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Hematites looking to start another state title run Saturday

It’s November, which means the fall colors have come and gone, our clocks get set back an hour, and the Ishpeming Hematites are in the process of working their way back to Ford Field.

At 1 p.m. Saturday, the Hematites (11-0) are set to go toe-to-toe with another undefeated juggernaut in the Breckenridge Huskies (11-0) in the MHSAA Division 8 Football Regional Championship at the Ishpeming Playgrounds.

“They (the Huskies) have great athletes and great speed and they’re big,” Ishpeming head coach Jeff Olson told the Journal. “Two of their best skill players (Hunter Collins and Lucas Ebright) were on their state championship relay team so they’re fast. Their quarterback (Carter Staley) runs the ball extremely well and they run a veer offense where he’s reading the defense whether to give it to the fullback or take it himself. He’s elusive and he’s got some tall receivers. They’re offensive and defensive lines are big, so they’re an imposing team. We’ve been in this position before and we’ve played great teams before. So we’re preparing to stop what they like to do.”

Overall, Olson says the Hematites are feeling good heading into their showdown with the Huskies, but that they know that things can go wrong quickly and they’re preparing for that.

“I think the confidence is there because we’ve been playing well, but we’re also wary of what could happen and how we can shoot ourselves in the foot,” he said. “We’re making sure that we’re doing things right all the time whether that’s technique-wise or handling adversity. These kids know things can snowball against us in a hurry, so we’re trying to cover all our bases. But they’re very coachable and it’s a great group of kids to coach every day.”

With a high of 24 degrees expected for Saturday, the Huskies will get a proper dose of Upper Peninsula playoff football very quickly. We urge our readers to go out and cheer on the Hematites on Saturday, and support them in their goal of reaching Ford Field. Go Blue!

Admission for all is $6 and no passes will be accepted.

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