Over the course of the first five weeks of the high school football season, the Ely Timberwolves managed to score only 14 points.
A 32-point outburst in a week six victory against Chisholm served only as an appetizer for the main course Oct. 10 at Askov.
That’s where the Wolves erupted - scoring 50 firsthalf points and securing the program’s first two-game winning streak in five years.
Junior Sean Merriman had three touchdowns and the Wolves piled on for a 5840 victory over East Central.
Ely stumbled in Wednesday’s regular season finale, falling victim to a powerful Braham team 52-14 at Ely School Stadium.
Nonetheless, the Wolves completed the regular season with a 2-6 overall record with two victories the most in any season since 2020.
A thin Ely team also showed remarkable improvement throughout the second half of the season, with a competitive half against Section 7A power Deer River followed by back-to-back wins over Chisholm and East Central.
Big plays were the difference as Ely kept the scoreboard clicking at East Central.
A fter giving up a kick return for a score that tied the game at eight early in the first quarter, Ely’s Sean Merriman took the ensuing kick back to the house and the Wolves regained a 16-8 lead.
Ely picked up a defensive score next, with Arturo Cameron picking up a fumble deep in Eagles territory and taking it in.
Before the quarter was over, Merriman broke free for a 33-yard scoring run and the Wolves led 28-16.
Cyle Merhar and Cameron added second-quarter touchdowns, and Merriman picked off a pass late in the first half that had the Wolves knocking on the door again.
This time, freshman quarterback DJ Johnson found Merriman on a scoring strike and the Wolves had a whopping 50 points at halftime.
East Central would fight back late in the game and scored against the Ely reserves, but the first half outburst had already secured victory for the surging Wolves.
Ely had an impressive ground attack, with Merriman rushing for 86 yards on 12 carries.
Both Cameron and senior Jesse Oelke added 70 yards each, with Cameron netting two touchdowns as well as a two-point conversion.
It was a huge all-around game for Merriman, who added 40 yards receiving as well as 114 return yards.
Johnson ran for 19 yards on the night.
On defense, Oelke led with eight tackles and Leo McKrahl finished with four, as did freshman Kooper Dostert.
Cameron, Merriman and Jayden Zemke all had three stops each, with Zemke recording a sack.
Junior Max Brandriet forced two fumbles, both of which he recovered, and Merriman picked off two passes with Merhar intercepting another.
• On Wednesday, Ely was no match for Braham’s Tyler Eklund.
The speedy senior got behind the Wolves’ secondary for one score and ran for two more early in the contest, and Braham built an early lead.
The Bombers collected 373 yards of offense, with Eklund breaking free for touchdown runs of 42 and 16 yards in addition to a 61-yard scoring reception.
Braham’s Dallis Jambretz also ran for 163 yards for the night.
Ely had a highlight late in the first half.
After recovering a muffed punt, Johnson found a wideopen Merriman for a 17-yard touchdown pass.
Brandriet gave the home crowd plenty to cheer about late in the game, when he evaded several tacklers in what turned out to be a 65yard scoring play.
Johnson passed for 82 yards for the Wolves, all on touchdown passes, while Merriman finished with 50 yards rushing on 11 attempts.
