Kickoff return burns Cheboygan in 19-16 home loss to Ogemaw Heights

CHEBOYGAN – The big plays were happening, the momentum was turning, and the place was bouncing.

Basically, the comeback looked complete for the Cheboygan Chiefs, who were desperate to pick up a huge home football triumph.

But one play – one special teams play – ended up burning the Chiefs.

And for now, they'll have to wait at least another week to get back on the winning side of things.

After storming back to take a 16-12 lead midway through the fourth quarter, the Chiefs surrendered an Ogemaw Heights kickoff return for a touchdown, which ended up being the ultimate decider in a 19-16 victory for the Falcons in a thrilling clash at Western Avenue Field on Friday night.

Trailing 12-0 at halftime, the Chiefs fought back to take a four-point edge after junior fullback Dylan Balazovic broke loose for a 37-yard touchdown run, which was then followed by a made two-point conversion run from junior quarterback Caden Gardner with 7:27 remaining in the fourth quarter.

With Cheboygan’s supporters – the student section, the band, fans, parents and cheerleaders – as loud as they’ve been in years, the Chiefs looked poised to pull off what would have been a remarkable win.

But in an instant, senior Bryce Berdan and the Falcons sucked the life out of Western Avenue Field. Fielding the kickoff return, the Falcons did a trick-play reverse, which saw Berdan as the one emerging with the ball, finding space and breaking free down the left sideline 90 yards for a score, helping Ogemaw go back up 19-16 with 7:12 left to play.

“We actually got the ball moved up, we were going to kick it deep, the kid kicked it the way he was supposed to do, and we just had some missed tackles,” said Cheboygan head coach Dave Schulz. “They (Ogemaw) had a little reverse kind of sneak-type play where we got a little out of our lane, didn’t know where the ball was for a second, but the kids were there to make the play. Hats off to them (Ogemaw), they executed it, but our kids were very battling hard on that.”

While the Chiefs (1-3, 0-2 Northern Michigan Football League Legends) turned the ball over on downs on their next possession, their defense, which had a terrific second half, made a critical stop to get the ball back for the home team. Unfortunately for the Chiefs, their offense turned the ball over on fourth down, sealing the win for the Falcons (2-2, 1-2), who moved back to .500 on the season.

“It’s a tough place to play,” said Ogemaw head coach Chad Miller. “I told the kids, ‘For 20 years, they (Cheboygan) were beating the crap out of people over here,’ and we knew it would be a tough game, a tough two-and-a-half hours-plus on the bus, and it’s our third road game already this season, so we knew it would be difficult. We thought we could score against them, but we were so afraid of their fullback (Balazovic) and speed kids. He’s (Balazovic) a nice player.”

Facing an uphill battle at halftime, the Chiefs responded in the third quarter, getting a big play from Gardner, who connected with senior Keegan Mosher on a 78-yard touchdown pass. A two-point conversion run by Balazovic also helped pump some life into the Chiefs, who only trailed 12-8 midway through the third.

Despite the defeat, a third straight for Cheboygan, Schulz lauded the performance of his team, which refused to quit and showed resiliency over the final two quarters.

"I thought that second half was the best half of football we played all year,” Schulz said. “Super proud of how hard these kids fought. They worked hard to make adjustments and execute, and they tried so hard to play a great football game, and they did. We just got to make a few plays here and there and we’ll be right there on the win, too.”

Asked what was said in the locker room at halftime, Schulz said the change in his team had nothing to do with coach speak.

“Just a couple adjustments – I mean, that’s on the team,” Schulz said. “The team came out, they made adjustments and they were fired up, and they wanted to play football. They wanted to come out, play and show what they could do, and I thought they played a great second half.

“I thought the first half was actually a good half of football. We just had a few things to clean up, but it was a great game.”

The first half was a more disappointing story for the Chiefs, who couldn’t finish drives and find points, while the Falcons made a few key plays to seize momentum. One of those was a long pass play on a third-and-15, which allowed their drive to continue. Finishing off an impressive 72-yard drive was junior fullback Karter Schmitt, who made his way into the endzone on a fourth-and-goal from the one, putting the Falcons up 6-0 early in the second quarter. The Falcons built their lead to 12-0 just a couple minutes later when Berdan raced 49 yards for a TD. The Falcons maintained their 12-0 lead going into the break.

“Our (running backs) are a really experienced part of our team – a sophomore, a junior and a senior – and they all had big plays,” Miller said. “We ran the kickoff back, we put a new kick return system in, and we finally hit one.”

On defense, Cheboygan was led by seven tackles from senior lineman Tommy Jones. The Chiefs saw five players record six tackles, including Robert LaPointe, Gauge Ginop, Luke Munger, Jacob Seaman and Kaleb Goodrich. Devihn Wichlacz and Sean Postula both registered four tackles. Michael Beck, Price Warner and Cody Lane added two tackles apiece. Gavin Rose and Mosher rounded out the Chiefs with a tackle each.

“Our defense sure has gotten a lot better, they proved that tonight,” Schulz said. “That’s a lot of credit to all those kids that are on the defense, but really the guys that are on offense during the week, too, challenging those guys to get better. It was a total team effort, and that defense got better because of the players working hard on this team – all of them.”

Cheboygan, which finished with 252 total yards of offense and 191 rushing yards, was led by Balazovic, who carried 15 times for 115 yards and a TD, while Mosher tallied 54 yards on 12 attempts and added the 78-yard receiving TD. Gardner finished three-of-eight passing for 91 yards and a score.

Ogemaw quarterback Xander Kartes had 59 yards passing, while Rob Hock tallied 57 yards receiving. Berdan chipped in with 50 rushing yards.

The Chiefs next travel down to Dansville for a 7 p.m. non-conference matchup on Friday, Sept. 23.

“There’s plenty of toughness and heart on this team,” Schulz said. “We want to make sure we’re coaching well enough to make sure we channel it into wins.”

Ogemaw welcomes Sault Ste. Marie (4-0, 2-0) for a league matchup next week.

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Kickoff return burns Cheboygan in 19-16 home loss to Ogemaw Heights