The Ely Timberwolves got on the scoreboard in their second game, but host International Falls otherwise dominated in a 59-8 high school football victory.
Junior Max Brandriet’s 50-yard scoring run was a highlight early on, and the Wolves were within seven points at 15-8 late in the opening quarter.
But from there, International Falls controlled every facet of the game and sent the matchup into running time in the second half.
Ely not only fell to 0-2 but was roughed up in the process.
The Wolves opted this week to forfeit their Friday night matchup at Mt. Iron-Buhl, given injuries that depleted the roster to less than 20 available players, many of them freshmen.
Ely will look to regroup this week and return to action Sept. 19 at Cherry.
Brandriet, Ely’s starting quarterback, gave the Wolves’ faithful something to cheer about early on during a cool evening near the border, breaking free on a quarterback sneak.
That was the biggest gain of the young season by far for the Wolves, who were blanked by Barnum and had little offense to speak of in the season-opener.
Brandriet finished with 78 yards rushing, while junior back Sean Merriman added 38 yards and senior Jesse Oelke finished with 36.
But the touchdown by Brandriet was the only score for the Wolves, who were hindered both by turnovers and penalties.
International Falls took over from there and Broncos quarterback Hayden Swenson picked apart the overmatched Ely secondary.
Swenson passed for 274 yards on 10 completions, six that went for touchdowns.
Big plays were part of the hosts’ arsenal, with Swenson hooking up with Kane Thompson for two scores, including a screen pass that went for 82 yards.
Running back Carson Crandall picked up 99 yards on the ground for the winners as well.
For the Wolves, Arturo Cameron added 21 yards rushing and Brandriet completed passes to Kooper Dostert and Leo McKrahl.
Oelke paced the Ely defense with five tackles and fellow senior Jayden Zemke wound up with four.
Cameron also had four with a forced fumble, with Lucas Stalboerger and Merriman finishing with three tackles each.
With the off week because of the forfeit, the Wolves will get set to try and pull an upset at Cherry before consecutive home tilts with Deer River (Sept. 26) and Chisholm (Oct. 3).
