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ALPENA -- The Alpena High football team isn't taking any opponent on its schedule lightly this season or looking too far ahead.
But tonight's game and the next three weeks may ultimately dictate how well the rest of the Wildcats' season goes.
Alpena (1-2) opens Big North Conference play on the road tonight against Cadillac (1-2) and then plays Petoskey and Gaylord in each of the next two weeks.
Tonight's game starts at 7 p.m.
The Big North has just four teams this season after the departures of longtime members Traverse City Central and Traverse City West, but Alpena coach Eric Mitchell and the BNC's other coaches know the conference games still hold a lot of importance.
"For sure they do, especially with just three of them. I think we all know, every coach in the conference realizes our season is the conference. We're 1-2, Cadillac's 1-2, Gaylord's 2-1 with a loss and Petoskey also has a losing record," Mitchell said. "I think we're all aware that our season pretty much comes down to how we play in the conference."
Alpena enters tonight's game hoping to rebound after struggling in a 56-0 loss to Whitehall last week. The Vikings took it to Alpena from the start, quickly building a hole the Wildcats couldn't climb out of.
But, after a strong week of practice, the Wildcats are looking forward and focusing on getting a win. Cadillac won last season's matchup 37-6 and Alpena last scored a victory over Cadillac in 2019.
"It's not that we didn't talk about it. We had to. But rather than sit there and dwell on it all week, we've moved. We had a heck of a day (on Tuesday) and that lets me know we'll be ready to go," Mitchell said.
The Wildcats may be ready to go, but they'll face a Cadillac team under first-year coach Shawn Jackson that's just as hungry for a win.
Cadillac defeated Escanaba 38-25 in Week 2, but lost its opener to Midland by six (27-21) and lost to Mt. Pleasant last week by three (27-24).
"Cadillac's looking at these next three games as must-wins and looking at the rest of their schedule, it does not get any easier," Mitchell said.
Alpena anticipates seeing some different looks from Cadillac that it hasn't seen on film, but two players the Wildcats' defense is keen to stop are seniors Derek Rood and Teegan Baker.
At 6-foot-3, 225 pounds, Baker provides a big target for junior quarterback Charlie Howell. Baker -- the younger brother of former Viking quarterback Tipp Baker -- is a do-it-all player for Cadillac, able to make plays on both sides of the ball and even has chops as kicker.
Through three games, the Vikings have also gotten other players involved offensively with Howell connecting with Gavin Goetz, Kaleb McKinley, and Jackson Hilt for touchdowns among others.
With so many playmakers, the Wildcats are focused on taking away Cadillac's short passing game and inside run game.
Tonight's game presents a fresh start for the Wildcats and they're eager to show they're better than last week's game indicated.
"All the hard work we've been putting in, last week definitely did not show it. All the boys are ready to kick some butt this week," Alpena senior Nic Geister said. "We're definitely mad. We did not end last week how we wanted to, so we'll be coming at Cadillac full force and we're ready."