Wykons QB Andrew Peterson looks downfield, as his linemen provide plenty of time to locate an open receiver. Peterson threw four TD passes against Ironwood.
IRON RIVER—Although West Iron’s football team entered its Sept. 14 game with a 1-2 record, the Wykons looked nothing like a 1-2 team against Ironwood.
 Everything went the Wykons’ way in front of the home fans: four long touchdown passes, a kickoff return for another TD and an easy 55-12 win.
 West Iron is now 2-2 overall and 1-1 in West Pac Conference play.

Lady Trojan players and coaches are all smiles after defeating Lake Linden-Hubbell in three sets Sept. 15 to win the championship of the Forest Park Invitational.
CRYSTAL FALLS—Coach Kim Bjork said she was looking forward to seeing Lake Linden’s volleyball team during the Forest Park Invitational Sept. 15.
 She and the Lady Trojans saw plenty of the Lakes. The teams opened the tourney by splitting their pool match. Much later in the day, they met again for the tourney title.

CRYSTAL FALLS—Forest Park’s football players hit the winds last Friday afternoon.
 Some went west to Bessemer, to see the new Gogebic Miners take down Lake Linden. Some went east to Bark River, where North Central, their opponent this Friday, won its third game of the season. And others went further south to Stephenson, where their Sept. 28 opponent, North Dickinson, won a high-scoring game against the Eagles.

IRON RIVER—In its only match last week, West Iron’s girls tennis team had to cope with a little rust as it visited Iron Mountain Sept. 11.
 IM won the match 7-1, with first singles Kylee Erickson getting the Wykons’ only win, 6-2, 6-2 over Laurie March.

Forest Park players jubilantly race off the field after the final horn of their upset win over Hurley Sept. 7. From left: Carlton Isaacson, Brett Hietala, Derek Aberly, Mac Phillips, Zach Painter and Steven Hallmann.
CRYSTAL FALLS—Crazy game, football.
 On a night when its offense was outgained by a 2.5 to 1 ratio, Forest Park’s defense made all the big plays in the second half to steal a 13-12 win over Hurley Sept. 7 at Dick Mettlach Field.
 “This was a game we didn’t have any business winning,” Coach Bill Santilli said after it was all over. “Our kids just fed off so much emotion and started believing.

IRON RIVER—Too many turnovers gave Iron Mountain several breaks they really didn’t need during their 39-0 win over West Iron at Nelson Field Sept. 7.
 The Wykons’ loss drops their record to 1-2 overall (0-1 in West Pac action).
 “Turnovers killed us again,” Coach Mike Berutti said later.
 Fumbleitis: “We fumbled once on their 20 yard line. We’re driving in, and we fumble. Another series, we start at our 35. Two plays, first down. Two plays, first down. Pick up 10 yards and we fumble after a 10-yard run.
 “You can’t recover from turnovers like that. And we’ve never been a fumbling-type team.” It’s especially puzzling because the Wykons are doing the same ball-protection drills they have for years.
 The fumbles, said the coach, don’t happen on handoffs. Most take place when the backs battle for extra yards—an opponent reaches in and pulls the ball loose.
 To stop that, they need to focus on protecting the ball with the other hand when they’re in traffic. “That’s something we have to get better at.”
 Brooks flows: IM didn’t need many breaks the way Paul Brooks ran. Brooks carried 17 times for 194 yards. His 54- and 1-yard TD runs gave the Mountaineers an early 13-0 lead. Then Taylor Huotari intercepted a pass and later scored on a 36-yard run. IM led 19-0 after the first quarter.
 In the second, QB Zach Jacobs’ 13-yard keeper got IM on the board again. Then the Wykons fumbled, Brooks recovered and later scored from 32 yards out. 33-0 at halftime.
 It didn’t have to be that way, Berutti said.
 “Three, four big plays. We had Brooks tied up at the line of scrimmage—nowhere to go. All of a sudden, he squirts out of there and goes 40 yards for a touchdown.”
 The Wykons’ problem, he said, is that they overpursued—so they weren’t in position to adjust when Brooks suddenly changed direction.
 “It shows the kids are hustling,” but by overpursuing, the Wykons weren’t filling the cutback lanes or taking proper angles to make the tackle.
 Gimme a break: IM started the running clock when Jacobs passed to James Christensen for a five-yard score late in the third quarter, making it 39-0. For the most part, though, Berutti said WIC’s defense played much better than the week before at L’Anse. “They kept playing hard right to the end.
 “We aren’t getting any kind of break right now, and it seems like everything that can go wrong is going wrong.” Example: Tyler Stafford apparently scored on a 39-yard run in the fourth quarter—but a holding penalty restored IM’s shutout.
 “Somewhere down the line,” said Berutti, “if we keep working hard, we’re going to get that break and get things turned around.”
 Numbers: Offense, WIC 174 yards (134r, 40p), IM, 361 (283r, 78p). First downs: WIC 8, IM 16.
 Rushing: Alec Schmelebeck, 6-55. IM: Paul Brooks, 17-194; Taylor Huotari, 5-54. Passing, receiving stats: NA.
 Defense: Tackles, Schmelebeck, 9t-4a; Chasz Jonet, 7t-2a; Ron Varney, 5t-1a; Cody Desjardins, 4t-3a. Sack: Brandon Clifford.
 Coming up: The Wykons host Ironwood on Sept. 14 at Nelson Field. The Red Devils (2-1, 1-0) ran past Houghton 27-15 on Sept. 7.
Mtnrs  19 14 6 0 -- 39
Wykons  0 0 0 0 -- 0

Heads up! Maria Stankewicz sets the ball for a teammate’s hit into the Mid Pen side during Forest Park’s match Sept. 4. From left are Mindy DeNell, Lexi Gussert and Michaela Steiro.
CRYSTAL FALLS—For the first two games here Sept. 4, Mid Peninsula’s volleyball team tried to play like Forest Park. Good luck with that!
 But then Forest Park started looking like Mid Pen. It made for some anxious moments before the Lady Trojans wrapped up a 3-0 win on scores of 25-7, 25-8, 25-21.

Wykons end Joey Pisoni holds on to the ball tightly as he is tackled by a pair of L’Anse defenders after a 26-yard pass play in the second quarter Aug. 30.
L’ANSE—Two turnovers that led to two second quarter touchdowns by two top opposing backs were too much for West Iron’s football team Aug. 30, as the Wykons (1-1, 0-1) lost to L’Anse here 40-20 in their West Pac Conference opener.
 Fatal miscues: West Iron held its own early in the game. A shanked punt (10 yards) gave L’Anse the ball at the Wykon 35, but WIC’s defense held its ground.

CRYSTAL FALLS—Missing for way too long, the legendary football rivalry between Forest Park and Norway is going to be just fine to judge by their game at Ronberg Field in Norway Aug. 30.
 The Trojans (now 2-0, 0-0) scored the first 19 points of the game but saw their fat lead shrink to five points—twice—before winning 35-22.
 Moment of truth: Down 27-22 midway through the fourth quarter, Norway drove to the Forest Park 30, where they faced 4th and 12. Knights QB Isaac Bray fired a pass up the middle, but Derek Aberly broke its up at the 10 yard line.

IRON RIVER—West Iron County’s girls tennis team played five matches in three days last week, finishing with a 3-1-1 record.
 At Ironwood: The Wykons earned 8-0 wins over both Ironwood and Hurley. Against the Red Devils, 4S Tori Harris-Hoogenboom didn’t lose a game (6-0, 6-0), and 1S Kylee Erickson and 2S Maddie Waara also had easy wins.