ELY — The Barnum Bombers flew into Ely on Friday with a blitzkrieg that completely overwhelmed the Ely/Northeast Range Timberwolves 48-0 in the season opener for both clubs.
The mismatch on paper was evident from the teams’ records the past two seasons. Barnum came into the game with a 19-2 mark, losing only in the playoffs, while the Wolves had a record of 2-16.
The Bombers wasted little time getting on the scoreboard, executing a five-play, 48-yard drive for a touchdown and extra point to go up 7-0 at the 9:28 mark of the first quarter.
When the Wolves got the ball, they sought to neutralize a Barnum size advantage on the line with their speed, and junior running back Sean Merriman got the crowd roaring with a 17-yard gallop around right end on second-and-12 from the Ely 18.
But a holding penalty against the Wolves thwarted the drive. After a punt, the Bombers took over at their own 48.
This time it took the Bombers about three minutes to engineer an eight-play scoring drive capped by a four-yard touchdown run. The extra point made it 14-0 with 3:04 left in the first quarter.
The Bombers picked up three more touchdowns in the second quarter while holding the Wolves in check on offense to go into halftime with a 34-0 lead.
Ely took the opening kick in the second half and was ready to punt the ball away on fourth-and-ten from their 41, but got new life when Barnum was penalized for roughing the kicker.
Junior quarterback Max Brandreit took the next snap and rushed for a first down at the Barnum 43, and Merriman rushed for two yards and another first down at the 32.
But a fumbled pitch and a procedure penalty had the Wolves facing fourth-and-15 from the 37. A Bombers interception killed the drive.
A 43-yard run had the Bombers knocking on the door again at the Ely 15, but the Wolves turned the tables with a takeaway of their own on a fumble recovery.
While the next drive failed to go anywhere, the Wolves got a morale boost when the quarter ran out and they had held the Bombers scoreless in the period.
The Ely offense couldn’t replicate the success of its first drive of the second half, while the Bombers tacked on two more touchdowns in the final stanza to close out the 48-0 win.