Not the starts Charlevoix, Boyne City wanted but don't panic just yet

TRAVERSE CITY — Season openers have a habit of revealing quite a bit about a team.

But, they can also be taken with a grain of salt. Sometimes, it’s not always as good, or as bad, as it looks.

For the Charlevoix football team, it’s likely somewhere in-between Friday’s 2024 kickoff at Traverse City St. Francis.

Will this be a different Rayder team in 2024? Sure. They graduated 20 seniors a season ago, so it would be hard for it not to be. But after a 67-22 drubbing at Thrilby Field against the Gladiators, there’s clearly some work to be done.

The loss for the Rayders to St. Francis comes after a 41-40 season opening defeat against the Glads last season and a 31-7 victory over St. Francis in the 2023 postseason.

Traverse City led Friday’s game 60-14 by halftime, before the running clock set in during the second half.

Playmaker emerges

If there was a bright spot for the Rayders, they showed resolve with a second half score right out of halftime and had a few players step up.

Running back Logan Wadkins ran for an 86 yard touchdown run in the first half, then added a 92 yard kickoff return, finishing with 183 total return yards.

Wadkins also led the Rayders defensively with nine tackles.

Against as tough as an opponent as St. Francis was to start with, Wadkins showed he’s capable of a larger load and someone the team can turn to this season.

More: 'Our goals are bigger than one game': East Jordan shows promise in opener

More: Ugly or not, Petoskey football ends season opener in victory formation

Around the lineup

The Rayders passed for just 24 yards against the Glads, while Brady Warchol added six carries for 37 yards and Brady Jess had eight carries for 41 yards.

Garrison Sterrett also scored on a 15-yard run for Charlevoix.

Next up

While it would be nice to Charlevoix to erase the showing with a stay at home in from of their own fans, they’ll spend the next three weeks on the road as well.

Charlevoix will travel to Oscoda up next, which will come as a Northern Michigan Leaders Division game on Friday, Sept. 6.

Standish-Sterling 33, Boyne City 14

STANDISH — After meeting Standish-Sterling in the 2021 postseason, the Boyne City football team has made themselves pretty familiar with the Panthers.

Last season came with a season opening victory for the Ramblers in a matchup between the two, while this year’s opener with the Panthers brought just the opposite.

The Ramblers fell behind 13-0 early, then traded scores until the second half, when a pair of unanswered touchdowns by the Panthers led to a 33-14 loss for Boyne City.

While both sides showed signs of a season opener – a combined 21 penalties – it was the Ramblers who struggled to get much moving offensively. They accumulated just 201 yards of total offense.

More: NCMC's Wardin named Offensive Player of the Week, Barr helps Petoskey girls golf to win

Bright spots on offense

Two players heading into the season that the Ramblers had a feeling they could rely on turned out to be, well, reliable.

Senior running back Ryan Spate and senior wideout Jaden Alger each made plays, though neither exactly had a lot of touches.

Spate ran 14 times for 102 yards and a touchdown, breaking off a 51-yard scoring run.

For Alger, the night came with a team-high five receptions, to go with 87 yards and a touchdown.

Around the lineup

Boyne City quarterback Drew Neer finished the game 8 of 17 passing for 106 yards and a score.

Defensively, Spate led with eight tackles, Hyker McKinney recorded seven and Ryan Chapp made six stops, two for a loss. Thomas Ager also had six tackles.

Next up

Looking to even up the record, Boyne City will remain on the road in Week 2 with a trip to Elk Rapids on Friday, Sept. 6. Boyne City earned a 57-14 win over Elk Rapids last season.

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: Not the starts Charlevoix, Boyne City wanted but don't panic just yet