Iron Mountain defender Oskar Kangas (0) punches the ball loose from Ishpeming running back Preston Gauthier (37) during the MHSAA Division 8 playoff contest at Mountaineer Stadium on Friday night. The Mountaineers recovered the loose ball and went on to beat the Hematites 42-6. (Terry Raiche photo)

IRON MOUNTAIN — When Iron Mountain and Ishpeming played late in the regular season, the Hematites scored first and played competitively before the third-ranked Mountaineers pulled away to a 20-point win.

The rematch was played Friday night in the first-round of the MHSAA Division 8 playoffs and the flow of this game was much different. Iron Mountain took less than three minutes to score its first touchdown and built a 35-0 lead by the halftime break before posting a 42-6 triumph over the Hematites at Mountaineer Stadium.

With the victory, the Mountaineers, who’ve won nine straight, advance to host Bark River-Harris in the district final on Friday, Nov. 4. The Broncos (8-2) rolled over St. Ignace 44-20 to advance to the final.

In the regular-season matchup, Iron Mountain tallied a 45-8 win Sept. 23.

Against Ishpeming, senior quarterback Joe Colavecchi went 6-for-6 for 243 yards and four touchdowns, two of which went to his cousin Matthew Colavecchi and one each to Luke Wolfe and Oskar Kangas.

Iron Mountain quarterback Joe Colavecchi (2) gets some added protection from Bradon Farragh (20) as he launches a throw to a teammate in the flat for a nice gain during Friday night’s playoff win over Ishpeming at Mountaineer Stadium. (Terry Raiche photo)

“We had a good night,” IM coach Robin Marttila said. “We had some explosive plays on offense. We were able to get some quick scores early in the first half to get a little breathing room.”

After holding Ishpeming (4-6) to three-and-out on the opening drive of the game, the Mountaineers took just four plays to jump on top. The first Colavecchi connection came on Iron Mountain’s third play, advancing the ball to the Ishpeming 5-yard line after a 29-yard pass on the right sideline.

Senior Bradon Farragh ran in from there and kicked the extra point to give IM a quick lead.

Six minutes later, Joe hit Matthew again on the same play, this time for a 20-yard touchdown.

Matthew later hauled in a 71-yard touchdown, finishing with three receptions for 120 yards.

A pair of Ishpeming defenders, Grady Gauthier (21) and Tramon Gauthier (12), move in to tackle Mountaineer Matthew Colavecchi (4) during the MHSAA playoff clash between the two rivals Friday in Iron Mountain. (Terry Raiche photo)

“We had a good design, we flooded the one side and it worked out,” Matthew Colavecchi said of the first two connections.

“Ishpeming was selling out on the run,” Marttila added. “They wanted to keep us inside to contain us.”

On the other sideline, Ishpeming coach Cody Kugler said his team simply started a bit slow.

“It took us a while to get our feet underneath us,” he said. “Once we did, I thought we fought hard, just a couple of mistakes in the pass game.”

Iron Mountain’s next dynamic pass play came about 2 1/2 minutes into the second quarter. Joe Colavecchi connected with junior Luke Wolfe for a 71-yard score to lift the Mountaineers to a three-touchdown lead.

The Collavecchis hooked up on a 71-yard score with 6:21 left in the second quarter to increase Iron Mountain’s lead to 28-0. The Mountaineers (9-1) finished off the first-half scoring when Farragh ran in from the 4-yard line for his second touchdown of the half.

“We’ve been pretty balanced all year long with the run-pass, so we’re happy with that,” Marttila said. “We want to continue to do that.”

Meanwhile, the Iron Mountain defense was excellent. The Hematites were held off the scoreboard until 2:39 to play in the game when junior running back Brayden Batiste scored on a 10-yard run.

“We played well defensively,” Marttila said. “We had 10 guys on defense that had at least two tackles, so everybody was doing their job playing hard and getting to the football.”

“When we played them last, we struggled with their outside game,” cornerback Matthew Colavecchi said. “So, we had to do better with our corners working it.”

Afterward, Kugler talked about his eight-player senior class.

“I have coached these seniors since they were freshman on the JV team,” he said. “I’m very happy for these seniors, what they’ve accomplished to bring Hematite football back into the playoffs.”

On the other hand, the Mountaineers look forward to their next playoff encounter.

“We played Bark River-Harris such a long time and they’ve changed as a football team,” Marttila said. “At this stage in the game, kids have to block and tackle. Most teams are going to play hard because they’re motivated. It’s win or go home.”