The Ely Timberwolves were decided underdogs in Tuesday’s playoff opener - and it didn’t take long to figure out why.
Second-seeded Aitkin scored on its first two plays from scrimmage and in between ran an interception back for a touchdown.
Five minutes into the Section 7AA high school football matchup, Aitkin already had 21 points and by the time the first half was over the second-seeded Gobblers had a program-record 63 points on the board.
Ely, seeded seventh, was simply no match for the much bigger, much stronger and much deeper Aitkin team, which cruised in a 63-6 quarterfinal rout.
The Gobblers’ Parker Fulton, who has Ely family ties, raced 43 yards for a touchdown on the hosts’ first play, and an interception was run back 36 yards by Eli McNevin for a score on the Wolves’ next play from scrimmage.
Another long touchdown run of 50 yards by Bo Sanford followed, and Aitkin scored at will for the rest of the half.
The Wolves, who finished 2-7, managed only one first down in the opening half and turned the ball over three times.
Aitkin cleared its bench and even some reserves got in on the Gobblers’ fun on a bitterly-cold, damp and windy fall evening in Central Minnesota.
Seven different Aitkin players scored on a night when wind-chill readings sunk into the 20s.
Aitkin also showed off impressive special teams, with kicker Lumies Wang going nine-for-nine on extra points.
Because of the lopsided halftime score, the teams played only a three-minute quarter while the final stanza was played in running time.
Ely’s defense recorded its only two stops of the game in the second half and the Wolves got on the board late, when freshman quarterback DJ Johnson ran right and broke free, scampering on a better than 50-yard sprint to the end zone.
It would prove to be the Wolves’ only touchdown of the night.
Fulton ran for 97 yards for the winners and Sanford passed for two scores and 87 yards, Aitkin moved on to a 7AA semifinal, set for today, against Crosby-Ironton.
The Wolves gained two wins this fall, the most in any season since 2020, and had impressive victories over Chisholm and East Central down the stretch.
Ely suited up only 22 players for the finale and took a further hit when sophomore Arturo Cameron, a two-way starter, was injured in the first half.
The Wolves were also one of the smallest Class AA programs in the state.
Seniors who closed out their careers this fall were Jayden Zemke, Jesse Oelke, Makana Bodas, Danny Daniel and Summit Smith.
