​CHEBOYGAN — It’s a nice fall Wednesday at Mike Grisdale’s home.  The longtime Cheboygan WCBY sportscaster shares a friendly chat while ESPN displays on his television in an area of his house he calls the “man cave.”  It’s been a strange couple of months for Grisdale, who was supposed to be calling Cheboygan football on WCBY Radio during what would have been his 43rd season this fall.  MHSAA PLAYOFF POINTS: Playoff point standings for northern Michigan, UP programs entering Week 8STATE CROSS COUNTRY RANKINGS: State cross country rankings: Brighton on top, Holland teams still in frontUnfortunately, with the Chiefs cancelling their 2026 varsity campaign due to lack of players and concerns for student safety, Friday nights have been different for Grisdale, who has called some non-Cheboygan games.But really, nothing beats those fall nights at Western Avenue Field for Grisdale.  So, it’s been an adjusting period.  “We didn’t find out (that the season was being cancelled) until fall camp, so I was planning on doing it, but I always thought some of those early games were too early, and all of a sudden, here we are where you’ve got summer and you’ve got football,” Grisdale said. “In the first couple of weeks, I was busy with summer stuff, and it didn’t really affect me, but after Labor Day it’s like where am I supposed to be? What am I supposed to do?”  No football on Friday nights has been devastating for Grisdale and a passionate Cheboygan football community, which prides itself on football and treats those nights as something truly unique — which they are — whether the team is thriving or struggling.  But when you ask Grisdale, he’s just like everybody else.  Michigan Preps Newsletter: Michigan Sidelines | NewslettersHe’s crushed to see cancelation eat at the identity of a town that lives and breathes football.  “I just feel bad for the kids and the community because it’s been a tradition,” Grisdale said. “We don’t always have super successful seasons, but everybody enjoys following it, whether they go to the game or listen or read about it, and you’ve got the band and all the things that go with it. It’s a hard time knowing it really happened. “I don’t know how to explain it.” The idea of no football in Cheboygan is hard to fathom, but the scary part is it’s happening in other places in Michigan as well, and whether there’s a solution to solving the problem of lower numbers and interest remains to be seen.  Where it’s happening  While Cheboygan is a town that saw its varsity football program having to pull the plug on an 11-player football campaign, it’s also occurred at places like Beaverton, Richard Gull Lake, West Iron County, Roscommon and most recently White Pigeon, which transitioned from a varsity football schedule to a junior varsity slate for the remainder of the season after only suiting up 18 varsity players before ending its campaign.“This decision allow