Alpena banged up in loss to Gaylord
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ALPENA -- The Alpena High football team hosted its annual homecoming game Friday and ended up taking a loss to Gaylord. The final score was 35-0 after Alpena suffered from a plethora of injuries during the game.
"We've got to get healthy. We lost four guys throughout the game and that was a huge loss for us as a team," Alpena coach Eric Mitchell said.
The Wildcats (1-5, 0-3 Big North Conference) moved the ball very efficiently to start the game, moving all the way to the red zone. Alpena's first drive featured several run plays with a few big passes mixed in.
After three big third-down conversions, Jake Zann threw an interception on the goal line to Gus James who returned it back to the 20-yard line for the Blue Devils.
Gaylord had one plan on Friday: Run the ball. The Blue Devils started with three straight rushes of more than 20 yards. Gaylord also got into the red zone and with 9:58 left in the first quarter, Caleb Aungst threw an interception to Brady Niedzwiecki.
The offense for the Wildcats continued to struggle as they almost immediately punted it back to the Blue Devils.
From there, Gaylord took the momentum and ran away with it. Ty Bensinger drove the Blue Devils all the way down the field and capped off the drive with a 14-yard rushing touchdown. Gaylord converted the 2-point attempt with a run up the middle with Brady Pretzlaff.
The Wildcats trailed 8-0 at halftime, with plenty of time to make a comeback.
Starting the second half, the Blue Devils got the ball and didn't allow Alpena a chance to attempt that comeback.
Bensinger again led the drive for Gaylord with many big runs and several broken tackles. With 9:09 left in the third quarter, Russell Hush ran the ball in for a 12-yard touchdown. Gaylord converted the PAT, extending its lead to 15-0.
Alpena couldn't move the ball for the remainder of the second half, while Gaylord continued to score.
Riley Hush and Bensinger both had rushing touchdowns in the third quarter, and both PATs were good for the Blue Devils, giving Gaylord a 29-0 lead after three quarters.
The Wildcats turned the ball over one final time with another interception from Zann to James. Aungst finished off the game with an eight-yard rushing touchdown to secure the 35-0 victory over Alpena.
"We need to be able to stop the run. I thought we played really good against the pass tonight, but they just played more physical than us," Mitchell said.
Zann was 8-for-17 from the air with 56 yards and two interceptions. Alpena's lead rusher was Hunter Cohoon, who had 3 carries for 16 yards. Niedzwiecki was the receiving leader, he finished with three catches for 14 yards.
Caleb Aungst was 3-for-6 with 19 yards and an interception. Gaylord's leading rushers were Ty Bensinger who had 19 carries for 143 yards, and Russell Hush also had 11 attempts for 73 yards. Bensinger was also the leading receiver with one catch for nine yards.
Alpena takes on Flint Powers Friday.