GAYLORD — It took seven weeks for Gaylord St. Mary football to get punched in the face.
After outscoring their first five opponents 306-0, the Snowbirds got a scare from Copper Island Academy in Week 7, barely squeaking out a 15-8 victory. It was a wake-up call for a GSM team with high expectations, one that couldn't come soon enough with its biggest tests coming in Weeks 8 and 9.
Facing a state title contender and the Bridge Alliance-Straits champion in Pickford in Week 8, the Snowbirds certainly woke up.
GSM (8-0, 6-0 Bridge Alliance-Valley) put together its best complete game of the season against Pickford (6-2, 5-0 Bridge Alliance-Straits), earning its sixth shutout in seven games with a statement 42-0 victory over the Panthers.
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"Last week was a great wake-up call for us. A very solid Copper Island Academy put things back into perspective for us," coach Kevin O'Connell said. "We had a great week of preparation. Unselfish play by our scout team. We did all the shifts and motions all week long, anticipating that stuff. We played really physical, and I thought we were really well prepared on both sides of the ball."
Here are the key takeaways from a statement victory:
GSM defense impresses against title contender
Outside of one drive this season, the Gaylord St. Mary defense has played nearly perfect through eight games.
Gaylord St. Mary has wreaked havoc on nearly every team it's faced, shutting out six of its seven opponents heading into Friday night's matchup with Pickford. Still, even the biggest of Snowbirds fans would've had a hard time predicting a shutout against one of the top offenses in 8-player football; coach O'Connell was having trouble believing it, even after the game.
"Can you imagine shutting out Pickford?" coach O'Connell said. "I think it's just the attention to detail. Coach Wilt with the defensive line, and we position group and we hammer out technique, technique, technique. It's not really scheme, we just play tough."
Not only did GSM shut out Pickford, but the Panthers never had the ball in a goal-to-go scenario inside the 10-yard line. St. Mary forced five turnovers on downs, three punts and intercepted a pass throughout the night, saving its most dominant performance for the toughest team on the schedule to date.
Senior Charlie Cameron was a difference-maker on the defensive line, blowing up play after play in the Pickford backfield.
"At practice all week, we've been preparing for this," Cameron said. "There's just no better feeling than all the work you put in, just coming out and showing up on a night like tonight."
Special teams adds special touch
While St. Mary's defense has been spectacular this season, the offense may be even better, with a litany of talented skill-position players to utilize in different ways. Quarterback Nathan O'Connell shined, scoring two rushing touchdowns and two passing touchdowns in what may have been his best game of the season.
Even still, the Snowbirds' special teams might have been their best unit on Friday.
Leading 14-0, junior Joe Jacobson took the second-half kickoff to the house for a momentum-building touchdown. Then, after another Pickford drive stalled, junior Cal Royce fielded a punt, broke a tackle and broke free for another TD, the second straight special teams score in a pull-away third quarter.
It's the type of performance in all three phases that will put the rest of the state on notice, showing that not only can GSM play with anyone, but the Snowbirds can also dominate any game if they play their best in all three phases.
Yearly Week 9 date with Inland Lakes up next
GSM and Inland Lakes won't be playing for a league title in Week 9 this season. Some of the names that have defined this matchup in years past, like Aidan Fenstermaker, Daniel Jacobson and Andre Bradford, have graduated.
The players and stakes may have changed, but nothing has changed about how St. Mary is approaching its rivalry game with the Bulldogs in Week 9.
"We're going to dial it back in on Monday, we'll be focused and ready to go," coach O'Connell said. "I-Lakes is a very physical, very similar ball club to what we played tonight."
The GSM vs. Inland Lakes game had decided the last four Ski Valley Conference championships, with the Bulldogs dominating the matchup with the Snowbirds ever since they moved to 8-player football. This season, GSM should be the favorite; to O'Connell and his staff, that won't matter much.
"The difficulty for us is, how do we respond after a big game? This is where 15-year-old brains go score shopping. They go well, we put 42 on them, and they did that," O'Connell said. "We're going to dial it back in on Monday, we'll be focused and ready to go. I-Lakes is a very physical, very similar ball club."
GSM hasn't beaten Inland Lakes since 2018, the Snowbirds' last season in 11-player football. While a win against Pickford has the rest of the state thinking of GSM's state title chances, GSM is focused on one final regular season game.
"It's no brush-over game. They are a good opponent," Cameron said. "We haven't beat them in such a long time, and we really want this one."
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: How Gaylord St. Mary logged a statement victory over Pickford