MUSKEGON – Welcome back to Muskegon, Danny Hugan.

West Michigan Ironmen fans remember Hugan from last season, when he was a standout wide receiver who doubled as the backup quarterback behind veteran standout Alex Carder.

This season Hugan moved up a league and played with a team in Cedar Rapids, Iowa.

But he returned to the Ironmen two weeks ago, and as it turned out, it was just on time.

Carder missed Friday night’s game against the powerful Michigan Avengerz due to a personal commitment, so Hugan became the starting QB.

He ran the ball on the first play from scrimmage, injured his knee and was helped off the field. For all anyone knew, he was out for the rest of the game.

But Hugan returned in the second half and delivered in a big way. He threw two touchdown passes and made several other big throws with the outcome on the line, allowing the Ironmen to rally and beat the previously undefeated Avengerz 56-42 in a wild game at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena.

The game was a lot closer than the final score suggests. The Avengerz led 34-32 with 3:30 left in the game, the Ironmen led 40-34 with only 56 seconds left, then a lot of crazy stuff happened in the thrilling final minute.

West Michigan finished the regular season with a 4-0 record and clinched a spot in the Great Lakes Arena Football league championship game, scheduled for late May.

Hugan expects to play wide receiver in the big game, but he did just fine at quarterback on Friday.

“I was just trying to make a move when my knee buckled and I had to sit out a bit, then I came back in the second half,” Hugan said. “I just had to let my leg heal up for a second and then I came back in and played.

“I just did what I had to do.”

Ironmen Coach Terry Mitchell said Hugan was very much needed and answered the call, despite the early injury.

“I knew he could make those plays,” Mitchell said. “Earlier in the week I told him ‘We need you, Carder’s not going to be here, and I believe you can get it done.’ Then when he went down, I kept preaching that to him – we need you – and we put him back out there and he made some amazing plays.”

The first half did not look promising for the Ironmen, particularly after Hugan went down on the first play.

Coach Mitchell used several different quarterbacks in the first half, trying to get the offense rolling.

The list included starting defensive back Willie Shanks, a Muskegon High School grad who came in and threw a 10-yard touchdown pass in the first quarter that gave the Ironmen a brief lead.

Tyler Bruce, normally a wide receiver, and DavVeon Taylor, the starting running back, also took snaps at QB, but the offense never really clicked until Hugan returned at the start of the second half.

The Ironmen led 14-6 after one quarter, thanks to Shanks, who returned a kickoff 44 yards for a TD before throwing his touchdown pass.

“Willie Shanks is an athlete,” Mitchell said, when asked why he put Shanks at quarterback after Hugan’s injury.

West Michigan only managed two points in the second quarter on a safety, and Michigan led 20-16 at halftime.

The Avengerz scored the first touchdown of the third quarter and pulled ahead 26-16, then Hugan threw a seven-yard TD pass to Bruce, leaving the visitors with a 26-24 edge heading into the fourth.

The game came down to an insane fourth quarter, which featured numerous lead changes, a lot of big hits and even a bench-clearing shoving match between players from both teams.

Hugan, throwing from his own end zone, hit receiver John Ross with an incredible 45-yard touchdown pass with 5:35 remaining, giving the Ironmen a 32-26 lead.

Michigan came back and scored on a 35-yard TD pass and took a 34-32 lead.

Hugan responded on the next drive by completing a pass to Bruce at the Michigan 15. Bruce rushed the ball to the 5-yard line on the next play, then Taylor scored from two yards out after a penalty.

Taylor added a two-point conversion run and the Ironmen led 40-34 with only 56 seconds remaining.

The Avengerz struck back just 25 seconds later with another 35-yard TD pass and took a scary 42-40 lead with 31 seconds left.

The Ironmen got a big turn of luck on the ensuing kickoff, which the ball hit a light fixture hanging over the field, giving West Michigan the ball at the Avengerz 17.

Two plays later Hugan connected with Ross on a 16-yard pass to the 1-yard line, then Taylor scored another TD and added another conversion run, giving the Ironmen a 48-42 lead.

The Avengerz had one more chance, but the Ironmen’s Raheem Stokes picked off a pass and returned it 15 yards for a touchdown, sealing up the thrilling win.

Coach Mitchell said the way his team overcame all the obstacles will be a huge confidence builder for the league the title game.

“Our confidence is through the roof,” Mitchell said. “We preached all season that we were going to run into some tough teams, and when Wednesday came we practiced a lot harder than normal. We really got after each other.

“We knew we could win – we just didn’t know exactly how we were going to win. I leaned on the coaches, they did a good job of getting the guys ready, and they came through.”

SCORING SUMMARY

FIRST QUARTER

M – 11:24 – Kyle Isaacs 25 pass to Armani Posi (conversion failed) 6-0 M
WM – 10:09 – Willie Shanks 44-yard kickoff return (kick failed) 6-6
WM – 3:29 – Shanks 10 pass to Sterling Alexander (2-point run) 14-6 WM

SECOND QUARTER

M – 8:39 – Isaacs 7 run (2-point conversion) 14-14
WM – Safety 16-14 WM
M – :01 – Issacs 1 run (conversion failed) 20-16 M

THIRD QUARTER

M – 12:33 – Isaacs 5 pass to Devin Ashley (conversion failed) 26-16 M
WM – 1:30 Danny Hugan 7 pass to Tyler Bruce (2 point conversion) 26-24 M

FOURTH QUARTER

WM – 5:35 – Hugan 45 pass to John Ross (2 point conversion) 32-26 WM
M – 3:30 – Issacs 35 pass to Ashley (2 point conversion) 34-32 M
WM – :56 – DavVeon Taylor 2 run (2 point conversion) 40-34 WM
M – :31 – Isaacs 35 pass to Deon McGee (2 point conversion) 42-40 M
WM – :14 – Taylor 1 run (2 point comversion) 48-42 WM
WM – :07 – Raheem Stokes 15 interception return (2 point conversion) 56-42 WM