We gather around
By Dan Ward

One thing I’ve always enjoyed about St. Johns. We travel well. In every sport I’ve been involved in. In high school, it was football, wrestling, and track until now, where I help coach youth football, help coach wrestling, and generally follow St. Johns around the state. When the team is away, the fans come too. Last week against Haslett, we had more fans at youth football than Haslett had in the stands to start the game.

So a couple of weeks ago, I told my wife we were going to Gaylord. I booked a hotel, and we made the drive. The drive up was beautiful; the fall colors are just starting to pop around Gaylord. We tailgated with other St. John’s fans; it was a great experience. The excitement and nervousness of the upcoming game were palpable, and I couldn’t wait to see how our team would perform.

Gaylord has a beautiful stadium. The visiting bleachers were packed with fans coming to watch their Friday Night Heroes take on the Blue Devils. The air was filled with excitement and anticipation as the two teams prepared to face each other for the first time in football history.

Despite the odds, the Redwings have shown resilience. Gaylord, with a 7-0 record, was a formidable opponent, while St. Johns was 4-3. We’ve been the better team on the field in the last two games, losing to Mason by eleven and Haslett by eight. Unfortunately, the scoreboard didn’t agree, but the final results didn’t reflect our efforts.

As we have done all season, St. Johns won the coin toss and elected to receive. Gaylord tried a little trickery by squib kicking the opening kick-off. St. Johns recovered on their 37 and went to work. Bardy Heibeck and Cody Carn drove the ball down the Blue Devils’ throat, and with 6:57 to play, Carn found the pay dirt, scoring from 7 yards out. Nolan Koenigsknecht tacked on the extra point and it was 7-0 St. Johns.

Gaylord recovered the kick-off at their 27 and started to put a drive together. But on third and nine from their 47, they fumbled again, and Brody Pratl came up with the loose ball. Heibeck made it hurt on the next play as he rumbled in for the score. Koenigsknecht’s kick was good, and with 3:38 in the first quarter, the score was 14-0.

The next kick went into the endzone for a touchback, and Gaylord started on their 20-yard line. Defense came up big with a Tackle for Loss by Gavin Moreno and Brody Pratl, with a stop, making it 4th and four from the Gaylord 26-yard line. Gaylord elected to punt into the wind, and the punt landed at the St. Johns 43.

St. Johns went to work again behind Heibeck. Conner Kurncz connected with Carn, who made an impressive one-handed catch to move the ball ahead. On 4th and 6, Kurncz’s hard count got the Blue Devils to jump, and St. Johns was able to convert the short yardage. Kurncz hit Heibeck on 4-3 to move the sticks, and with 5:25 in the 2nd quarter, Carn found the end zone again. Koenigsknecht tacked on the extra point, and St. Johns led a stunned Blue Devils team 21-0.

St. Johns squib kicked the subsequent kick-off, and Gaylord took over at their 43. St. Johns was eventually able to force a punt that went into the endzone for a touchback, and St. Johns started on their 20-yard line.
This possession featured a big run by Carn and Kurncz, connecting with Bryson Martinez. Ultimately, St. Johns was forced to punt.

Gaylord took over at their 37-yard line and found some life. With 20.9 seconds left on the clock, they were able to get their passing game going, and with 15.3 seconds left, they scored to make it 21-7.

St. Johns took the kick-off to the 19 but was content to run the clock and go into the half leading 21-7.

St. Johns had to kick off to open the half, and St. Johns defense stepped up again, with Archer Gurski and Greyson Osborne getting stops and Jackson Armstrong coming up with a fumble recovery.

St. Johns was able to do much and had to punt.

Here is where it started to get concerning. Gaylord took the punt at the 19-yard line and started driving the ball. Gaylord’s quarterback was shifty and seemed to be constantly on the run, but St. Johns wasn’t able to bring him down. Gaylord was able to score with 4:49 left. The extra point was blocked, making the score 21-13.

Bryce Pratl returned the kick-off to the Redwings 38, and St. Johns started moving behind Gurski and Kurncz, but a false start and a couple of incomplete passes stalled the drive, and St. Johns punted.

Ian Smith buried the Gaylord returner at the Blue Devils 13 13-yard line, and an illegal substitution moved the ball back to the 8-yard line. Gaylord got a big run out to their 48-yard line. Heibeck got a tackle for loss as the quarter expired. But 30 seconds into the 4th quarter, Gaylord scored again. St. Johns foiled the 2-point conversion, making the score at the early part of the 4th quarter 21-19.

Ian Smith returned the ensuing kick-off to the St. Johns 28. Kurncz connected with Martinez and Pratl in this drive while Gurski and Carn ran the ball. St. Johns quickly moved into the Blue Devil side of the field. Kurncz kept the drive alive on a 3rd and one play to get the first down at the Gaylord 24-yard line, and with 5:28 left in the 4th, St. Johns was able to find the end zone again when Smith charged ahead. Koenigsknecht’s extra point kick was right down the middle, and St. Johns extended the lead out to 28-19.

The wheels fell off the wagon when the Gaylord returner picked up St. Johns squib kick, found some space up the St. Johns sideline, returning the ball all the way down to the St. Johns 11-yard line. Shortly after they paid it off, finding the end zone with 4:33 left. The extra point was good, and Gaylord was in business with a score of 28-26.

Ian Smith returned the kick-off to the Redwing 26, and unfortunately, that drive stalled out. The Blue Devils were able to force the Redwings to punt into the wind. Pratl’s punt went straight up and died at the St. Johns 44.

Gaylord was able to score the go-ahead touchdown with 53.4 seconds on the clock. The Redwings stopped the 2-point attempt, but the score was now Gaylord 32, St. Johns 28.

Bryce Pratl returned the kick-off to the St. Johns 34. Kurncz connected with Alex Oberlin to move the ball ahead. A 12-man on the field penalty gave St. John’s some life. Kurncz was sacked with 11.4 seconds and on 4th and 8 with 6.3 seconds to go from the Gaylord 30-yard line, the entire stadium held its breath as Kurncz took one last shot at the end zone.

Coach Schmitt, “This game was a tough one to lose. We played great in the first half, but we did not finish well. We need to find a way to dig deep this week to keep the season going into the playoffs.”

Kurncz’s pass was knocked away, and the Blue Devils eeked out a 32-28 come-from-behind victory. Gaylord moved to 8-0 while the Redwings fell to 4-4.

In other action, the Freshman beat Gaylord 14-6, and the JV won 32-12.
The 8th grade beat Ionia 35-32. I couldn’t find a 7th-grade score, but I’m pretty sure they also beat Ionia.
Also, the 6th-grade team got to play a bonus game against Lakewood’s 6th-grade team.
Lakewood is the only blemish on St. Johns record since the 4th-grade Lakewood, meanwhile, had never lost a youth football game in 3 years. The 6th-grade fought hard but unfortunately came out on the losing end 14-0. The 6th grade wraps up their SJYAA careers with a 16-2-1 record. Congratulations Boys!!

The Friday Night Heroes travel to Ypsilanti Lincoln to take on the 6-2 Railsplitters. St. Johns needs this win to guarantee a playoff spot. If you can travel down, please do. If not, join me at Ryan’s Roadhouse.

STATS