Add in a new varsity head coach in Kyle Johnson and the Mountaineers could be forgiven for feeling trepidation before kickoff.

But the uncertainty dissipated quickly when Iron Mountain junior quarterback Brayden Kassin connected with sophomore running back Ethan Davis for a 58-yard touchdown pass down the middle of the field on just the fourth play.

Then after the Gremlins fumbled the ensuing kickoff, Kassin found freshman running back Quinton Doty open for a 32-yard strike to put the Mountaineers up by two touchdowns on their way to a 41-22 victory.

The two touchdowns in the opening 2:18 of the game certainly calmed the nerves of IM coaches and players.

Iron Mountain quarterback Brayden Kassin (2) breaks through the line and scampers for a TD as Houghton's Keedin Roberts (76) tries defending.

Johnson, who was promoted from the junior varsity/varsity assistant position after Robin Marttila retired following the 2024 season, was asked if the game’s opening minutes had a calming effect.

“Oh absolutely,” he answered. “You always want to have a quick start. When you have a quick start, (the players) are a little bit more confident and you could see it in our guys.

“And kudos to the kids, they’re the ones who had the quick start. And that’s what you want as a coach, get the game in your favor and take it from there.”

Kassin, who came into the opener with two years of varsity experience playing in the offensive and defensive backfield, felt his less-experienced teammates grew in confidence during the first quarter, which ended with IM up 21-8.

“The younger kids did great,” said Kassin, who scored his team’s third TD on a 24-yard run with 6:40 remaining in the first period. “They did well in practice the first two weeks and got off to a good start today. They didn’t act like underclassmen. And after the early (scores), they calmed down, first-game jitters went away and from there on we were good.

“We had a good game on offense, moved the ball well. We’ve got guys that can make plays, get open and we’re off to a good start.”

For his part, Kassin was terrific. The 6-foot-2, 170-pounder completed 7 of 9 passes for 172 yards and three touchdowns. He also rushed for 92 yards on 11 attempts and two TDs.

“We try to put defenses in pickles and tonight it worked pretty well,” Johnson said of his team’s offensive approach of putting multiple players in certain defensive zones. “But you’ve got to give a lot of credit to the quarterback, keeping his feet moving and making plays on the run and the receivers moving and staying open.”

The Mountaineers complemented their passing attack with a balanced rushing attack featuring sophomore fullback Gavin Winters along with Doty. Winters, a 5-8, 200-pound bruiser, ran for 30 yards on 12 attempts with a touchdown, while Doty, a 5-7, 145-pound speedster, rushed for 36 yards on 10 carries.

Six-foot-six junior tight end Charles Baldridge added his name to the scoring sheet on a 25-yard pass from Kassin with 1:43 remaining in the third quarter to account for IM’s final touchdown.

After fumbling their first received kickoff, the Gremlins looked impressive on their opening drive when they moved the ball 60 yards in just five plays to get on the board on a 10-yard scoring scamper from senior Brayden Goudge.

But Iron Mountain tightened up its defense after that, at least until the fourth quarter when the Gremlins scored twice, one on a 7-yard run from Goudge and the other on a 15-yard run from junior reserve quarterback Alex Hebert.

Still, Johnson was not thrilled with his team’s rushing defense, which allowed 297 yards on 41 carries (7.2 yards per attempt).

“We’ve got to be better against the run, it’s plain and simple,” he said. “We’ve got to be tougher inside. We’ve got to work on that in practice, and we will. Just have to be tougher between the tackles.”

Junior defensive end Marcus Lindgren topped IM in solo tackles with five, while Kassin and Winters recorded four each. Junior Connor Pickett led in combined tackles with four solos and five assisted tackles.

Winters and Pickett also picked up a sack each.

Iron Mountain will host Bark River-Harris on Friday. The Broncos defeated Westwood 52-38 in their opener.