Sports

by Tom Coombe -

IN BABBITT - Members of the Northeast Range-Ely swim team hosted a meet on Tuesday afternoon against Virginia. Photo by Hailey Worth

by Tom Coombe -

by Tom Coombe
Northeast Range/Ely had five first-place finishes, including two by Brooke Pasmick, in a 56-38 loss at Eveleth-Gilbert.
The high school girls swimming team was very competitive with the host Golden Bears, as Pasmick’s second win of the Sept. 28 meet - which came in the 100 backstroke - pulled the Nighthawks to within four points.
Eveleth-Gilbert rebounded with one-two finishes in the meet’s final two events to secure the win.
Brooke Pasmick swam to victory in both the 100 backstroke (1:15.35) and the 100 freestyle (1:03.98), while her sister Laura topped the field in the 500 freestyle with a time of 7:07.60.
Kayla Mellesmoen (60 freestyle) and Kelly Thompson (200 freestyle) also picked up individual wins, while Maarja Faltesek (160 individual medley) and Tesla Humphreys (100 butterfly) came home with second-place finishes.
Amanda Carey had a hand in three firsts for the Golden Bears.
NRE scored points as follows:

by Tom Coombe -

The Mt. Iron-Buhl Rangers had too much speed, and the Ely Timberwolves had too little depth.

That combination resulted in a one-sided Homecoming night football game in Ely as visiting MIB, paced by quick junior Joe Buffetta, rolled to a 36-6 victory over the Wolves.

Buffetta had touchdown runs of 84 and 42 yards as the Rangers improved to 4-1 and handed Ely (3-2) its second straight defeat.

Ely, which has lost two straight games for the first time since 2011, was minus injured starters Blaise Lah and Josh Larson, further depleting an already-thin roster.

Four-year starting quarterback Carter Gaulke was moved to running back to fill in for Lah, while sophomore Bryce Longwell was inserted at quarterback. The makeshift Ely offense failed to break the MIB defense until the final quarter when Longwell scored on a one-yard plunge.

by Tom Coombe
For the first time since 2014, Ely has lost a regular season high school football game.
Host South Ridge weathered a third-quarter storm from the visiting Timberwolves and turned it on in the fourth, scoring 22 unanswered points in a 38-14 victory.
The loss was the first in four games this fall for the Wolves, and it ended a regular season 19-game winning streak that dated back to Oct. 15, 2014, and a 12-0 defeat, also to South Ridge.
Bedeviled by injuries and humid conditions, the Wolves wilted in the final frame under the onslaught of the Panthers.
Twice in a matter of minutes, South Ridge capitalized on Ely turnovers to put the game away.
Clinging to a 16-14 lead after three quarters, the Panthers pounced on an Ely fumble at the Wolves’ 37 and soon turned it into six points as quarterback Nick Carlson found Connor Bushbaum on a 33-yard bomb.

by Tom Coombe
The road trips come to a halt for one week as Ely’s cross country teams get the chance to run in familiar territory.
It’s Homecoming Week to boot as the Timberwolves play host to several schools from across the region for Tuesday’s Ely Invitational, set for 4 p.m. at the golf course.
The only home meet on the Ely schedule could bring as many as 200 runners to town. It includes a junior high race and separate five-kilometer boys and girls varsity events, and comes on the heels of strong outings for both teams.
Earlier this week, the Ely girls were second and the boys finished fourth at the Paul Brauer Invitational, held at the Grand Rapids Sports Complex.
Depth fueled the girls’ runner-up showing among nine teams.
Ely trailed only Mesabi East, with senior Ryne Prigge the Wolves’ top individual finisher.
She took fourth in the girls event and finished the five-kilometer course in 20:58.9.

by Tom Coombe -

TAKEDOWN - Ely’s Lane Anderson (54) and Tjae Banks team up and tackle Zach Anderson of Northeast Range during the Timberwolves’ 18th consecutive regular season high school football victory. Photo by Eric Sherman

by Tom Coombe -

EXTRA YARDS - With fellow senior Thomas Montana (14) providing a block, Ely’s Blaise Lah stays on his feet and moves ahead for more yardage against Ogilvie.
Lah had over 100 yards rushing and the only touchdown in the state-ranked Wolves’ 6-0 victory. Photo by Nick Wognum

by Tom Coombe -

by Tom Coombe -