BOYNE CITY — The Boyne City basketball team always seems to find some height to insert into the lineup, which certainly plays an advantage in the sport.
Now, the secondary of the Rambler football team is following suit.
It began last season when recent graduate Chas Stanek, all 6-foot-5 of him, moved from the defensive line as an end, to roaming the secondary as a safety.
With Stanek gone, there’s now a hole to fill back there for Boyne and they’ll fill every bit of it with Jaden Alger. Every inch to be exact.
A standout on the basketball court with his 6-foot-5 frame and athleticism, Alger will make the same move as Stanek, back to the secondary this fall.
Through summer camps and 7-on-7 practices around the area, Alger is showing he’s more than comfortable back there.
“Oh yeah, I played there sophomore year and on JV I just kind of took over,” he said. “Got the wingspan out there and the legs. You just get to see the field more, see where the ball is going and make a break on it.”
Up against one of the toughest schedules they’ve had in years, the Ramblers’ young defense, which featured sophomores and juniors everywhere, held up throughout the season a year ago.
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They actually won the opener over Standish-Sterling without scoring an offensive touchdown, then buckled down over the final three weeks of the regular season to make the postseason without allowing more than a touchdown in that span.
As an outside linebacker last season, Alger made 31 stops, including six tackles for a loss, a sack and showed a nose for the ball with two interceptions.
He’s more than shown capable of picking off passes during summer 7-on-7 matchups as well. Also on his plate has been making the calls defensively, something that took some getting used to.
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“It was overwhelming at first, but we went to Traverse City a couple weeks ago and I just got into the groove and started getting confident with my calls and things like that,” he said.
Along with Alger back defensively, the Ramblers will have the likes of Ryan Spate, Tristan and Thomas Ager, Owen Hewitt, Leon Xiong, Logan Riley, Ryan Chapp and others, leaving Alger to believe there could be another jump and return to the postseason in Boyne City.
“Definitely,” he said. “We only lost a couple kids. They were key kids, but we’ve got a lot of guys stepping up this year. A lot of kids in the weight room.”
Now in his last round on the football field with the Ramblers, it’s odd to think about for Alger, but he’s excited to get after the 2024 season in his new position.
“I don’t really like it, but I’ve got to accept it,” Alger said on it being his final year. “It is weird, but I’m ready.”
Contact or send game stats/info to Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @DrewKochanny, and Instagram, @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Boyne City's Alger showing smooth adjustment to secondary
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