Iron Mountain senior Oskar Kangas (0) tackles Manistique quarterback Mack Pugh (9) in the MHSAA Division 8 playoffs Friday at Mountaineer Stadium. (Terry Raiche photo)
IRON MOUNTAIN — The Iron Mountain football team’s matchup with Manistique on Friday night in the Division 8 Semifinal No. 113 was an oddity, historically speaking.
The UPSSA Division 1-3 third-ranked Mountaineers took the field on a crisp and cold evening at Mountaineer Stadium with the Emeralds as their opponent for the third time in the 2024 campaign. Unofficially, Iron Mountain has never faced the same team three times in one season.
While the matchup was unusual, the result was not. For the third time in a row, the Mountaineers soundly defeated Manistique, this time by a 49-12 count.
Alex Jayne scored four touchdowns and fellow senior running back Aiden Ellis added two more as IM (10-0) simply dominated Manistique’s significantly smaller defensive front.
“With us beating them twice in the regular season, we talked about (how) we didn’t want to take anything for granted,” IM coach Robin Marttila said, referring to his team’s 62-25 home victory over the Emeralds on Sept. 13 and its 42-21 road triumph on Oct. 18. “So we came out tonight and got the job done.”
The Mountaineers did so on both sides of the ball. On offense, Iron Mountain totaled 382 yards, including 250 rushing on 29 carries (8.6 yards per carry) and 131 yards passing on 8 of 11 attempts.
The Mountaineer offensive line of left tackle Alec Haferkorn, left guard Bryce Davis, center Jake Powell, right guard Daniel Manier, right tackle Adam Krackenberger and tight ends Oskar Kangas and Evan Copley dominated the game from the outset.
“They’re the heart and soul of our team, let’s not forget that,” Marttila said of his blocking group. “I don’t care if it’s the passing game or the running game, the guys up front have to get the job done.
“Those guys need to keep playing well for us to do some things.”
After a short Manistique punt with about seven minutes left in the first quarter, Jayne opened up the scoring with a 41-yard touchdown run on his team’s second possession.
The Emeralds (4-6) answered by driving to the IM 19-yard line before turning the ball over on downs. Iron Mountain wasted little time extending its lead on a 21-yard scamper by Aiden Ellis with 1:56 remaining in the opening period.
Ellis, who has become an indispensable part of the IM offense, finished the game with 86 yards on just six carries (14.3 yards per carry).
The senior put on 15 pounds over the summer and gives the Mountaineers another powerful and fast back to complement Jayne.
“He’s gotten a lot better as the year’s gone on,” Marttila said. “And we need him. We need him on both sides of the ball (Ellis also plays linebacker).”
“Last year after our season ended, I knew I really wanted to play a lot this year, so I went to a lot of weightlifting (sessions) this summer,” Ellis said. “And I feel faster.”
On the ensuing possession, the Emeralds took on early gamble by going for it on fourth-and-four at their own 26 yard line.
The attempted pass fell incomplete and the hosts took over.
Two plays later, Jayne showed his vision and quick feet by escaping potential tacklers in the middle of the Manistique defense to rush for his second TD of the evening.
Davis added the point after to put his team on top 21-0 with 11:06 left before halftime. Davis went on to finish 7 for 7 on extra points in the contest.
Ellis then recorded his second rushing touchdown on a 39-yard score at the 9:10 mark of the second stanza to help push his team’s lead to 28-0.
On both of Ellis’ TDs, he cut back to the left side and outran the Manistique defenders.
“We had a nice one-two punch with Alex Jayne and Aiden Ellis,” Marttila said.
“They’re both very capable of carrying the load and we want that balance between those two.”
Manistique cut into the IM lead with 4:10 left before intermission on a 1-yard plunge by junior quarterback Mack Push.
However, the Mountaineers canceled out that score on an 18-yard run by Jayne with 1:32 left in the second to give IM a 35-6 stranglehold at the break.
Jayne capped off IM’s 56-yard drive with a five-yarder on its opening march of the third quarter to increase the lead to 42-6.
On the final possession of the night by the Mountaineer first-team offense, quarterback Ian Marttila connected with Copley on a 25-yard scoring strike with under a minute left in the third to put IM up by 43.
Manistique tallied a consolidation TD with less than a minute to play on a 5-yard run by senior fullback Masin Tryan.
Both of the Emerald’s 2-point attempts failed in the game.
Next up for the Mountaineers is a shot at their third straight district championship, this time against East Jordan at Mountaineer Field on Saturday at noon.
The Red Devils (8-2) defeated Bark River-Harris 34-14 in their district semifinal to advance.
“We’ve got them at home, but we’ve got to play well to win,” coach Marttila said.