Gaylord football meets its match against Mount Pleasant, wraps season in district finals

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MOUNT PLEASANT ― For the first 10 games of the Gaylord football season, no team had been able to fully put the Blue Devils away.

Many had knocked them down; the Blue Devils trailed by three scores in Week 8 vs. St. Johns and by two scores last week in the district semifinals vs. Marquette. Time and again, Gaylord picked themselves up off the mat to come away victorious, entering the Division 3 district finals with an unbeaten record and the confidence to beat anyone.

Well, maybe not anyone.

The No. 2 Mount Pleasant Oilers (11-0) dominated from start to finish against Gaylord (10-1), finishing off a 42-0 victory and bringing an end to the Blue Devils' magical season.

"We watched the film, and Mount Pleasant is certainly a great football team," said coach Matt Silsbury. "We lost to a really great team, and I'm still so proud of our guys. We had a great season, built a great foundation here and made a lot of great memories."

Trouble at the line of scrimmage

Week after week, the Blue Devils leaned on their offensive and defensive lines, opening up big holes for their backs throughout the season while making it difficult for opponents to execute their offense.

That was not the case in Mount Pleasant.

The Oilers ran the ball at will in the first half, scoring on all six of their six first-half possessions. Gaylord, meanwhile, struggled to move the ball against a very stout Mt. P defense.

"We came out, tried to get the ball to bounce our way a couple of times, and it didn't work out," said Silsbury. "Mount Pleasant has a great power running offense."

Dream season for Silsbury, Gaylord ends at 10-1

Despite the disappointing way it ended, there’s no way to categorize this GHS football season as anything other than a resounding success.

There weren’t many high expectations for a GHS team that went 3-6 in 2024 and parted ways with their head coach in the offseason. Coach Silsbury and the GHS program turned those expectations on their head, going undefeated in the regular season, winning their second Big North Conference title in three seasons and re-establishing the Blue Devils as a Northern Michigan power. Coach Silsbury had to say a hard goodbye to his first team after his first season as head coach, a tough thing to do regardless of the outcome.

"This group of kids, they're great friends. They work hard for each other, they play for each other, they overcome together. I can't say this enough, I am very proud of the work they've done and how they've matured over the entire season. They are going ot be great young men, and I can't be more proud of them," said Silsbury.

GHS will look to replace a deep and impactful senior class led by Kaven Cole, Kelsen Snyder, Grayson Glazier, Jaron Bensinger and Mason Silsbury, among others.

Contact GHT Sports Editor Dylan Jespersen at Djespersen@gaylordheraldtimes.com. Follow him on X, formerly known as Twitter, @dylanjespersen, and Instagram, @dylanjespersen

This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord high school football falls to Mt. Pleasant in district finals

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