MUSKEGON – It’s okay for a quarterback to make a few costly mistakes, just so he recovers and makes up for them.

West Michigan Ironmen QB Alex Carder, who has turned in a ton of great performances in his long career, was a bit off at times on Saturday might, throwing an uncharacteristic three interceptions.

The visiting Detroit Ravens took advantage and scored a touchdown following each interception, keeping the game close and exciting.

But Carder bounced back and got even each time, following each of those Ravens touchdowns with TD passes of his own.

Then he added a touchdown run and another TD pass in the fourth quarter, helping the Ironmen fight off the talented Ravens and post an exciting 65-44 victory at Muskegon’s Mercy Health Arena.

The win kept the Ironmen perfect with a 3-0 record this season. They will try to keep the winning streak going next Saturday when they host the Michigan Avengerz in a rematch of last year’s league championship game.

After the game, Carder noted that the Ravens have a lot of great athletes on defense, and were tough to play against. He also said he was proud of the way the entire team kept fighting to get the win.

“This game is high flying,” Carder said. “There’s going to be a lot of balls in the air, and I think that’s one of the best teams we’ll face all year. It’s really hats off to them. They made some plays, and it wasn’t just bad mistakes by me. They did their part.

“That’s why we play the game. You want to have to go take it. These guys made us go take it this time, and I’m excited to see what the future holds. They have a lot of great athletes and are a well-coached team. Hopefully we can develop a little rivalry with them.”

The Ravens turned out to be the tough opponents they were advertised to be.

A longtime powerhouse in outdoor semipro football, the Ravens were playing their first 8-on-8 arena game and adjusted very well, pushing the Ironmen through all four quarters.

The challenge was welcomed and embraced by the Ironmen and their fans, who were growing tired of easy victories.

West Michigan defeated the Coralville Chaos 75-7 in its season opener, then dispatched the Cedar Rapids River Kings 55-0 in their second game.

Ironmen Coach Terry Mitchell was pleased with the way his team responded to the strong challenge. The game turned into a scoring-fest, and the Ironmen kept finding the end zone when they had to.

The issue was not settled until late in the game, when Tyler Bruce returned a kickoff 50 yards for a touchdown, and Ian Hall added a 48-yard pick six.

“I told the guys we’d probably face some adversity tonight,” Mitchell said. “We responded really well, but that’s really because of the dedication our guys have all week at practice. I preached all week that this team would be the best team we’d face all year.

“It tells me a lot. We were looking for a challenge all year. You know our first two games were pretty lopsided. Our fans were getting pretty frustrated, but this team brought it and it’s what everyone wanted. It was exciting football and that’s what we need. We didn’t back down tonight and played Ironman football. When we play Ironman football, nobody can beat us.”

The Ironmen got off to a great start with a 16-yard scoring pass from Carder to Toni Sok, a safety on a kickoff, and a 23-yard TD strike from Carder to Tyler Hunt, and led 16-0 early in the second quarter.

Then Carder threw his first interception, leading to a Detroit touchdown. But the Ironmen took the ensuing kickoff and scored on the first play from scrimmage when Carder connected with Tyler Bruce on a 23-yard touchdown pass.

Carder threw his second pick on the Ironmen’s next possession, leading to a Detroit touchdown and two-point conversion that made the score 23-16.

Carder once again answered on the first play of the next drive, throwing a 23-yard TD pass to Sok. The extra point left the Ironmen with a 30-16 halftime lead.

Carder threw his final interception early in the third quarter, then Detroit scored again and the Ironmen lead was cut to 30-22.

On the next possession, Carder threw a five-yard touchdown pass to Hunt, making the score 37-22.

The Ravens fought back with a 45-yard kickoff return touchdown, leaving the Ironmen with a 37-30 lead.

Carder followed with a three-yard touchdown run.

Detroit scored again, pulling within 44-36, then Carder threw his final scoring pass, a 26-yarder to Sok, to make it 51-36.

“He had his moments of good and moments of bad,” Coach Mitchell said about Carder’s performance. “But he always responded. After the first interception I told him ‘On to the next one.'”

The Ravens added one more score, then the Ironmen finally sewed up the win with two game-ending big plays – the 50-yard kickoff return touchdown by Bruce, and Hall’s 48-yard pick-six.

“I’m impressed overall with the way our guys responded,” Carder said. “I had no doubt that we would. I think we hadn’t really had a chance to see what we were made of yet, and I wasn’t surprised to see how we reacted today.”

First quarter
WM – Alex Carder 18 pass to Toni Sok (kick good) 7-0 WM
WM – Defensive safety 9-0 WM

Second quarter
WM – Carder 17 pass to Tyler Hunt (kick good) 16-0 WM
DETROIT – Tyler Kulka 24 pass to Jealon Brown (two-point good) 16-8 WM
WM – Carder 23 pass to Tyler Bruce (kick good) 23-8 WM
DETROIT – Kulka 7 pass to Jaden Rambert (two-point good) 23-16 WM
WM – Carder 23 pass to Sok (kick good) 30-16 WM

Third quarter
DETROIT – Kulka 25 pass to Rambert (kick no good) 30-22 WM
WM – Carder 5 pass to Hunt (kick good) 37-22 WM
DETROIT – Jose Morris 45 kick return (two-point good) 37-30 WM

Fourth quarter
WM – Carder 3 run (kick good) 44-30 WM
DETROIT – Jeremy Lewis 1 run (two-point no good) 44-36 WM
WM – Carder 26 pass to Sok (kick good) 51-36 WM
DETROIT – Kulka 9 pass to Jlynn Searcy (two-point good) 51-44 WM
WM – Bruce 50 kickoff return (kick good) 58-44 WM
WM – Ian Hall 48 interception (kick good) 65-44 WM