Football is back.
Both Kingsley and Kalkaska football teams started the 2025 season off on the right foot with a pair of hard-fought wins on Thursday.
Then, Johannesburg-Lewiston had a thrilling double overtime setback to kick off the season, falling to Burton Bendle 36-34.
“Joey (Smokevitch), Payton Basinski and Cash Cunningham each had a big game for us,” Joburg coach Joe Smokevitch said.
Kalkaska battled Elk Rapids in a classic hard-nosed game with the Blazers coming out on top 10-0. The Stags took the lead early and never let go en route to a 24-6 win over Reed City Thursday.
“It felt really good to get the win and play as a team,” Kalkaska head coach Jeremy Wilkinson said. “Elk Rapids is a tough team, and we were lucky to come out with a 10-0 win.”
The Blazers took the first points of the season off an Elk Rapids safety during the first drive of the game.
“That set the tone for the game and got all the boys pumped up,” Wilkinson said.
From then on, both teams’ offenses remained cold during the physical game.
Eventually, with 2:30 remaining, Kalkaska finally got moving off a screen pass from Hunter Wilkinson to Nolan Seidelman, who ran it all the way down into the redzone, where Wilkinson capped off the drive and sealed the game with a 1-yard touchdown run and 2-point conversion to put the Blazers up 10-0 and capture the first win of the season.
Cole Scarborough, a warrior in the trenches as both a defensive lineman and an offensive guard, forced a fumble and recovered it himself. Wilkinson led the team in rushing and threw the ball five times for 67 yards.
Several players stepped for the Blazers as cramps plagued Kalkaska at nearly every position at one point throughout the game. Wyatt Ball, Jet Bittenbender, Tre Bromly, Jake Ingersoll, to name a few, all stepped up for Kalkaska.
“The biggest thing for next week is that we left a lot of points on the board … have to fix those mistakes,” Kalkaska coach Jeremy Wilkinson said.
Kalkaska travels to Oscoda Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
The Stags took care of business against Reed City 24-7 to start off the season on a good note.
“We fought and played good defense and did a nice job making some adjustments and settled in a little bit,” Kingsley co-head coach Jason Morrow said. “There’s some work to do, but it was a great team win.”
The Kingsley Krazies were out in full force at Reed City.
Gavin Lewis led with 21 carries for 101 yards and two touchdowns, while Nolan Hodges had 15 carries for 56 yards, and Tucker Dreves had four carries for 56 yards and a touchdown. The team also went 7/7 for 73 yards. Colton Goethals led with nine tackles, one for loss, while Dreves, Alex Figueroa and Trent Sweat had six tackles each.
“We have to take it one day at a time moving forward,” Morrow said. “We are looking to improve as much as we can and get better.”
The Stags will be led by 15 seniors throughout the season. Kingsley host Gaylord next Friday at 7 p.m.
FOOTBALL
TC Central 46
Novi 3
Traverse City Central: Isaac Turnwald 8-for-13 passing, 143 yards, 2 TD, 119 rushing yards, 3 TDs; Rutger Feeney 89 rush yards; Trent Gle 39 rushing yards, rushing TD, receiving TD; Carter Gle 3 catches, 72 yards, 2 TDs; Syrus Neal INT returned for TD; Craig Ryker 3 tackles; Payton Waller 3 tackles; Clark Cooper 2.5 tackles; Wyatt Philpott 2.5 tackles; 478 total team yards, 8-10 on third down.
UP NEXT: The Trojans travel to Parma Western next Friday at 7 p.m.
Frankfort 20
Benzie Central 13
Frankfort: No stats reported.
Benzie: Rowan Zickert 74 total yards; Dayne Gillison 59 receiving yards, 22 rushing yards; Tyler Brooks 40 receiving yards; Connor Wenkel 3 tackles.
UP NEXT: The Panthers (1-0) travel to Glen Lake next Friday at 7 p.m. The Huskies (0-1) travel to Grayling next Friday, Sept. 7 at 7 p.m.
Mancelona 30
Tawas 8
Mancelona: Jackson Bennett 96-yard INT TD, 2 rushing TD, 4 tackles; Ryan Naumcheff 61 pass yards, rushing TD, INT; Bennett 77 rush yards; Theo Parzych 4 tackles; Owen Krino INT.
UP NEXT: The Ironmen (1-0) travel to Harbor Springs next Friday at 7 p.m.
Midland 35
Cadillac 21
Cadillac: Domenic Wing 25-43, 241 passing yards, 65 rushing yards, TD; Ian Metzger 1-1 34 yard; David Nobles 2 TDs; Eiler Carlsen 7 tackles; Austen Laizure 6 tackles; Brodan Biller 5 tackles, 1 sack; Lucas Vancil 5 tackles.
UP NEXT: The Vikings play in Escanaba next Friday at 7 p.m.
Gaylord 21
North Branch 14
Gaylord: No stats reported.
UP NEXT: The Blue Devils (1-0) travel to Kingsley Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
East Jordan 20
Manistique 6
East Jordan: Max Beal 2 rushing TDs; Brady Wilson Rec TD; Wyatt Pinney 2-pt conversion; Curtis Crawford INT.
UP NEXT: The Red Devils (1-0) travel to Johannesburg-Lewiston next Friday at 7 p.m.
Charlevoix 21
Unionville-Sebewaing 12
Charlevoix: Collin Jess 99 yards passing, TD, 76 rush yards, TD; Ian Moran 1-1 passing, 14 yards, TD, 16-76 rushing; Garrison Sterrett 2 catches, 71 yards, TD, 4 carries for 51 rush yards; Carter Greenacre 2 catches, 28 yards, TD; Jess 4 tackles, INT; Andrew Glass 7 tackles, 3 sacks; Greyson Warchol 7 tackles; Moran 9 tackles, 1 TFL, 1 sack; Kalen Titus 7 tackles; Ryan Glass 9 tackles; Sawyer Blasczcyk 6 tackles, 1 sack; Andrew Grogan 6 tackles; game played in Clare.
UP NEXT: The Rayders host Cheboygan, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
Clare 39
Grayling 21
Grayling: No stats reported.
UP NEXT: Grayling (0-1) battles Ortonville Brandon at Central Michigan University Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
Harbor Springs 18
Morley Stanwood 16
Harbor Springs: No stats reported.
UP NEXT: The Rams (1-0) travel to Mancelona Friday, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
Hart 38
Lake City 6
Lake City: No stats reported.
Manistee 42
Chippewa Hills 15
Manistee: No stats reported.
UP NEXT: Manistee hosts Fremont for parent night at 7 p.m.
Onekama 42
Cedarville 16
Onekama: Tyler Hart had 2 INTs, ran for 2 TD; Brandon Brindle led all tacklers; Andrew Hybza ran a TD; Luke Bradford caught 2 TD; Jake Brown threw 2 TDs; Bennett Zeller returned an INT for a TD.
UP NEXT: The Portagers travel to Marion Saturday, Sept. 6 at 7 p.m
Mendon 64
Suttons Bay 0
Suttons Bay: No stats reported.
UP NEXT: The Norsemen (0-1) travel to face Bear Lake (@ Brethren) Sept. 6 at 7 p.m.
Central Lake/Ellsworth 44
Marion 38
Central Lake: No stats reported.
UP NEXT: The Trojans host Gaylord St. Mary, Sept. 5 at 7 p.m.
Brethren 34
Muskegon Heights 14
Brethren: No stats reported.
Gaylord St. Mary 30
Rudyard 9
St. Mary: No stats reported.
UP NEXT: The Snowbirds travels to Central Lake Sept. 5, 7 p.m.
BOYS SOCCER
TC Central 1
Gaylord 0
Traverse City Central: Colin Rademacher goal, Nathan Stawski assist; Caleb Byland save.
UP NEXT: The Trojans host Cadillac Tuesday, Sept. 2 at 6:45 p.m.
TC West 5
Cadillac 0
TC West: Owen Chadwick 2 goals, assist; Bodyn Holmes 2 goals; Cruz Lockhart goal; Tyler Robertson 2 assists; Max Burden assist; TJ Emerich assist; Camden Tkach shutout.
JV: West won 4-0.
UP NEXT: TC West (4-0-2, 2-0 in BNC) Tuesday vs. Alpena.
Leland 3
TC St. Francis 1
Leland: Adrian Spencer 2 goals; Chorde Roman goal; Nano Creamer 2 assists; Stone Burda assist; Ravello Smith earns the win.
Traverse City St. Francis: Sam McMann goal.
UP NEXT: St Francis (4-1~1, NA) Saturday 9/5. Kalamazoo Loy Noris. The Comets (0-3-1) play Glen Lake in a rivalry conference opener Wednesday at 5 p.m.
VOLLEYBALL
Ramblers defeat Alpena, Hillman; fall to Cheboygan
Scores: Boyne City def. Alpena 25-24, 25-20; def. Hillman 25-20, 25-8; lost to Cheboygan 22-25, 4-25.
“That was the most fun game I ever played,” Boyne City’s Lyla Gerster said.
Stats: Lily Payton 2 digs, 8 assists; Addy Burns 7 kills, 13 digs, 4 aces; Eeva Rintala – 2 digs, 2 kills, 7 blocks, 1 ace; Maitlyn Barkley 4 kills; Ariel Xiong 10 digs; Natalie Mastin 2 kills, 3 blocks; Brooklyn Bannister kill; Mya Van Horn 5 digs, 13 assists; Natalie Grobaski 5 aces, 9 digs; Gerster 4 digs, 3 aces, 100% serving 18/18; Piper Oliver 6 kills.