ISLE— Ely’s football season ended quietly this week as the Timberwolves fell to third-seeded Mille Lacs 40-0 to end their season at 1-8.
The Wolves faced the Raiders on Tuesday, just four days after falling to them 36-6 in Ely. While the young Wolves team might have been hoping to even the score, they just couldn’t match the weapons and intensity deployed by Mille Lacs, which finished its regular season at 5-3.
“They just play hard, physical football,” said Ely Head Coach Louis Gerzin.
But Ely’s defense kept the game close through the first half. The Raiders got a fast start and put seven on the board in their opening possession, but the Timberwolves kept them largely contained the rest of the half. Mille Lacs would add seven more to the board before the break, to take a 14-0 lead into halftime.
The Wolves had their chance to narrow that gap late in the second quarter. Starting at their own 40 after a Mille Lacs punt, the Wolves connected on a 30-yard pass play and took advantage of some Raiders’ penalties to reach the Mille Lacs two-yard line before handing it over on downs.
It was deflating, but Head Coach Louis Gerzin said the team had the sense a win was still a possibility when they took the field to start the second half.
But the Raiders had other ideas. In the third quarter, they converted back-to-back interceptions to touchdowns, knocking the wind out of the Wolves’ cause. “That pretty much buried us,” said Gerzin.
Playing last Friday, in Ely, Mille Lacs kept the Wolves penned for much of the game, winning 36-6. The Raiders scored on their opening drive and took a 12-0 lead before the opening quarter was out as the Wolves twice denied their conversion attempts. The Raiders added another touchdown in the second quarter, again without the conversion, to take an 18-0 lead into the break.
Ely got on the board midway through the third quarter, as the Wolves seemed to gather momentum. Ely drove the ball downfield, helped by a couple costly Mille Lacs penalties. With a fourth and goal, senior quarterback Deegan Richards connected with sophomore Jesse Oelke on a bootleg pass play for six. But the boost proved short-lived as the Raiders responded on their next possession with a 50-yard strike to push their margin to 24-6.
“That was kind of a dagger,” said Gerzin.
The Raiders went on to add two more scores late but failed throughout the game to make the conversion, ultimately leaving as many as 12 points on the table as Ely denied them the end zone each time.
Ely, as it has all season, struggled offensively throughout much of the game. Stats were not available as of presstime.