IRON MOUNTAIN – Iron Mountain’s quest for a MHSAA football title is set to resume Saturday, Jan. 9.

The Mountaineers (8-1) take on Johannesburg-Lewiston (9-0) at the Superior Dome in Marquette in a Division 8 regional final at 4 p.m. central time.

All previous safety protocols remain in place, and no spectators will be allowed.

After three rounds of the state tournament concluded on Nov. 14 with district championships, the high school football season was suspended.

On Dec. 18, the MHSAA announced on Dec. 18 that football practices could resume as early as Dec. 21 due to the MDHHS’s rapid testing program but that was put on hold a day later when the MDHHS reiterated that proper training procedures must be put in place before practices could resume.

Each participating football team, along with its coaching staff and personnel will be tested by school officials starting on Dec. 30. The BinaxNOW antigen tests provided by the MDHHS involves a nasal swab that is then collected and added to a test strip and sample card and provides results within 15 minutes of testing.

If all players, coaches and personnel test negative through the first round of testing, they may proceed with full-contact practices as early as Dec. 31.

The MHSAA had originally planned to restart the high school football state tournaments on Jan. 2 but were forced to push back those dates a week following the testing protocols put in place by the MDHHS.

The updated schedule has the 11-player regional finals and 8-player semifinals slated for Saturday, Jan. 9 with the team with more playoff points hosting the contest. The 8-player finals and 11-player semifinals are scheduled for Saturday, Jan. 16 with the 11-player finals scheduled for Jan. 22-23.