Last season was an up and down whirlwind for the Boyne City football team.
While it came with a playoff campaign, if you ask most in the program, a 6-4 finish that came with an early exit from the postseason and loss against rival Charlevoix wasn’t what they were looking for.
The expectations are set pretty high for the Ramblers, and that’s a good thing. It’s come from past success and a standard put in place by coaches and past players.
It’s what makes watching Boyne City compete year after year a treat.
In 2026, Boyne will be in for a tough schedule, though that’s really nothing new around town.
Here’s what’s jumping out right away about the 2026 Boyne City schedule.
Huge October back-to-back
Talk about a two-week stretch that’ll prepare anyone for the postseason.
You need to look no further than Boyne City’s back-to-back stretch in Week 7 and Week 8 against Kingsley and Reed City.
That’s a tremendous late-season opportunity for Boyne City to make a statement.
Kingsley made it all the way to the Division 6 state championship game last season, needing to beat Reed City in a D6 regional and 18-14 final to get there. The Stags also own a recent 2023 state title.
Reed City, before dropping to Kingsley in that regional, made semifinal trips in Division 6 in both 2022 and 2023.
Boyne has recent history with both teams.
Outside of the Stags’ three straight regular season wins against Boyne City, the Ramblers earned back-to-back wins over Kingsley and Reed City in the 2024 postseason, topping Kingsley, 21-15, and Reed City, 34-21.
Boyne could use another two-week stretch that looks like that.
At Grayling Homecoming
While games against Kingsley and Reed City will jump out right away, as will a game against Charlevoix, there’s one other that gave that feeling right off the bat.
Sandwiched between the opening stretch of the schedule and that late-season gauntlet is a Homecoming trip to Grayling.
It might not be one of those games that sets off alarms, but the two have always matched up well and there are some tight games in past seasons.
They met a year ago as league foes with Boyne winning a 21-7 final, then Boyne took a 2024 matchup just 21-18. In 2021, it was a district matchup that took a 19-18 final for Boyne, payback from a 28-20 Grayling playoff win the year prior.
Boyne can’t get caught looking ahead a couple weeks to that Kingsley and Reed City stretch. This is one they can’t afford to be sleeping on.
Two Big North opponents
Having a Big North opponent on the schedule – for anyone not in the BNC in Northern Michigan – is a big deal.
The teams of the Big North are so much larger than everyone else, so those games tend to stand out. For a Division 6 program like Boyne, with an enrollment that stretches just over 350, a Division 2 Alpena and Division 4 Sault Ste. Marie, are notable.
Boyne City topped Alpena a year ago in an 18-13 final, though the Wildcats should be improved ahead with some coaching stability and established athletes.
They’ll again open the season, this time in Boyne City and it’ll be a great test right out of the gates.
Then there’s the Sault matchup in Week 9.
The Blue Devils may have gone 0-9 a year ago and struggled mightily on offense, but they’re still a program double the size of Boyne City.
In years past, Boyne has had Gaylord and former BNC member Ogemaw Heights on the schedule as well, so there’s always been no backing down from the area’s largest conference.
2026 Boyne City Football Schedule
Fri. Aug. 28 — vs. Alpena
Fri. Sept. 4 — at Charlevoix
Fri. Sept. 11 — vs. Cheboygan
Fri. Sept. 18 — vs. Kalkaska
Fri. Sept. 25 — at Grayling
Fri. Oct. 2 — vs. Elk Rapids
Fr. Oct. 9 — at Kingsley
Fri. Oct 16 — at Reed City
Fri. Oct. 23 — vs. Sault Ste. Marie
Reach Sports Editor Drew Kochanny at dkochanny@petoskeynews.com and follow him on X @DrewKochanny and Instagram @drewkochanny
This article originally appeared on The Petoskey News-Review: Boyne City football fills 2026 schedule with challenges, state powers
Reporting by Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review | USA TODAY Network
