Cheboygan, Mosher steamroll Grayling in 34-13 homecoming victory

CHEBOYGAN – In the days leading up to his final homecoming football game as a Cheboygan Chief, Keegan Mosher had a good feeling about Friday night.

“I think we’ll be alright,” said the Cheboygan senior tailback, as he took time out of his early-morning school day to take some photos with the rest of the senior homecoming court on Wednesday.

On Friday, Mosher backed up his words in a big way.

Not only did Mosher stand out with his team-high 149 rushing yards and three touchdowns, but he was also named Cheboygan’s homecoming king as the Chiefs cruised to an emphatic 34-13 victory over the Grayling Vikings at Western Avenue Field.

“I kept my confidence,” said Mosher. “The parade was kind of in the way, but I got past it, got to the locker room, got my pads on, started stretching, got in the game. You just have to work on your mentality with all those things going on.

“It’s (homecoming) a twice-in-a-lifetime thing if you’re playing all two years for your junior and senior year. I think I played my sophomore year on homecoming, so it’s a blessing. It really is."

About an hour before kickoff, Mosher was a part of Cheboygan’s homecoming parade with his fellow classmates.

But when game time hit, Mosher was ready to rock.

Mosher set the tone early for the Chiefs (3-4, 1-3 Northern Michigan Football League), breaking loose for a 55-yard touchdown run on the game’s first possession to help build an 8-0 lead just over a minute into the contest. The senior speedster was far from done, as he ripped off a 19-yard score on the Chiefs’ next possession, which helped increase Cheboygan’s lead to 16-0 with 4:14 left in the first. Mosher saved his grand finale for late in the first half, scampering 43 yards for his third score and giving Cheboygan a 22-0 lead with 2:02 left in the second quarter.

“I wanted more (touchdowns), but I’m so happy with what I got,” Mosher said. “It was a great night to be (homecoming) king, have my best game so far (this season), and it was great. It was a lot of fun, the (offensive) line did their job, the holes were huge. We started falling back a little bit (in the second half), but we picked it back up and finished strong.”

By halftime, Mosher was crowned homecoming king, capping off one of his best nights as a Cheboygan student-athlete.

“He’s (Mosher) one of those kids that works hard and he doesn’t say a whole lot,” said Cheboygan head coach Dave Schulz. “He keeps his nose down, just grinds it out, and it’s great for him to be able to do this in his senior year.

“A lot of things can be distractions, but he maintained his focus and took care of business. Very proud of him.”

Ginop has strong start at QB

Mosher wasn’t the only Cheboygan senior making an impact in his final homecoming game.

Senior quarterback Beau Ginop, who started in place of injured signal-caller Caden Gardner, had a nice game of his own, finishing with 74 rushing yards, including a 42-yard TD run that pushed Cheboygan’s lead to 28-0 midway through the third quarter.

“It was pretty special, I’m glad to be able to get a win for our boys on our last homecoming, so that’s awesome,” said Ginop. “The boys played great, onto another week and try to catch another (win). (Our first-quarter start) was huge for us. I think we came out and capitalized and made some great plays. I think we could’ve scored some more points, but it’s OK. We can always win by more.”

In addition to his solid rushing performance, Ginop completed three passes for 28 yards and tossed a two-point conversion pass to senior brother Beau Ginop, which put the Chiefs up 8-0.

Running game blows doors off Vikings

A week after an ugly loss to Traverse City St. Francis, Cheboygan’s running game returned to form on Friday, generating 401 yards on the ground.

Junior fullback Dylan Balazovic, who put the game on ice for the Chiefs with an 18-yard score late in the contest, tallied 120 rushing yards on a team-high 20 carries.

Getting back to their rushing roots was a huge boost for the Chiefs, whose start to the game set the tone for the rest of the way.

“Just playing focused, playing with energy, and everybody keeping their composure and just taking it one play at a time,” Schulz said. “It was just about doing the small things.”

Defensive physicality also a plus

Defensively, the Chiefs were ferocious from the start as they unleashed their physicality on the Vikings (1-6, 0-5), who were shut out during the first half.

“I thought the guys took every play and made it a point to be physical and make Grayling work for everything that they got,” Schulz said. “I’m very proud of the kids because that’s (Grayling) a good team. It’s not about what their record is, but those kids are well coached and they come play football, and you’re never comfortable when you’re playing them.”

Fueling the Chiefs on defense were Gauge Ginop, who had a team-high 14 tackles and also added a sack, and fellow senior Robert LaPointe, who added a team-high two sacks and seven tackles total. Kaleb Goodrich helped out with nine tackles, while Sean Postula, Tommy Jones and Luke Munger each had seven, Devihn Wichlacz (sack) and Price Warner had four apiece, Jacob Seaman had two, and Mosher (interception), Isaiah Ming and Michael Beck each had one. Robert Godfrey recovered a fumble.

Hitting the home stretch

The Chiefs will now look to improve to 4-4 when they travel to face Benzie Central (2-5, 1-3) at 7 p.m. on Friday, Oct. 14.

If the Chiefs continue to play clean and solid football, they believe anything is possible.

“We got two games left on the schedule – we’ve got a game on the road next week,” Schulz said. “Going to Benzie’s (Central) going to be right at the forefront of anything we want to accomplish. If we play our play game, we’ve still got to go out, stop them and make plays against them because they’re a high-powered offense, they put a lot of points on the board, and we’ve got to come ready to play.”

In the end, Schulz was thrilled to see his players deliver a quality display on a homecoming night they’ll remember for a long time.

“It’s great to do it and win on homecoming because it’s with your buddies,” Schulz said. “It’s the guys you’ve been playing with not just this year, but for several years. To be homecoming champions and take that with you, it’s a fantastic thing.”

This article originally appeared on Cheboygan Daily Tribune: Cheboygan, Mosher steamroll Grayling in 34-13 homecoming victory