GAYLORD, MI - Alpena got a late goal from Craig Tagliareni but could not find the equalizer as Gaylord earned their school's first-ever district championship in their 2-1 win over the Wildcats at Gaylord Community Field on Saturday.  The Wildcats and Blue Devils played a tight defensive battle for the majority of the 1st Half as they both struggled to find offensive opportunities.  Gaylord's Jack Holscher was awarded a penalty kick in the 20th minute after a handball was called in the box.  Holscher blasted the ball to his right as Wenton Harrison dove to his right to give Gaylord the 1-0 lead.  The Blue Devils held the one-goal lead into the halftime locker room and into the 2nd half.  Gaylord's Ian Busch found a loose ball in front of the Alpena net and beat Harrison to give the Blue Devils a 2-0 lead with 24:00 to go.  Alpena appeared to get on the board with less then 6 minutes to play but the goal was waved off due to the Gaylord goalkeeper being obstructed on the corner kick. Tagliareni was able to finally get the ball into the Blue Devil net with 4:57 to play.  Alpena pushed the play in the final minutes attempting to find the equalizer but could not crack the net as Gaylord escaped with the win.

Alpena finishes the season 17-5-2, which is a new school record for wins in a season.  Gaylord advances to play Grand Rapids Forest Hills Northern (19-0-1) in the Regional round at Cedar Springs on Wednesday.