WATCH: Gaylord coach DJ Szymoniak addresses the team after a 19-15 win
Gaylord head coach DJ Szymoniak talks with his team after they pulled off a 19-15 victory in the final moments of a matchup with Escanaba.
ALPENA ― Late last fall, Gaylord High School parted ways with one of its most successful coaches in the history of the football program, DJ Szymoniak. Now, the former GHS head coach has found a new home, one that will keep him nice and familiar with his former program.
Alpena High School athletic director Ben Henry announced the hiring of Szymoniak as the Wildcats new football coach, giving the former Blue Devils head man a chance to lead one of their Big North Conference rivals next season.
“Being the new leader of the Alpena football program is not about just one person; it never will be,” Szymoniak said in a statement. “Being a leader of this program on this journey to be successful is going to take others and we are going to have to do this as a team. I am honored to be your Alpena High School head football coach.”
Szymoniak finished his tenure with GHS as the fourth-winningest head coach in program history, amassing a 22-18 record from 2021 to 2024. He helped lead Gaylord to one of the program’s most successful seasons in 2023 as the Blue Devils went 11-1, winning the first conference title in 20 years while winning just its second-ever district championship. Gaylord decided not to renew his contract after the 2024 season, a year where Gaylord went 3-6.
Alpena, meanwhile, let go of its former head coach Matt Simion on April 11 after an 0-9 season in 2024.
Szymoniak will have a big job on his hands. He is the ninth…
Source link : https://www.petoskeynews.com/story/sports/high-school/football/2025/04/26/former-gaylord-football-coach-dj-szymoniak-alpenas-new-head-coach/81942432007/
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Publish date : 2025-04-26 08:01:00
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