Glen Lake football wasted no time putting last season behind it Friday night, opening the 2026 football season with a dominant 57-0 victory over Mancelona.
The Lakers came out firing and carried a 51-0 lead into halftime before adding one more touchdown in the second half.
“It’s been a long offseason. I feel good being out here with the boys and getting after it. After how the season ended last year, we’ve been sitting with that taste for some months,” Glen Lake coach Jesse Smith said. “This was a good way to come out…they came out firing and did some good stuff.”
Glen Lake senior and team captain Parker Robinson capped off the game with a last-minute touchdown pass, bringing the final score to 57-0.
The Lakers scored three touchdowns in the first quarter and even secured a defensive safety to go up 23-0. Ben Diotte had a 65-yard run; Gavin Sheehan 4-yard run; Kingston Palmer 33-yard pass.
Glen Lake scored another four in the second quarter: Maxwell Galla 36-yard run; Kingston Palmer 29-yard pass; Galla 15-yard run; Gavin Sheehan 53-yard pass from Max Lamerson; Sheehan 46-yard pass from Robinson.
Leading in the trenches was Glen Lake senior offensive lineman David Kish.
“(The win) feels great. We’ve been working hard all offseason and just seeing that score, I mean, it really paid off. We got a lot of stuff to clean up, but seeing a lot of great things and I think we can build off of it,” Glen Lake senior offensive lineman David Kish said. “Overall, our energy is the best we’ve had since I’ve been here. Everyone is excited, and they’re vocal about it.”
The Lakers will look to carry that energy and momentum into their next game on Thursday, Sept. 3, against Harbor Springs Rams (1-0). Mancelona heads to Tawas Thursday.
Next week will be the first time both teams have faced teams other than each other since mid-October of last season. The Lakers earned a thrilling conference championship victory in the final game of the season, 23-22, before dominating the Ironmen on Halloween of last year 35-0.
Glen Lake was balanced all day, with 225 passing yards and 206 rushing yards. The Laker defense forced four turnovers with two interceptions and two fumble recoveries.
Glen Lake held Mancelona to -17 total yards.
Glen Lake senior Dominic Stein had six total tackles and two tackles for loss; Parker Robinson was in on seven tackles and had two fumble recoveries, while Toby Bradford stalked out an interception along with Isaac Butrick.
Lamerson and Robinson dominated from the quarterback position as Lamerson went 7/10 for 150 yards and three touchdown, while Robinson went 4-6 for 75 yards and a TD.
Diotte had 99 yards rushing along with Galla’s 64, Rinson’s 24 and Butrick’s 21.
Gavin Sheehan had three receptions for 109 yards and two touchdowns along with Palmers 62 yards and two scores as well. Liam Palmer also had three receptions for 30 yards as the Ironmen could not contain the Lakers potent offense.
