Gaylord’s Ty Bensinger intercepts a pass during the MHSFCA East vs. East game.

SOUTHFIELD – It’s been a while since we’ve seen a high school football game. Sitting here at the end of June, we are closer to the start of the 2024 high school football season than we are to the end of the 2023 season.

Still, this past weekend was an opportunity for 70 of the top graduating seniors to dress up as high school football players once again as the Michigan High School Football Coaches Association (MHSFCA) hosted its annual East vs. . at Lawrence Tech University. And after a historic season here at Gaylord, one of their stars received an invite to the game and had the opportunity to put on the Blue Devil helmet for the last time.

GHS all-state defensive back and Northwood signee Ty Bensigner participated in the game, intercepting a pass in the second half of a 13-12 victory for his West All-Stars team.

Bensinger knows opposing defenders well, leading a staunch Gaylord defense with four interceptions in 2023. Still, there may not have been any easier than the one he had in Saturday’s game; Leaning back in his safety position, Bensinger barely had to move when a ball thrown for the boundary landed right in his lap.

“I was like, ‘Please don’t drop that, please don’t drop that thing,’” Bensinger said. “It hit me in the chest, I got to the sideline. I saw a big guy and I went out (of bounds). It was cute.”

He also recorded a couple of tackles and was on the field during the West’s final stand, thwarting the East’s two-point conversion attempt with less than a minute remaining and sealing the one-point victory.

It was a performance reminiscent of many Friday nights at Gaylord last season, with Bensinger making game-winning plays for a winning team; Along with his team-high four interceptions, he also had 70 tackles on defense while leading Gaylord’s run-heavy offense with 1,122 yards while scoring 10 touchdowns for a Gaylord team that went 9-0, won the Big North Conference and the second of the district title program.

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For Bensinger, participating in an all-star game like this, meeting and training with some elite soccer players during some of the hottest days of the summer, was a lasting experience that he will carry with him as he advances to the next level.

“Oh man, it was so fun,” Bensinger said. “Great group of guys. It was a lot of fun getting around them for just three days. I mean, we went through hell together. 100 degrees in this field and we were here for six hours yesterday, four hours the day before. It was good, it was good to be around this group of guys. It was super fun playing with them.”

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 in The Petoskey News-Review: Gaylord’s Ty Bensinger intercepts a pass during the MHSFCA All-Star Game