MAPLE CITY— There was once a time when the East Jordan football program had a very different hurdle to overcome season after season.
The Red Devils went 17 straight years without a playoff trip from 2004 to 2019. That hurdle has since been removed, with five straight trips to the postseason earned.
The challenge now? Getting beyond the district championship round. Unfortunately, it’s a goal that’ll carry over into the 2026 season.
On Friday, Nov. 7 in Glen Lake, East Jordan had another crack at a Division 8 district title, though came up short in a 28-14 final.
It was the Red Devils’ third district championship game loss of the last four seasons, all to different opponents.
“These last two years I think we’ve played really good teams and just came up a little short,” East Jordan coach Adam Grybauskas said. “It was kind of the same story tonight. They made a couple more plays than we did and that’s the difference in the game.”
While only a handful of seasons ago East Jordan teams likely couldn’t envision a time when they’re regularly competing for district titles, the feeling of losing them is growing old.
Still, Grybauskas, now four years completed coaching the program, leans on the good things.
“When you look at, even the year before me, making the playoffs the last five years, we have won a playoff game in three of the last four,” he said. “High school sports, a lot of it is about who makes a few extra big plays and (Glen Lake) did tonight.”
It closes a 7-4 season for EJ, while Glen Lake (9-1) will welcome in Bark-River Harris (9-1) for a Division 8 regional matchup next week.
Bark-River Harris earned a 41-20 win over Iron Mountain (6-4) in their district final Friday night.
Against the Lakers, East Jordan’s run defense and defensive line play from Griffin Boyer, Thomas Mayhew and Wyatt Dionne in-particular, kept the Laker run game in check throughout the night.
“Really since being 3-3 midyear, our defense has really picked it up,” Grybauskas said. “Our defensive coaches and coaches have really bought into that side and we’ve played really consistent defensively over the last third of the season and playoffs.”
Though, with EJ unable to sustain many drives on offense, the Red Devil defense spent most of the night on the field and eventually became gassed, leading to plays made by the Lakers through the air.
Glen Lake scored on a 72-yard pass from quarterback Parker Robinson to Breckin Nerg, then later converted a 3rd and 31 that set up Fleeter Middleton’s second touchdown of the second half.
Glen Lake also scored on an 82-yard kickoff by Sam Dykstra following EJ’s first score.
East Jordan’s offense struggled throughout the night to move the ball consistently, though plays were made in other ways.
The Red Devils opened the scoring on an interception returned for a score by Brady Wilson that put them up 7-0, then EJ took advantage of a bad Glen Lake snap on a punt, which set up quarterback William Webb on a short touchdown run and gave EJ a 14-7 lead.
East Jordan later opened the second half with an onside kick and recovered, though nothing came out of it.
A total of eight seniors will depart the EJ program, with players like Max Beal, Trace Wynkoop, Boyer and Mayhew tough to replace within the lineup.
“We talked to these seniors when they came up on my first playoff team and with the three wins, they’ve been a part of more playoff wins and playoff games than any group ever in East Jordan history,” Grybauskas said.
Led by Webb, however, the athletes remain to make another run at a district championship ahead. It’ll be a challenge to overcome, but East Jordan’s been a program that’s proved capable of doing so before.
“Obviously you want to get over the hump and make the next move, but when you look at the history, we’ve done a good job of doing some good things,” Grybauskas added. “These kids have done a great job changing the culture of the program.”
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: East Jordan hits district title wall again, though seniors go out having changed a program
Reporting by Drew Kochanny, The Petoskey News-Review / The Petoskey News-Review
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
