Penalties plague Ely in 28-16 loss

ELY— The Timberwolves found a way to move the ball in their home faceoff with Chisholm, but the Bluestreaks found another way and went home with their first win of the season, 28-16, in a game plagued with penalties on both sides.
Ely was able to move the ball throughout the contest, but continually found ways to hurt themselves.
In their opening drive, facing a second and 20 after back-to-back holding penalties, Chisholm picked off a Sean Merriman pass and returned it 70 yards to put six on the board. A successful conversion put the ‘Streaks up 8-0.
Ely was again able to move the ball in their second drive, and after two long Alex Merriman runs, the Wolves found themselves with a first down on the Chisholm 32. But another back-to-back set of holding penalties pushed Ely back to midfield and a punt as the first quarter an out.
A 15-yard Ely penalty left Chisholm at midfield after the punt and two long pass plays sent the ‘Streaks deep into Ely territory at the 11-yard line. That’s where the Wolves put their foot down. Four plays later, Ely took over on downs at their 12-yard line, which proved the start of the most impressive drive of the game for either team. This time penalties helped the Wolves after the ‘Streaks capped the second of two nifty Merriman runs with a 15-yard penalty that put the Wolves in Chisholm territory. The Wolves kept moving, and even a busted play worked out after Chisholm was assessed another 15-yard penalty to put Ely on the 36. Two first downs later, the Wolves were knocking on the door and it was Brady Eaton who took it in from a half yard out with 3:50 left in the half. An Alex Merriman conversion knotted the score at eight apiece.
A penalty on the subsequent kickoff left Chisholm with excellent field position. While Ely seemed poised to hold the line, the ‘Streaks returned to the air on a fourth and ten for six points. The conversion put them up 16-8.
But Chisholm wasn’t finished. When Ely bobbled the kickoff, the ‘Streaks recovered the ball at Ely’s 37 yard line. A couple runs later left them at the Ely 25. With 49 seconds left, Chisholm went to the air yet again to put Ely in a 22-8 hole at the break.
The ‘Streaks seemed headed for more to open the third quarter as they took advantage of the opening kickoff to move the ball deep into Ely territory. But a fumbled pitch and a holding penalty, followed by an intentional grounding penalty on the next play, quickly pushed Chisholm back. Ely took over on downs at their own 15 yard three plays later.
And for the second time, starting deep in their own territory seemed to work to Ely’s advantage, as they mounted their second scoring drive of the night, capped with an Alex Merriman touchdown run and conversion to close the gap to 22-16.
That was all the scoring Ely would muster. Chisholm took advantage of an Ely fumble deep in Wolves’ territory with just under five minutes to play to put their final six on the board.
Despite losing, the Wolves showed their ability to move the ball. Senior running back Alex Merriman rushed for 167 yards, a touchdown, and two conversions, while fellow senior Brady Eaton tallied 31 yards and a touchdown. Junior Jayden Zemke added ten yards rushing.
While Ely’s defense stopped Chisholm’s rushing attack nearly cold, the ‘Streaks relied on an effective passing attack that got the job done as needed.
Junior Jesse Oelke had a big day, posting seven tackles, two pass breakups and a forced fumble. Eaton tallied nine tackles, while Alex Merriman and Kohner Baltich tallied six tackles apiece. Senior Tory Hughley posted six tackles and a pass breakup, while senior Garrett Rohr added five tackles and forced a fumble. Sophomores Palmer Tripp added five tackles and sophomore Leo McCrahl added four.
The loss drops the Wolves’ record to 1-3. They’re set to travel to Braham on Friday, Sept. 27. They’ll be back home Oct. 4 to host Deer River.