Negaunee running back Broc Bonovetz runs around the right end against Iron Mountain on Thursday at Mountaineer Stadium. (Iron Mountain Daily News photo by Sean Chase)

IRON MOUNTAIN — When the Upper Peninsula Sportswriters and Sportscasters Association released its 11-player football poll earlier this week, the Iron Mountain varsity football team was ranked No. 5, one spot behind No. 4 ranked Negaunee.

“The kids talked about that, the kids know,” Mountaineers head coach Robin Marttila said. “We were motivated, I’ll just say that.”

On Thursday, Iron Mountain got to put the UPSSA rankings to the test as it welcomed Negaunee to Mountaineer Stadium.

“(We wanted to) come out with a little ‘piss and vinegar,'” senior quarterback Ian Marttila said when asked about the Mountaineers’ ranking. “Go out there, be tough, make plays and fight until the end.

“We knew it was going to be a dogfight. We weren’t going to beat them by 40 or 50 points. We just kept grinding it.”

Iron Mountain didn’t waste anytime, pulling ahead early and rolling to a 35-21 win over the Miners.

“We did come out of the locker room really fired up,” senior running back Alex Jayne said. “(On Wednesday), both the coaches said, ‘We weren’t even Game of the Week (on TV).’

“I think we were ranked below Negaunee. I think our goal was to come in here and show them what we’re made of, and get respect overall.”

Prior to the game, the Mountaineers honored seniors Ian Marttila, Alex Jayne, Oskar Kangas, Gerald Sampoll-Torres, Aiden Ellis, Michael Dove, Daniel Manier, Adam Krackenberger, Alex Haferkorn, Jake Powell, Bryce Davis, Gio Saldana and Evan Copley.

“We had a great night,” IM head coach Robin Marttila said. “It was senior night, it was special. We played a very good opponent and our kids made plays.

“Ian (Marttila) threw the ball well early. And then, we were able to run the ball very effectively late. We had great balance. One hundred sixty-two yards passing and 169 yards rushing. You need that good balance against Negaunee because they’re tough against the run.”

With the Miners looking to slow down Jayne in his rushing game, Iron Mountain came out throwing, and on its second play from scrimmage, Ian Marttila placed a perfect pass on the hands of Jayne.

“I saw a backer-corner come out on Alex (Jayne) and we practiced all week, zipping it in there and getting it over the top,” Ian Marttila said. “That’s what I did and he went up and made a play.”

He hauled it in while shaking off two Miners’ defenders and took it 48 yards for the score and a 6-0 lead.

“I put my hands up, and it was good coverage, but I give all credit to my quarterback,” Jayne said. “He couldn’t have made a better throw on that play. I caught it and took it to the house. It was a great play.”

After trading punts, Ian Marttila found his rhythm again, hitting a wide-open Ellis over the middle for a 43-yard TD. Brayden Kassin hit Kangas on a reverse pass for the 2-point conversion as the lead grew to 14.

The Mountaineers piled onto their lead in the second quarter. After stringing together a 10-play drive, Ian Marttila connected with Kangas for an 11-yard TD pass that made it 21-0.

Negaunee responded on its next drive when Broc Bonovetz scampered around the right end for a 23-yard TD.

However, Jayne punched in a four-yard TD run on the Mountaineers’ ensuing possession and IM took a 28-7 lead into halftime.

“My message at halftime was, ‘It’s 0-0,'” Coach Marttila said. “We didn’t cover the kickoffs very well, so we had to cover the kick.

“But (Negaunee) made a couple of plays, give them credit. Ty Jacobson had a couple fourth-down conversions.”

The Miners came out of the locker room swinging in the second half. They strung together five plays to drive down the field, and on the sixth, Bonovetz punched in a 3-yard TD. That cut the Iron Mountain lead to two scores, 28-14.

Neither team found the end zone again until Jayne powered through the Negaunee defense for a 2-yard TD, giving the Mountaineers a 35-14 lead. It was Jayne’s third TD of the night.

“I came into the year and I had high goals for myself, I just wanted to be the best player out there every night,” Jayne said. “It all starts up front, especially with my center Jake Powell because he gets the ball to the quarterback, and every other one of my linemen. It all starts with them.”

Jacobson connected with Aiden Steele on the next drive for a 12-yard TD pass, cutting the lead again down to 14.

Iron Mountain ran out the clock from there.

Jayne led the Mountaineers’s rushing attack with 104 yards on 21 carries. Ellis added 35 yards on eight carries while Ian Marttila carried the ball nine times for 30 yards.

Marttila also went 7 for 11 through the air for 159 yards and three TDs. Kangas paced all receivers with six catches for 70 yards and a score.

The Mountaineers ended their regular season slate at 9-0 as West PAC Iron Division champions, while Negaunee ends the regular season at 6-3, all three losses to top-5 teams in the U.P. — No. 1 Kingsford, No. 2 Menominee and No. 5 IM.

“It feels great beating a good, tough opponent like (Negaunee),” Ian Marttila said. “9-0 it’s a goal for everybody, but we’re not finished. The job’s not done yet.”

On Sunday, both teams will find out who their first playoff matchups are when “Selection Sunday” airs at 4:30 p.m. on FanDuel Sports Detroit Network, formerly Bally Sports Detroit.

Negaunee plays in Division 6 while the Mountaineers are in Division 8. With 32 teams in each division making the postseason, the MHSAA has the Miners ranked No. 15 in Division 6 based on playoff points entering this weekend, while IM is No. 3 in Division 8.

For other area teams in 11-player football, Marquette (6-2) is listed as No. 35 in Division 2, just outside the playoff field, while Westwood (3-5) is No. 44 in Division 6, Manistique (4-4) is just inside the playoffs at No. 31 in Division 8, Gwinn (2-6) is No. 44 in Division 8 and L’Anse (1-7) is No. 58 in Division 8.

In eight-player, Ishpeming (5-2) is No. 11, or inside the 16-team field, in Division 1, while Munising (6-2) is No. 17, just outside the field, in Division 1 and Newberry (1-7) is No. 30 in Division 2.