By Greg Gielczyk
KALKASKA – After so many twists and turns, with the season originally being on and then off, and then on again, the Grayling football team finally took out its frustrations on someone in a different uniform Friday night.
The Vikings were in perfect harmony, or close enough to it, after stepping off the bus to open the 2020 season four weeks late against Kalkaska and rolled to a 43-0 win.
Everyone picked up the pieces from a season fraught with uncertainty in Week Four, and while the first three games will not be made up the fact everyone will qualify for the playoffs eases the pain.
Just getting out on the field was reward enough for the Vikings, who had been living in pins and needles that the state might suddenly pull the rug out from under them again at the last minute.
“It was a great first game for us, and it was a great feeling being back out there watching the boys get after it,” Grayling head coach Eric Tunney said. “Walking out, hearing the cleats clacking on the cement, and going through pre-game warmups really brought us back to some sense of normalcy.
“I thought we came out playing fast and got after them early. We had success up front, which allowed the running game some holes and gave the quarterback some time. A lot of guys got involved, which is always good.”
Grayling built a 35-0 lead at the half and cruised in its season opener.
Starting quarterback Hunter Ventline sparkled in his season debut, completing 8 of 15 passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns despite the long layoff, and no pre-season scrimmage.
David Millikin led the Vikings in rushing, churning out 119 yards on just seven carries with three touchdowns on the ground. Anthony Fisher touched the ball three times for 25 yards and a TD.
Leading the receiving stats were Dylan Cragg, who hauled in three passes for 54 yards; Andrew Kanary with two balls for 15 yards and a touchdown, and Millikin caught one pass for 44 yards and a touchdown.
Starting on the offensive line for the Vikings were Connor Oliverson, Barry-Skillern, Trevor Kline, Reid Cvitkovich and Noah Abney.
As expected, Ventline had a solid game at quarterback after a full season as the starter last year.
“He threw a lot of good balls, and aside from a couple drops the receivers ran good routes, caught the ball and got some yardage after the catch,” Tunney added. “That’s always good to see.
“We had two receiving touchdowns, and they were both great balls. He has some stuff mechanically and, on his reads, to work on, just like everybody. But he looked more comfortable than he did the first game last year.
“As he gets more plays and reps under his belt that will help. He ran the ball well, too. He had a couple of quarterback runs, and a couple scrambles that he picked up positive yards on.”
The defense was led by Drew Kanary who made nine tackles, including three for loss. Millikin was in on nine tackles as well and had three for loss. Logan Collett had six tackles. Jordan Wakeley and Sparty Berry-Skillern each had a fumble recovery.
“I’m just happy our kids got to play,” Tunney said. “They came up with some fire under them from the get-go. It was fun to see. The scoreboard took care of itself.
“Any time you can shut a team out is huge. It’s been a few years since we had a goose egg. Defense played well. There is a lot we need to work on still. But for Game One we’ll take it.
“We were pretty balanced offensively, so that’s always good to see. Overall, very happy. The kids know we have a lot of work to do, but they’re hungry. We’ll get back after it.”
Tunney said there were no huge, glaring things he saw that need fixing. Just small, perfection things. Not that they aren’t any less important, especially with Traverse City St. Francis next on the schedule at home this Friday.
St. Francis lost to Sault Ste. Marie, 14-7 in a Northern Michigan Football Conference game in Traverse City and will be coming in determined to bounce back.
