Sports · The Straits
Petoskey shuts out Alpena 35-0, one week before its Big North showdown with Marquette
ALPENA, Mich. — Petoskey could keep its Big North Conference title hopes on track Friday night, Oct. 9, at Alpena, where the Northmen faced a Wildcats team still looking for its first league win.
Petoskey is 4-2 overall and 3-1 in the conference, according to its MaxPreps schedule. Both losses were close: 20-17 to Coopersville on Sept. 11 and 22-20 at Cadillac on Sept. 25. The Northmen have scored 200 points and allowed 79.
Alpena is 1-5 and 0-4 in the league. The Wildcats won their opener 27-8 at Boyne City on Aug. 28 and have lost five in a row since, including a 21-18 loss to Powers Catholic on Sept. 25 and a 34-21 loss to Marquette last week.
Petoskey beat Gaylord 42-21 last Friday. In its weekly review, MHSAA.com wrote that the win left the Northmen in control of their own destiny, with a chance to play Marquette in Week 8 for a share of the title, or more if Marquette lost to Gaylord in Week 7. Cadillac is tied with Petoskey for second place.
That meeting with Marquette is set for Oct. 16 in Petoskey. The Northmen close the regular season at Clare on Oct. 23.
Alpena plays at Sault Area on Oct. 16 and hosts Ogemaw Heights on Oct. 23.
Updated Oct. 12, 2026: Petoskey shut out Alpena 35-0, MaxPreps results show. The Northmen are 5-2 and 4-1 in the Big North and host Marquette on Oct. 16; Alpena is 1-6 and 0-5. Records above are as of the week of the game.
Updated Oct. 13, 2026: The headline and summary were changed to report the result of the game this story previewed.
Sources:
MaxPreps, Petoskey Northmen football schedule, 2026, https://www.maxpreps.com/mi/petoskey/petoskey-northmen/football/schedule/
MaxPreps, Alpena Wildcats football schedule, 2026, https://www.maxpreps.com/mi/alpena/alpena-wildcats/football/schedule/
MHSAA.com, “1st & Goal: 2026 Week 6 Review,” Oct. 5, 2026, https://www.mhsaa.com/sports/football/stories/1st-goal-2026-week-6-review
Photo: Michael Barera, “North Lamar vs. Commerce football 2015 13 (Commerce on offense),” Aug. 28, 2015, Wikimedia Commons, CC BY-SA 4.0 (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/), cropped and color-corrected; derivative under the same ShareAlike license, https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:North_Lamar_vs._Commerce_football_2015_13_(Commerce_on_offense).jpg
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