IRON MOUNTAIN – Being a teenager can be difficult, especially when something beyond a person’s control happens continuously. The Iron Mountain varsity football team has been on the field for a game just once this fall.

The Mountaineers last played Sept. 25, defeating Bark River-Harris 41-6 at Mountaineer Stadium. The team officially has a 6-1 record, according to the MHSAA. The other five wins are forfeit wins, beginning with their opening game of the season at Westwood on Sept. 18 and including Saturday’s first round playoff matchup versus Rogers City.

In fact, the team’s lone loss on the season was a forfeit to Manistique the last week of the regular season.

Without putting too much emphasis on it, the Mountaineers likely would have cruised to a victory in that matchup, had they played.

On Tuesday, I attended the Mountaineers’ practice as they prepared for their first game in 42 days. A second round Division 8 playoff game against long-time Mid-Peninsula Conference foe Gwinn.

My expectations of what I would see was completely different than what I did see. I expected to see a team, a group of 15- to 18-year-olds, tired of the same-old-same-old, which has been practicing four to five days a week for the last month, without playing a single game.

I also expected to see head coach Robin Marttila and his group of assistant coaches having somewhat of a hard time keeping the attention of the players, for the same reasons, same-old-same old. On that note, how could Marttila and his staff not somewhat feel the same way about what they have endured this season?

What I saw in the players and coaches was determination. Every player going through the walk through with as much enthusiasm as Marttila and his staff had in instructing the players. Additionally I saw the seniors encouraging not only one another, but the younger players for doing their assigned jobs correctly.

As the team ended practice, something was inadvertently brought to my attention during a conversation with one of the Mountaineer assistant coaches.

The group of young men I was observing had become a family, the type that has grown closer as they have faced the adversity of disappointment. The disappointment of not playing a game, week after week, since late September.

In talking with seniors Bryce Pietrantonio, Caleb Evosevich-Hynes and quarterback Eli Lofholm, I found out that the team’s “together” type attitude has kept things positive through the last few weeks.

“Outside of football, we stay together. We try to do as many things as we can together,” Pietrantonio said.

“We keep in contact with one another too, when we’re not with each other” said Evosevich-Hynes.

Lofholm added, “Having as good of a relationship with each other off the field as on the field, is just as important.”

Keeping themselves safe and healthy during the current coronavirus pandemic has been something the team has made it a point to do. “We try to only stay around each other outside of practice and school,” Pietrantonio said.

“We know what we are doing is for each other, to keep our team focused and ready,” Evosevich-Hynes added.

“The whole team has done a pretty good job of only doing things with our group of kids and teammates, which is good,” Lofholm said.

In the last couple weeks, the Mountaineers’ forfeits have come somewhat at the “11th hour.” Two days prior to game day, Rogers City forfeited. On Oct. 16, Iron Mountain found out at 3 p.m. after school on Friday that L’Anse had forfeited, a mere three hours before kickoff.

“It’s been hard having games get canceled, and get canceled, but we have to stick together,” Evosevich-Hynes said.

“It’s past the point of taking its toll on us — it almost seems normal,” Lofholm said. “But we have to stay ready and focused for when we can play next.”

This group of young men certainly have themselves ready for whenever their next game will be. Are they the only team in our area to have ever faced adversity that they haven’t been able to control? Of course they aren’t.

For this particular group of young men, nobody can say except them — in what has been a six-game season for some Michigan football teams — they have had their season marred by six forfeits in seven weeks.

Friday night probably can’t come soon enough for the Mountaineers football team, its fans and family members.