Sande chews up Timberwolves

Tait Sande may have been even better than advertised.One of the top returning players in Section 7A, the Cook County back was the difference-maker in a 33-6 high school football victory over the Ely Timberwolves last Friday at Grand Marais.Sande ran wild - amassing a game-high 219 rushing yards, scoring three times and setting up a fourth score with a long punt return.'He's good - I haven't seen a running back quite like him in a while," said Ely Head Coach Darren Visser. "We would contain him for a while and then all of a sudden he'd pop it."Sande's big night - as well as three other key plays that all went against the Wolves - turned a close game decidedly in favor of the Vikings.The Timberwolves, who got on the board late in the first quarter with an electrifying 72-yard kickoff return by senior Andrew Olson, turned the ball over at the Cook County 15 early in the second quarter.That squelched an opportunity for the Wolves to take the lead, and Cook County responded.Sande broke off a 22-yard scoring run on a fourth-and-seven play, giving the Vikings a 14-6 lead at halftime.And after the Wolves turned the ball over on downs on their first possession of the second half, Cook County quarterback Miles Drake broke away for a 53-yard touchdown run.Cook County, which advanced to the 7A finals a year ago, added two fourth quarter scores for insurance."It seemed like in that game it was a matter of three or four or five plays," said Visser. "It could have been a different game."For much of the first half, the outcome was in doubt as the two sides traded momentum.Cook County got on the board first, with Sande breaking free for an 11-yard scoring run as well as the two-point conversion.Ely responded with its special teams.The Wolves returned several kickoffs for touchdowns in 2006, and Olson opened Ely's scoring for this year with a return that went straight up the middle.Ely employed a new 3-5 defensive set against the Vikings and came up with a second-quarter stop.That led to a 28-yard completion from quarterback Pat Lekatz to Olson, giving the Wolves first down and goal.But on the second down play, Lekatz was sacked and the ball squirted loose. Despite Ely protests that the quarterback was already down, the officials ruled it a fumble and Cook County recovered.It looked like Ely might escape with only a two-point deficit at the half when a Cook County march stalled at the Wolves' 22, but Sande evaded an Ely tackler at the line of scrimmage on fourth down and accelerated down the left sideline for the score.Drake worked the option to perfection with his third quarter touchdown run, and the Vikings wore Ely down with their running attack in the third quarter.Sande's third touchdown of the night came on a 39-yard run, and his 45-yard punt return led to a two-yard plunge by Casey Everson.Cook County had a better than two-to-one (336-157) edge in total yards, with all of the Vikings' yards on the ground. Sande's 219 yards came on 22 carries.Lekatz went nine-for-22 through the air for 102 yards, with Jon Henning (four catches, 39 yards) and Olson (three, 44) as favorite targets.Olson had 29 yards rushing and Mike Heiman added 11."After watching the film we were seeing that we were about a half-step away," said Visser. "Our blocking assignments were done right and our line was doing a good job... Defensively, we played real well as a whole. The defensive line played well I haven't seen that type of performance from our defensive line in several years."The Wolves were set to take on Carlton Friday night in their home opener, and they're back on the road this Friday at Barnum.