, Eli Chism, and Srebnik returned kicks into opposing territory during the game.

Stark returned one just past midfield, but, again, the Wildcats could not capitalize on the field positioning. After another punt, the Blue Devils finally took advantage of the Wildcat’s inability to score and completed a score of its own.

A 60-yard rush, followed by a 15-yard rushing touchdown, put Sault up by 21 points going into the game’s final minutes.

Alpena managed to score in the game’s final minute, but it came too late for a chance at a comeback. With 44 seconds left, Jake Zann threw a passing touchdown to Stark as Alpena ended the game with a 21-6 loss.

"Obviously, it sucks to come away with a loss, but we made great improvements off of last week," Mitchell said. "Our tackling was much better, and everything we worked on in practice was executed on the field. We had some other problems come out tonight that we're going to work on before we play Escanaba next week."

Zann finished the game nine-for-25, passing for 45 yards.

Alpena's top receivers were John Kurowski, who had two catches for 17 yards, and John Eaton, who had one for 13 yards.

Kaleb Donajkowski had 10 carries for 55 yards, and Zann had seven for 16 yards.

Campbell passed for 51 yards on four-of-nine passing.

The Blue Devil's top receivers were Kaydin Lujan and Cale Bell, who both finished with two catches. Lujan had 31 yards and Bell had 20 yards.

Sault's top rushers were Ryckeghem, who had 18 attempts for 140 yards, and Lujan, who had 14 for 90.

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