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ALPENA - F-16 Fighting Falcons from the Texas Air National Guard are scheduled to roar north to south over Wildcat Stadium on Friday, seconds after the national anthem and just before kickoff of Alpena's annual Valor Game against Gaylord.
The flyover, approved for the 7 p.m. Big North Conference game, is the first in Alpena Wildcats football history. It is timed to National POW/MIA Recognition Day and is meant to honor missing service members, veterans and first responders while giving the community a rare look at the jets that train at the nearby Alpena Combat Readiness Training Center.
"As soon as the national anthem ends, which should be about 7 p.m., that's when the flyover will happen," Alpena CRTC commander Lt. Col. Lucas Freudenburg said.
The aircraft belong to the 149th Fighter Wing, based at Joint Base San Antonio-Lackland in Texas. The unit is in northern Michigan this month for training. CRTC officials announced Sept. 8 that official approval had been granted for the Fighting Falcons to perform the pass as a way to give back to a community that supports the base year-round.
Getting jets over a high school field is not a last-minute favor. Freudenburg said Alpena coach DJ Szymoniak started the process because he had arranged flyovers during his years as Gaylord's head coach.
"Coach Szymoniak reached out because he used to arrange flyovers when he coached for Gaylord," Freudenburg said. "Unfortunately, we had nothing up here last year, and it takes a lot of paperwork to make something like this happen."
A retired CRTC member, Dustin Budd, handled much of that paperwork. Freudenburg said the base supplied the information Budd needed, then moved the request through Air Force channels.
"We got it set up through the Air Force, got it approved, then we called all of the units that will be here Friday to see which one, if any, would be interested in helping out the community," Freudenburg said.
The 149th volunteered. Freudenburg said the rest of the operation is a full-base effort that includes maintainers, air traffic control, airfield managers and CRTC firefighters.
"It's a giant team making this happen," he said. "Hopefully the community loves it, and we have a good showing for the game."
Alpena Public Schools has framed Friday as more than a conference home game. Superintendent Dave Rabbideau invited families to the Valor Game and noted that Sept. 18 is National POW/MIA Recognition Day, with a tribute planned for missing service members, veterans and first responders in addition to the flyover.
Szymoniak, in his second season on the Alpena sideline after four years as Gaylord's coach, said the spectacle is unusual for a small northern Michigan town.
"It's an honor," Szymoniak said. "You see these types of events on television for big-time college and pro football games, and to be able to bring that type of excitement to our little town is pretty unique."
The honor comes with a coaching problem. The Wildcats are used to a set pregame routine. That routine will be different on Friday, and Szymoniak expects the largest crowd many of his players have ever seen.
"We are going to have to get dialed in and explain to the kids what we are here for and that we have a job to do," he said. "It's an environment that's hard to replicate."
He has told the team to keep its emotions in check and remember the reason the game is being played.
"Remember why we are here," Szymoniak said. "We get to play this game because of the freedom our military and our veterans fought for."
"They are probably going to play in front of the biggest crowd they have ever played in front of. So we have been talking to the team about remembering the task at hand."
The task is Gaylord, a familiar opponent with extra weight this week. Szymoniak coached the Blue Devils from 2021 to 2024 before taking the Alpena job. Friday is another meeting with his former program.
Alpena is 1-2 after a 27-8 win at Boyne City and losses at Cadillac (21-34) and Escanaba (12-29).
Szymoniak said he will treat Friday as another game, even if the faces across the field are familiar.
"It's another game, and that's the way we must look at it and approach it," he said. "I still have a lot of great friends from my time there, but at the end of the day this is a new adventure for me and my family, and we are looking forward to Friday night."
Szymoniak said competing with Gaylord starts with the same fight Alpena showed in its first three games, plus fewer mistakes.
"We have to continue to fight and battle like we did the last three games," Szymoniak said. "The biggest thing is cleaning up mistakes. We have had some mental errors, and that's something we have addressed by simplifying things."
The mistakes, he said, are not only on the players.
"The mistakes are not just coming from the players," Szymoniak said. "Sometimes as coaches we put too much in the game plan."
Kickoff is 7 p.m. Friday at Wildcat Stadium.