U.P. football teams have new radio homes

A couple of Upper Peninsula football teams have new radio homes and voices calling the play-by-play when Friday nights roll around this fall.

Westwood football will be on ESPN U.P. (93.3 FM & 970 AM). Ryan Mayer will call the Patriots football and basketball games for the 2014-15 school year. He is the host of the Sports Pen on ESPN U.P. Mayer has a solid background in play-by-play. He graduated from Hofstra in 2013, where he was a part of the radio program for four years. Mayer is excited for the football season to begin.

“The most exciting part to me is to have the chance to translate what I see, give my knowledge of the game, and do it in a way that is entertaining to people,” said Mayer. “It gives them the opportunity if they’re not able to get out to the stadium on a Friday night or travel down with the team to some of those others games, to get the chance to listen, hear, and see in their mind, the team and what they’re doing on the field,” added Mayer.

Gwinn football is headed to the airwaves this fall on WFXD (103.3FM). Casey Ford will be the voice of the Modeltowners. Ford has plenty of play-by-play experience dating back to his time calling women’s basketball games at the University of Michigan.

“I tell you it’s one of those itches that you have to scratch because one it’s something that once it gets in your blood, it never leaves and you always want to be the guy and be the voice,” said Ford. “You want to be the guy that people are talking about. Play–by–Play has been my love for a long time. I came from Ann Arbor to do play and I’m excited to be doing play–by–play with the Gwinn Modeltowners.”

Both teams start the season on Aug. 29. Gwinn begins the season against Gladstone, while Westwood travels to Stephenson to take on the Eagles.