The final score didn’t show it, but for the first half the Ely Timberwolves went toe-to-toe with one of the area’s better Class A high school football teams.
Visiting Deer River won the Sept. 26 clash at Ely School Stadium 38-0, but the Warriors had their hands full with the winless Timberwolves for nearly two quarters.
Ely trailed 8-0 until the final minute of the opening half, and the Wolves were stopped on downs twice deep in Deer River territory -during the opening half.
A bigger, deeper Warriors team slowly pulled away, but the contest provided glimmers of hope for the Wolves, who fell to 0-5.
“I thought for that first half, it was the best football we played all year,” said head coach Louie Gerzin. “It for sure was the toughest football we played all year. I thought we played a tough team very well.”
Deer River scored in the first quarter to take an 8-0 lead, but twice in the opening half, Ely had success moving the ball.
Runs by Arturo Cameron, Sean Merriman and Jesse Oelke fueled a fired-up Wolves team, and they twice knocked on the door.
Ely got as far as the Deer River 17-yard-line on one possession, but came up empty and the Warriors drove down the field late in the second quarter to make it 14-0 at the break.
“Give credit to Deer River as they are always a good football team,” said Gerzin. “But for sure those scores in the first half would have given us a chance to stay with them.”
A long kickoff return set up the Warriors on the opening possession of the second half, and Deer River was on its way.
The Warriors scored quickly for a second time in the third quarter and tacked on one more score in the fourth.
Meanwhile, the Deer River defense kept the Wolves contained and out of the end zone.
Cameron was the Wolves’ top rusher with 52 yards on 12 carries, with Merriman rushing for 49 yards on nine attempts.
Oelke added another 15 yards on the ground as Ely exceeded 100 yards of rushing for the first time this season.
Freshman quarterback DJ Johnson completed two passes for 15 yards, with Max Brandriet getting a 10yard reception and Merriman finishing with five yards receiving.
On defense, Oelke paced the Wolves with eight tackles, while Cyle Merhar was next with six and both Cameron and freshman Kasen Dostert recorded five.
Brandriet had four stops while Kooper Dostert, Lucas Stalboerger and James Johnson wound up with three apiece.
The Wolves were set to take on Chisholm Friday in the Homecoming game and an Oct. 10 road date with East Central follows.
Both teams are 0-5 so far. “I think our guys know now they can play with the toughest teams in the conference,” said Gerzin. “And I think after Friday our guys are more confident about our offense and feeling good about going up against Chisholm and giving them a good game, especially for Homecoming.”
