Evart football to make trek to Iron Mountain

EVART—It’s been a long road for Evart football this season, and that road will take them to Iron Mountain in the central Upper Peninsula this Saturday.
The Evart Wildcats are set to make a seven-hour drive to Iron Mountain as they take on the Mountaineers on Saturday. Evart took the district title for the first time in school history with a 35-7 win over East Jordan last Friday.
“Our kids played really tough, especially for the elements. It was exciting to see them hit one of our goals for the year,” Pat Craven said.
Evart’s balanced offense is set to battle one of the toughest defenses in the state when the Wildcats travel to Iron Mountain, which is allowing 6.9 points per game. The Wildcats will be relying on the arm of Preston Wallace, who has 32 passing touchdowns on the year and Cole Hopkins, who has 1,247 rushing yards and 18 touchdowns.
“Iron Mountain looks to be like a team you would expect out of the U.P. They are physical and like to run the football. They also have some really talented backs and receivers. We are excited for the opportunity to play such an opponent.” Craven said. “Our defense will need to find ways to shut down their running game and force some punts. Offensively, if we focus on our own work, we can continue to score.”
Iron Mountain is the team that stands between the Wildcats and a spot in the state semi-final game. They sit at 10-1 on the season and scored the second most playoff points in Division 8. The Mountaineers boast of the fourth-ranked defense out of the 64 remaining schools in the playoffs.
“Evart is really good. Their offense has everything. The wide receivers are athletic, the running back is a load, and the quarterback is multi-dimensional,” Iron Mountain head coach Robin Marttila said. “They seem to have good size upfront as well. On defense they are sound. It will be a real challenge for us.”
With the game set to take place in Iron Mountain, Evart will begin travel on Friday morning and will practice the night before. Kickoff is set for noon Central Standard Time, or 1 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
“It’s all new for our kids so it will be important to be detailed and forthcoming so there aren’t any surprises.” Craven said. “We have a very detailed plan for travel and pre-game preparation.”