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Top-seeded N-K ends Ely’s season

Ely’s high school football team was overwhelmed and overpowered by top-seeded Nashwauk-Keewatin in the opening round of the Section 7A high school football playoffs.The Spartans scored on their first five possessions, racked up 518 total yards in the game and cruised to a 55-7 win in the quarterfinals.N-K quarterback Reid Velo completed 14 of his first 15 pass attempts, threw three touchdown passes and ran for another score as the senior-dominated Spartans ran their record to 8-1 and moved on to a semifinal date with number-four seed Cook County.A winless campaign came to an end for the injury-ravaged Wolves, who at times against the Spartans had as many as eight sophomores or freshmen on the field.“It was one of those things where we were down right from the start,” said Ely Head Coach Darren Visser. “We had a bunch of young kids playing at the varsity level. But they showed it (against N-K) and all year that they didn’t quit. We kind of took their running game away early and forced them to pass. We got a kick return for the touchdown and that was a definite highlight.”That came late in the first half, when sophomore Andrew Olson returned a kickoff 71 yards for a touchdown. It was the Wolves’ fifth touchdown on a kickoff return this fall.Already shorthanded because of a rash of injuries, the Wolves lost two more starters - Elliot Beaty and Ryan Bagnal - during the game.The Spartans took full advantage and lived up to their billing as one of the top 10 teams in the state in Class A.On the opening drive, N-K marched down the field alternating passes and runs, with Velo finding J.J. Wright on a 19-yard scoring throw.The hosts escaped a third-and-32 situation on their next drive. Velo hooked up with Wright for 23 yards, and N-K converted on fourth down. Derrick Pleshe then plowed in from nine yards out.Velo went to the air and completed a 34-yard scoring strike to Pleshe to make it 20-0, and Jake Sletten caught a 29-yard pass from Velo for a second quarter score that gave the Spartans a 28-0 advantage.The Spartans averaged over 10 yards per play and ran the ball with ease to add to the lead. Wright went 35 yards around right end to push his team deep into Ely territory, and Velo followed by faking a handoff, keeping the ball himself and sprinting in from 19 yards out.Trailing 34-0, Ely responded with its best few minutes of the game.Olson picked up a kick that bounced off the hands of Ryan Willis and went straight ahead, evading N-K tacklers and racing into the end zone for what proved to be Ely’s only score.The Wolves’ defense also stiffened on the next two possessions, stopping the Spartans twice, including once near the goal line.But Ely never managed to put much together against the imposing Spartans defense.The Wolves were limited to 52 net yards. Quarterback Pat Lekatz completed six passes for 69 yards, including a 23-yard throw to Olson, but Ely was stifled on the run, finishing with negative-17 yards.Ely also had three turnovers.In the second half, both J.J. and Garrett Wright had 16-yard scoring runs while reserve quarterback Collin Anderson ran it in from the 12 in the fourth quarter.The loss ended the prep careers of nine Ely seniors. Tyler Willis, Ernie Horvat and Richie Milovich were all injured earlier in the season and sat out Tuesday’s game. In uniform for the finale were seniors Jay Olson, Matt High, Aaron Badillo, Bagnal, Brooks Pfeiffer and Jake Ojala.“Our injuries came to older guys and that was the deck that was dealt to us,” said Visser. “You’ve got to play with what you have got. And these guys just kept pushing. We said we need to continue to get better and we did that. These seniors brought leadership. They knew coming in that they were going to have to rely on a bunch of young kids to fill gaps. The ones that were hurt on the sidelines were helping coach the younger kids, and the ones that were playing were always encouraging. I don’t know a lot of groups of seniors that could have handled those circumstances.”

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