LANSING, Mich. — The Pewamo-Westphalia Pirates made their way over the Mackinac Bridge Friday night en route to what they're hoping is their fifth, state final appearance this decade.
The one thing standing in their way is a scrappy iron mountain team and this game might mean more to the mountaineers than we think.
"We've had a number of play-makers this year, the kids have played great all year and we're looking forward to playing Pewamo on friday night," Robin Marttila, Iron Mountain Head Coach, said.
It's a mindset held by both Iron Mountain and Pewamo-Westphalia, who are both perfect at 12-0.
It's a home-field advantage for the Mountaineers, with the Pirates driving almost six hours for Friday night's contest.
Both teams practiced inside this week, in preparation for a game setting they're not used to.
"When you go inside...obviously it's going to be warmer than outside this time of the year. So we've got the guys doing a little extra running in here, and get them acclimated to that a little bit. It's nice because it's a bit dicey out there," Jeremy Miller, Pirates Head Coach, said.
The Pirates and Mountaineers are meeting just eight month after a controversial call gave the Pirates a division three state title on the hardwood.
Both coaches say they're focused on Friday night's game.
"We just concentrate on us, what we can do to improve so we've been going over film in practices and games to try fix what these guys are doing wrong...giving them positive reinforcement when they do something right but focusing on things we can get better at," Miller said.
"We're focused on the football game this week, we want to be 1-0 this week, and we're going to lay it all on the line Friday night."
Now whether or not both teams have put that basketball game behind them, it sure plays a big part in Friday night's game.
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