Glen Lake football dedicated Friday’s game against Grayling to those who were impacted by cancer with two special pregame ceremony and wearing special jerseys with a cancer ribbon representing a cancer type that was meaningful to them.
In the pregame ceremony, the players walked out with signs to honor loved ones and inspire them to compete. The team had 16 different types of cancers represented to remind everyone how cancer can hit every family.
The ceremony held a particular significance to honor the memory of Cathy Kangas, a teacher at Glen Lake that lost her battle to cancer the week before. Kangas was represented by her friend and coworker Dana Schlosser.
Along with the tribute to Kangas, there was recognition to Vic McCarty who was able to represent himself, and Chris Valentine, who joined in virtually and was represented on the field by his grandmother, Jeanie Middleton. McCarty is a pancreatic and prostate cancer survivor that has worked in broadcast news for nearly three decades.
“The last year of my life has been filled with upheaval,” McCarty said. “Tonight shows that there are people out there who are still thinking of cancer patients.”
McCarty said that the mental battle can be helped through support of those close, such as his co-host on the Vic McCarty show, Micki Durocher. Durocher supported McCarty by taking him to the hospital in Grand Rapids for surgery, going to doctor appointements, and more.
“You have to have an advocate,” McCarty said. “You have to have somebody fighting for you.”
McCarty finished his radiation treatment on October 17, and was able to ring the bell at Cowell Family Cancer Center in Traverse City.
Valentine, from Zionsville Indiana, wsa diagnosed with brain cancer, and despite the ongoing treatment, he continues to pursue his dreams of becoming an engineer through hard work inPhyscial Therapy.
Lakers hold off Grayling, 39-27
The Lakers dominant start holds off a furious Grayling comeback on senior night, 39-27.
“This group has been here for three years,” coach Jesse Smith said. “They’ve helped reshape the program and to get a win on senior night against a really good team, I’m just proud of them. It was more than football tonight.”
After two quick drives by each team, Glen Lake football opened the scoring with a Sam Dykstra 34-yard touchdown run with Hunter Cox converting the extra point (7-0). After another quick Viking drive, the Lakers needed two plays to drive 39 yards, as senior Fletcher Middleton ran over a Grayling defender to scamper into the endzone from 36-yards out (13-0).
“We were a powerhouse with the ball,” Middleton said. “We haven’t won a senior night in awhile, so it means a lot to me to be able to come out here and put a win on the board.”
In the second quarter, Glen Lake continued their early dominance when Middleton scored his second touchdown of the night on a 38 yard carry.
Grayling quickly got to the Laker 28 yard line on the next drive and scored, 13-7. On the following possession, Glen Lake had a third and long when quarterback Max Lamerson tossed a deep ball that was called for a defensive pass interference that set up Dykstra, who broke off a 34-yard run to put the Lakers in scoring position. The Vikings defense held strong until Lamerson scored on a 2 yard run on fourth down.
Caden Sheehan had a 2-yard reception from Robinson for the successful two point attempt (21-7) to go into halftime. Grayling started the third quarter with the ball and made it into Laker territory but was stopped thanks to a sack from Sheehan.
On the next Laker drive, Glen Lake took their time marching down the field before getting stopped on fourth down on the Viking 36-yard line.
After the stop, A Viking pass was tipped and Breckin Nerg intercepted the ball, returning it to the 10-yard line before getting knocked out of bounds. Lamerson ran the ball on second down for a gain of eight yards setting up Dykstra up for a 2-yard touchdown run (33-17)
Later in the third quarter, Grayling finally punched it in to score their second touchdown of the night (33-14). Multiple Glen Lake turnovers led to another Grayling touchdown (33-20).
Glen Lake was moving the ball down the field on their next drive when a Grayling unsportsmanlike penalty setup a Max Galla 1-yard touchdown run (39-20). Grayling was able to score with 36 seconds left in the game to finish the contest, 39-27.
“It’s a huge win, I think it brings everything together,” Dykstra said. “It highlights what our class has been able to do for the program.”
The two senior running back duo of Middleton and Dykstra combined for 290 rushing yards with Middleton having 112 with two touchdowns and Dykrta with 178 and two more touchdowns.
Glen Lake will be on the road against Mancelona in a game that the winner will win the Northern Michigan Legacy conference.
“They’re a good team, we know it’s for the conference,” coach Smith said. “After the bye week, I told the guys we are in playoff mode, and it’s been playoff mode ever since.”
