Iron Mountain senior Ian Marttila (6) rolls out to his right and loads up a pass at Mountaineer Stadium on Saturday against Beal City in the MHSAA Division 8 regional finals. (Terry Raiche photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — As the Beal City Aggies accepted their third MHSAA Division 8 regional football championship trophy in the last four years after defeating Iron Mountain 14-7 on Saturday afternoon at Mountaineer Stadium, a strong feeling of dejection permeated the players and coaches inside the Mountaineers locker room and among families, friends and fans just outside the doors.

Understandably so.

For the Mountaineers finally seemed to have Beal City on the ropes, a team that had knocked IM out of the playoffs in two of the previous three years.

After a scoreless first quarter and midway through the second, the Mountaineers made their move. On a fourth-and-three at the IM 45, the Aggie defense was whistled for an offside penalty. Iron Mountain then advanced the ball to the Beal City 39-yard line before IM quarterback Ian Marttila connected with running back Alex Jayne near the Mountaineer sideline for the game’s first score.

Then up 7-0 with 4:49 left before halftime, the Mountaineers forced a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and recovered on the BC 35-yard line.

The Aggies had bottled up the IM run game through 20 minutes, but at this crucial juncture, the Mountaineers’ offensive line began to open holes. Jayne led the way with rushes of seven, 14 and seven yards to advance the ball inside the BC 10 with about a minute left before halftime.

But by that point, the clock was harrowingly running down as IM, without a time out left, began to rush.

Two running plays by Jayne and another by Marttila moved the ball to the BC 2-yard line. But with the clock ticking under 10 seconds, the Mountaineers were unable to line up properly and Marttila’s final run went nowhere as the horn sounded.

And just like that, the Mountaineers’ visions of leading Beal City by two touchdowns at halftime evaporated and, as it turned out, so did their hopes of winning the regional and advancing to the D8 semifinals.

IM coach Robin Marttila shouldered the blame for the final sequence of the first half.

“We had the momentum there, but we didn’t get the ball in the endzone,” he said. “I didn’t manage it very well at all and we didn’t get the job done.

“In a one-score game, that’s huge. And you can blame me for that.”

Thing is, Marttila and his team were still up by seven and had held Beal City, a team which entered the game averaging 37 points per game, scoreless with just 64 yards of total offense.

But the aftereffects of the final sequence of the second quarter began to be felt on Beal City’s second drive of the third. The Aggies started on their own 18 after standout defensive back/running back Drew Block fought off IM tight end Oskar Kangas and picked off Ian Marttila’s lofted pass.

Six plays after the change of possession, BC sophomore quarterback Cuyler Smith hit junior running back Garrison Zuker with a 58-yard touchdown pass, and after Kyle Martin’s PAT, the game stood deadlocked with 6:49 left in the third quarter.

“They’ve always been a fast, physical team,” Coach Marttila said. “They put a lot of receivers out there that you have to guard and at the same time, they can run the ball.”

Which led to the Aggies’ second and winning touchdown. Beal City took over at its own 12 with 4:18 remaining in the third quarter after forcing an Iron Mountain punt.

Senior back Austin Small kickstarted the decisive drive with a 23-yard run. Five plays later, Block burst up the middle, past the blitzing Mountaineer linebackers and sprinted for a 55-yard TD run on a third and 11 play that eventually spelled the end of IM’s final four dreams.

“Give Beal City credit, they have good football players, too,” Coach Marttila said. “You’ve got to make plays when you get to the quarterfinal and we didn’t make enough plays.

“It’s not for lack of effort, it’s not for lack of preparation. It’s no one’s fault. I’m not throwing anyone under the bus. They just made that play and we didn’t.”

The Mountaineers, held to just 14 offensive plays in the second half, had one more shot at driving for the potential tying or leading score. The drive started promisingly when Ian Marttila passed to Jayne for a 21-yard gain down to the BC 40.

But the Aggies held from there and forced an incompletion on fourth and five to extinguish the drive.

Beal City then ran off the next 14 plays and never gave the Mountaineers (11-1) another chance.

The Aggies finished the game with 264 yards (unofficially), while Iron Mountain ended with 186.

Offensively for the Mountaineers, Ian Marttila completed 11 of 16 passes for 120 yards and one TD, while Jayne rushed for 56 yards on 18 carries to lead the IM rushing game.

Kangas topped the receiving corps with four catches for 48 yards, Brayden Kassin caught three passes for four yards, Aiden Ellis finished with one catch for eight yards and Jayne had the TD catch for 39 yards.

Defensively, senior Alex Haferkorn was the leading tackler with five solo tackles and four assisted. Jake Powell recorded six assisted tackles, while Evan Copley had four.

Adam Krackenberger recorded IM’s lone sack in the game.

“I’m happy with our kids, they played their tails off and they care,” Coach Marttila said. “I told them to walk off the field with their heads high and with their health and that I love them.”

When the horn sounded, it marked the end of IM’s undefeated 2024 season and spelled the close of the high school gridiron careers for starters Kangas, Jayne, Haferkorn, Ellis, Krackenberger, Powell, Copley, Ian Marttila, Daniel Manier and Bryce Davis and reserves Gio Saldana and Gerald Sampoll Torres.

With his son Ian among the group, Coach Marttila said he feels a special bond with this fall’s senior football players.

“I love all those kids,” the head coach said as he teared up. “I look forward to being in their lives and seeing them grow up and become men.”

Beal City (10-2) advances to the semifinal to meet Fowler (12-0) on Saturday, Nov. 23 at Ithaca High School. The other semifinal pits Decatur (11-1) against Riverview Gabriel Richard (10-1) on the same day at Jackson High School.

The winners will meet for the Division 8 championship at Ford Field.