Gerald Perreault photo Lake Linden-Hubbell’s Aaron Hainault dives forward for extra yardage as West Iron County’s Zach Quintero and LL-H’s Peter Heikkinen looks on, Friday, at Nelson Field. WIC won 35-26.

IRON RIVER — From the moment the West Iron County Wykons emerged from the locker room for the second half, it was immediately clear this was a team with a different mindset than the one that trailed the Lake Linden-Hubbell Lakes 20-14 after two quarters. 

The players and coaches on the sidelines implored the crowd to cheer louder, and it obliged. Pre-snap, the defense communicated with encouragement and once the ball was snapped, the WIC defense fired off the ball with a ferociousness that was more reminiscent of a unit that allowed just 13 points per game this season. It all equated to a WIC team playing with a renewed sense of urgency. 

Playing a more inspired brand of football, the Wykons managed to outscore LL-H 21-6 in the second half to secure a 35-26 Division 8 district semifinal win over a game Lakes squad Friday at Nelson Field. 

WIC senior Jayce Brockhagen ran for 207 yards and four TDs on 17 carries while also adding a 35-yard TD reception to account for all of the Wykons’ scoring.

“It seemed like in the first half everyone was hanging their heads,” Brockhagen said. “I told them at halftime there was no reason to hang our heads. We were better than that and didn’t play to our potential. We came out and were way more fired up in the second half.”

For one half LL-H executed flawlessly on offense. Whether it was a conversion on a fake punt to set up a 37-yard TD run by senior James Tuovila, or the traditional power run game tallying 145 yards (6 yards per carry), LL-H played the mistake-free game that’s necessary to pull off an upset. 

But the wet conditions forced the Lakes into two fumbles. On the first drive of the second half, WIC senior Brandon Henschel recovered at the LL-H 37. Eight plays later Brockhagen put WIC up 21-20 on a 5-yard scoring run.

LL-H fumbled once again on its next possession and the loss of yardage after the recovery forced a three-and-out. Once again Brockhagen made them pay on a 28-yard TD run when two Lakes bounced off the 240-pound back with 4.6 40-yard dash speed.

“We made so many mistakes in the second half,” LL-H head coach Andy Crouch said. “We can’t be fumbling snaps and putting the ball on the ground. Just some real poor plays on our part.”

Besides coming out with a renewed focus, WIC made defensive adjustments to limit LL-H’s rushing attack. The Wykons moved Brockhagen from the inside linebacker position to the outside in hopes of stopping LL-H’s off tackle runs and pitches. Sophomore Dakota Hawkes moved to the inside linebacker position and constantly blitzed in order to bust the trap plays inside. The Lakes were limited to 4.25 yards per carry in the second half.

The changes paid off when WIC (9-1) stuffed LL-H (4-5) a yard short on a fourth-and-2 from the WIC 10 to preserve a 28-20 lead. 

“We were having troubles in the flats and Jayce is a good athlete, so we wanted to get a bigger presence on the edge,” WIC head coach Mike Berutti said. “We figured we’d take that away, and if they were going to beat us, they’d have to beat us with their fullback. (Tuovila) does a good job, but it’s tough to run buck-trap the whole night to win a football game.”

WIC also had issues handling a wet football when Tuovila forced a fumble and allowed the Lakes to recover at the WIC 28 with 5:54 left in the fourth quarter. 

Five plays later on fourth-and-6, sophomore quarterback Carter Crouch completed an 11-yard TD pass down the seam to sophomore Caleb Gregiore to trim the deficit to 28-26. 

“(WIC) was blitzing the middle on us all night,” Crouch said. “We knew it would be open, but it was about whether we could get the pass off or not. Caleb made a nice catch and gave us a chance to tie the game.”

A false start penalty forced the Lakes back to the 7-yard line for the 2-point conversion. Crouch rolled right but was hit as he threw, giving the Wykons their first sigh of relief. 

WIC recovered the onside kick with ease. Two plays later, Brockhagen went untouched up the middle for a 53-yard TD to ensure a home matchup with the Norway Knights for the district championship. 

“The line was just blocking good,” said Brockhagen, who was selected as the West-PAC Offensive Player of the Year on Monday. “I was just making cuts. Their linebackers weren’t really reading too well, so it was easy to make cuts. The cutback lanes were wide open.”

Brockhagen was also wide open for the first score of the game. On fourth-and-3, senior QB Neil Tomasoski rolled right and fired to Brockhagen in the flats; Brockenhagen took advantage of the broken coverage for a 35-yard TD and a 7-0 lead.

On the next WIC offensive play from scrimmage, Brockhagen went untouched off left tackle before breaking a tackle and outracing the Lakes defense for a 57-yard TD to make it 14-6. 

“When you’ve been on the varsity team for three full years and part of your freshman year, it’s time to show yourself,” Berutti said of Brockhagen. “The guys blocked well and got up on backers, and that’s what’s needed.”

LL-H senior Aaron Hainault led the Lakes offense with 82 yards rushing and two TDs on 13 carries. Hainault’s first score came on a power pitch to the right that went for 21 on fourth-and-6. He caught the 2-point conversion from Crouch to even the game at 14. 

Hainault gave the Lakes the lead, 20-14, on a power pitch to the left side on a gain of 5. 

“He had some nice runs,” Crouch said. “He got outside on the quick pitch and followed his blocks. He has good speed, so once he got out there, he was tough to catch.”

The Lakes emptied the entire playbook in an attempt to pull the upset. On fourth-and-4 from their own 46, the up-man in the punt formation, Crouch, took the snap and lobbed a pass over the top of the WIC defense to sophomore Cole Gregiore for a gain of 17. Tuovila scored his 37-yard TD run on the following play. 

“Sometimes I don’t have the guts to call it,” Crouch said of the fake punt, “but in this game with nothing to lose, we couldn’t give them the ball back.

LL-H 6 14 0 6 — 26

WIC 14 0 14 7 — 35

First quarter

WIC — Tomasoski 35-yard pass to Brockhagen (Tomasoski XP good), 7-0, 6:21

LL-H — Tuovila 37-yard run (2-pt no good), 7-6, 2:52

WIC — Brockhagen 57-yard run (Tomasoski XP good), 14-6, 2:33

Second quarter

LL-H — Hainault 21-yard run (Crouch to Hainault for 2-point), 14-14, 7:56

LL-H — Hainault 5-yard run (2-pt no good), 20-14, 1:00

Third quarter

WIC — Brockhagen 5-yard run (Tomasoski XP good), 21-20, 7:03

WIC — Brockhagen 28-yard run (Tomasoski XP good), 28-20, 2:37

Fourth quarter

LL-H — Crouch 11-yard pass to Caleb Gregiore (2-point no good), 28-26, 3:30

WIC — Brockhagen 43-yard run (Tomasoski XP good), 35-26, 2:26

Total offense 

Lake Linden-Hubbell 305 (247 rushing, 58 passing); West Iron County 311 (268 rushing, 43 passing)

Rushing (carries-yards-touchdowns)

LL-H — Hainault 13-82-2, Tuovila 11-80-1, Crouch 12-50-0, Hill 6-19-0, Klein 6-16-0; WIC — Brockhagen 17-207-4, Quintero 4-26-0, Nelson 3-22-0, Persson 5-12-0, Tomasoski 1-1-0.

Passing (completions-attempts-touchdowns-interceptions)

LL-H — Crouch 6-8-58-1-0; WIC — Tomasoski 2-5-43-1-1.