MUSKEGON – Not surprisingly, after a month off, the West Michigan Ironmen looked a little rusty on Saturday in the opening minutes of their semifinal playoff game against the Ohio Blitz.

They only led 12-6 after one quarter, against a team they beat 86-6 the first time they met this season.

Fortunately for the Ironmen, the visitors from Ohio were in a very giving mood, in the form of multiple turnovers.

The Blitz offense coughed up the ball six times in the first half alone, with a combination of interceptions, fumbles and stalled drives – giving the Ironmen plenty of opportunities to warm up and knock the rust out.

Once that happened, the Ironmen rolled, piling up score after score to beat the Blitz 66-12 at Trinity Health Arena.

The score could have been a lot worse, but the Ironmen took their foot off the offensive throttle in the second half.

The victory earned the Ironmen a berth in the inaugural Great Lakes Arena Football league championship game on May 20 in Muskegon.

West Michigan will face the Southern Michigan Apex, which stunned the heavily-favored Battle Creek Smoke in the other semifinal game on Saturday.

For the Ironmen, who have not competed in an organized league in several years, the idea of winning a title game and claiming a trophy is more than a little appealing.

Ironmen Coach Nate Smith was pretty convinced that his team would be facing Battle Creek in the championship game, but said Southern Michigan will be a worthy opponent.

“It’s going to be a great game against an improved Apex team, and we need to watch some film and find a way to beat them,” Smith said. “The excitement in the arena to have something in the tunnel to play for is going to be special for our guys.”

One player who welcomed the opportunity to get back in game form after the long layoff was veteran Ironmen quarterback Alex Carder, who was 12-for-17 passing for 161 yards, seven touchdowns and an interception.

“I just had to get back to the rhythm of things,” Carder said. “The next game will be a good game and the crowd will be hopping.”

The first quarter amounted to a series of mishaps for both teams.

The Ironmen scored on the first play from scrimmage in the game on a pass from Carder to receiver Keondre Craig-Banks, who returned to the team after missing a game while playing in a higher league.

Ohio fumbled on its first play from scrimmage,and West Michigan’s Zach Watts recovered the ball and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown.

Ohio threw an interception on its second possession and the Ironmen took over on the Blitz 10, but failed to score and turned the ball over on downs.

The Blitz got on the scoreboard with a touchdown with 27 seconds left in the first quarter, then intercepted a Carder pass in the end zone on the ensuing West Michigan drive.

The Ironmen led 12-6 after one, and everyone wondered what was happening.

That uncertainty didn’t last long, however, because the Ironmen turned on the jets after that, scoring five touchdowns in the second quarter, one in the third and two more in the fourth to pull away.

John Ross caught three passes for 33 yards with two touchdowns for the Ironmen. Banks-Craig had three receptions for 30 yards and two touchdowns while Danny Hugan II had four catches for 60 yards and two touchdowns.

Zach Watts led the Ironmen defense with eight tackles, one fumble recovery, one interception and one touchdown. Nick DeKraker had four tackles, one sack and one interception.

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER
WM 12:40 – Keyondre Banks-Craig 7-yard catch from Alex Carder (kick failed)  WM 6, Ohio 0
WM 10:50 – Zach Watts 30-yard fumble return (kick failed)  WM 12, Ohio 0
Ohio 1:00 – Mikey Love 29-yard run (2-point failed)  WM 12, Ohio 6

SECOND QUARTER
WM 9:06 – Keyondre Banks-Craig 6-yard catch from Alex Carder (2-pt pass)  WM 20, Ohio 6
WM 6:28 – John Ross 25-yard catch from Alex Carder (2-pt pass)  WM 28, Ohio 6
WM 5:04 – Raheem Stokes 25-yard fumble return (Ben Townshend kick)  WM 35, Ohio 6
WM 1:45 – Danny Hugan II 5-yard catch from Alex Carder (kick failed)  WM 41, Ohio 6
WM 0:00 – Dylan Hunt 33-yard pick-six (Ben Townshend kick)  WM 48, Ohio 6

THIRD QUARTER
WM 10:51 – John Ross 2-yard catch from Alex Carder (kick failed)  WM 54, Ohio 6

FOURTH QUARTER
WM 12:18 – Danny Hugan II 10-yard catch from Alex Carder (kick failed)  WM 60, Ohio 6
WM 5:15 – Tyler Bruce 25-yard catch from Alex Carder (2-pt failed)  WM 66, Ohio 6
Ohio :00 – Mikey Love 7-yard run  WM 66, Ohio 12