Sault High Blue Devils took the Petoskey Northmen on a smooth sailing ride to defeat this homecoming, shutting them down in a 21-0 victory.
"I was pleased with our performance as a team," Blue Devils Coach Scott Menard said. "We established our running game with Ryver Ryckeghem and Cale Bell, who both rushed for over 100 yards in the game. Our defense was excellent, controlling the line of scrimmage and doing a great job of shutting down their passing game. Sebastian Compton had two huge interceptions that helped keep Petoskey from scoring."
Under Fridays night lights sparkled the crowns of 2022/23 Sault high royalty – King Adam Horrigan and Queen Kadince Suggitt. Horrigan (#70) jumped the second he heard his girlfriend's name over the loud speaker. The young lovers embraced with big hugs and little kisses before posing with smiling friends and family. That was one memorable way for a high school couple to celebrate senior year and ring in Sweetest Day.
Sault high can be remembered in 100 yearbooks, dating back to Nov. 4, 1922 when Petoskey claimed victory after a much rougher voyage on its home field. As written in Sault high's 1923 yearbook, "The Sault tried hard, in spite of the uneven, sandy field, but fell short of victory, though we played a great defensive game. When the score was called, the ball was on Petoskey's third yard line with the 20-14 score against us."
That was just a few short years before Sault high received its forever sports name. Contrary to popular belief, the Blue Devils name is not derived from World War I and World War II United States Army 88th Infantry Division – "Fighting Blue Devils."
Sault high records state the following:
"In the beginning, Sault High and their athletic department (all male of course) were known simply as the S-Men. When the football team of 1913 went to the state championship, the headlines read, 'S-Men Go For State Crown.' Area newspapers – especially those from Marquette or Escanaba – quite often referred to the team as the Lock City team or the Falls City team, much as they referred to Marquette as the Queen City and Newberry as the Celery City. By the late 1920’s, nicknames were especially in vogue, and Sault High began searching for a nickname.
Herman T. Crane was then the football and basketball coach, athletic director, and a graduate of Purdue University. Some people wanted to honor Mr. Crane by having the new name be the Boilermakers, but the Sault Ste. Marie Boilermakers somehow did not make anyone feel patriotic. Other names such as the Lockers did not make a hit either.
In the fall of 1929, a June 1929 Sault High graduate named Jim Ripley was working at the sports desk of the newspaper. For whatever reason, the football team that year had identical scores with Duke, and ended the season with an identical record. Ripley started calling the Sault team the “Little Blue Devils” and kept it up through the basketball season. By 1930, the name had stuck and the S-Men were forgotten with the Soo Devils taking the forefront. Of course the name Soo was dropped in favor of the school color Blue and thus the Blue Devils came around as the semi-official nickname of the team starting with the 1930 season.
It is not known if any official action was ever taken, whether the Board of Education ever adopted the nickname officially, or even if the High School officially adopted it like they did with Keynote or Northern Light. The name and finally the logo (although many times changed) has been around since."
Known beyond the shadow of a doubt, Sault High Blue Devils have celebrated homecoming with pride from the beginning.
This homecoming week, 4-H writing club journalist from the junior high school took pictures and conducted interviews to tell this year's pride week story through their own eyes.
Fifth grade student Olivia Nyboer and sixth grade student Autumn Proulx worked on their photography skills. Carter Tuhro of the eighth grade conducted his first Q&A interview with fellow-student Vinnie Spencer on Team Day. On Team Day students wore the colors of their favorite college and professional teams to show school spirit.
Tuhro took the opportunity to tell everyone why Notre Dame meant so much to Spencer:
Q: What team are you supporting by wearing this shirt?
A: Notre Dame
Q: Why are you supporting this team?
A: Because my aunt is the official scorekeeper for Notre Dame basketball.
Q: Do you often wear clothing to support this team?
A: Yes.
Q: Do you have plans to go to this college?
A: Yes.
Q: Are you going to the homecoming game?
A: Respondent: No.
Q: Why is that?
A: Because I’m going to Notre Dame for a football game.
Although Spencer may have had prior obligations, the bleachers were jam-packed at the Sault High Blue Devils football field last night. Students and fans cheered for blocks, and fireworks lit up northern skies.
