Iron Mountain vs. Ishpeming – Preview
Iron Mountain’s first play of the football season was an 83 yard touchdown pass from Tanner Huotari to Josh Tucker. That play was against the Ishpeming Hematites and it was the only score for the Mountaineers as they lost 14-7.
11 weeks later, these teams meet again and Iron Mountain is looking to flip the script this time around.
In that game, the Mountaineers were up 7-0 going into halftime but two TDs from Ozzy Corp got the win for the Hematites. And the team knows it was a missed opportunity for a big conference win.
“Well when we played them week one, it was a great high school football game. It came down to them making one or two more plays more than us. It was a great battle. It was a four-quarter war. We’re expecting the same thing this Friday night. I think we’re two evenly matched teams and it comes down to kids making plays on the field,” Martilla said.
“It was a good game. It was hard fought on both sides. They came out with a little more aggression than we did and got the W,” said Rock.
“I know we came out and we wanted it but they wanted it a little more and I think that’s changed. We got more chemistry than last time and I think we realize that this could be the last game of the season,” Michaud said.
It’s been nearly two and a half months since that match-up and Coach Marttila says a lot of things have changed about his team and how they will approach this big game.
“Well over the course of a season, you see them on film a lot and a lot of things change. I’m sure they’re going to have a few new wrinkles for us, as we will for them. So we just want to put our kids in the best position to make plays and we’re looking forward to a great opportunity and a great challenge at the same time,” Marttila said.
With so much on the line, the team knows that each play means a little bit more this time around.
The Hematites are undefeated this season and the Mountaineers have their game plan set to hand Ishpeming their first loss of the season.
The game will take place at the Ishpeming Playgrounds with kickoff set for 7 p.m.