MUSKEGON – A lot has been made about the changing of the guard on the West Michigan Ironmen roster, with a bunch of talented new guys coming to town this season.

But it seemed like old times for the Ironmen on Friday night, with the game following a time-honored plot:

Veteran quarterback Alex Carder throwing a ton of touchdown passes, and the Ironmen winning in a rout.

Carder threw five TD passes, to be exact, and the Ironmen rolled to an overwhelming 75-7 victory over the Coralville Chaos in their season opener in front of a nice crowd at Muskegon’s Trinity Health Arena.

Ironmen QB Alex Carder drops back to pass. Photo/Jeremy Clark

It was a special night in a lot of ways for the Ironmen, who played their first game back in the American Indoor Football league, the same league they belonged to in their inaugural season back in 2016.

The victory also marked the start of season No. 10 for the Ironmen.

Carder was the appropriate guy to be the star on Friday, because he was the original Ironmen QB back in 2016, and has been with the team every season but one since then.

When he first showed up in town, he was a talented young signal-caller out of Western Michigan University who had dreams of using arena football to prepare for a shot at the National Football League.

A decade later, he’s married and the father of a two-year-old son, and he just keeps playing because he loves football and the Ironmen.

The Ironmen’s Tyler Bruce, who held on to a touchdown pass even though he landed in the seats. Photo/Jeremy Clark

“I don’t know if I would still be playing football if this team wasn’t here,” Carder said while signing autographs after the game. “It’s really gone by fast. I’ve got a two-year-old now, and he gets to see me in pads. That’s the biggest thing, him being able to see me play.

“I just love what I do and I don’t see any end in sight.”

Carder did all of his damage in the first half, throwing two touchdown passes in the first quarter and three in the second.

His top target was a rookie wide receiver Toni Sok, who caught scoring passes of 11, 26 and 15 yards.

The Ironmen’s Hunter Cherneski (6) makes a diving tackle that resulted in a fumble. Photo/Jeremy Clark

Carder also threw a 21-yard TD pass to Tyler Bruce, and a 12-yard scoring strike to Jeremiah Dault.

His performance helped erase the memory of his last outing, the Great Lakes Arena Football league championship game last June.

Carder injured his shoulder in the previous game, then tried to play in the title game, but didn’t last long. He had to sit and watch as the Ironmen were defeated by Michigan Avengerz.

But now he feels renewed, with a great cast of receivers – veterans and rookies – to throw to.

“Sok’s skillset is so special,” Carder said. “He’s a quick, shifty guy who just makes people miss. Having him along with Tyler Hunt, a big receiver in the middle, and Tyler Bruce, who is a captain this year who’s really helping the new guys, plus Jeremiah Dault, is great. We have added a great group of new guys who have really been diving into what we’re doing here.”

The Ironmen’s Jadis Heyward sacks the Coralville quarterback. Photo/Jeremy Clark

Carder wasn’t the only Ironmen veteran to have a big night.

Bruce scored two touchdowns, on the pass from Carder and on a 21-yard run.

Defensive back Willie “Bo” Shanks, a Muskegon High School grad who played at Ferris State University, led the Ironmen defense with three interceptions.

Raheem Stokes also had an interception, Ryan Armstrong had a fumble recovery, and DavVeon Taylor had a touchdown run.

Dault got equal billing with Sok as the top rookie in the game, catching the touchdown pass from Carder, scoring on a one-yard run, and catching a 20-yard scoring strike from backup QB Darnell Fields in the fourth quarter.

Carder hands the ball off to Jeremiah Dault (1). Photo/Jeremy Clark

Rookie Jadis Heyward recovered a fumble in the end zone for a touchdown, and Jalon Simpson had a 20-yard fumble recovery for a TD.

Ironmen head coach Terry Mitchell was happy to see his veteran players have a great night, and said he thinks they’ve been pushed and inspired by the new guys, who make up nearly half of the 25-man roster.

“We needed some young guys around (the veterans) to push them,” the coach said. “They were getting a little big comfortable. Now we have a legit team. There are no distractions, everybody comes to practice on time, and everybody is pushing each other.

“We didn’t like the way last year ended, so we got together and were determined to get the best players possible so that doesn’t happen again, and we can put on a great show for the city of Muskegon.”

SCORING SUMMARY

WEST MICHIGAN 75, CORALVILLE 7

FIRST QUARTER
WM – 13:42 – Alex Carder 21 pass to Tyler Bruce (conversion failed) 6-0 WM
C – 8:20 – MoJo Jones 4 run (kick good) – 7-6 Coralville
WM – 6:20 – Carder 11 pass to Toni Sok (kick good) – 13-7 WM

SECOND QUARTER
WM – 14:10 – Carder 26 pass to Sok (kick good) – 20-7 WM
WM – 12:50 – Jadis Heyward fumble recovery in end zone (kick good) – 27-7 WM
WM – 8:56 – Bruce 23 run (kick good) – 34-7 WM
WM – 3:28 – Carder 12 pass to Jeremiah Dault (kick good) – 41-7 WM
WM – :30 – Carder 15 pass to Sok (kick good) – 48-7 WM
WM – :00 – Dault 1 run (kick good) – 55-7 WM

THIRD QUARTER
WM – 5:20 – DavVeon Taylor 1 run (kick failed) – 61-7 WM

FOURTH QUARTER
WM – 12:40 – Darnell Fields 20 pass to Dault (kick good) – 68-7 WM
WM – 7:43 – Jalon Simpson 20 interception return (kick good) – 75-7 WM