BIGFORK – The Timberwolves suffered their second straight lopsided loss here last Friday as the Huskies’ defense ruled the day on route to a 62-14 win over Ely.
“We came up against a very good Bigfork team,” said Ely Head Coach Louis Gerzin. “I thought we did not execute very well defensively. I saw a lot of blown coverages, and not reading our assignments.”
Gerzin credited the Huskies’ play execution, particularly on a quarterback option play that “they executed phenomenally,” making it difficult to defend against. “That is no excuse for us. We have to be able to adjust to that kind of play. We’re going to see that more and more this season,” he said.
Bigfork took a 40-0 lead by halftime and scored again to open the third quarter before Ely’s junior running back Jason Kerntz returned the subsequent kick-off 99 yards for Ely’s first score of the game. Kerntz also scrambled for 45 yards for another score late in the third quarter. He notched 130 yards rushing on 14 attempts against the Huskies.
Senior quarterback Mason Davies struggled much of the afternoon, completing just five passes for eight yards. He added 21 more yards on five rushes.
Junior fullback Erron Anderson rushed five times for 15 yards.
On defense, Harry Simons led the Timberwolves with 12 tackles while breaking up two passes. “He was all over the field. He played some linebacker, safety and on the D-line,” Gerzin said, referring to Simons. Davis had nine and a half tackles, while Kerntz had eight and a half. Sophomore linebacker Gavin Marshall and junior linebacker Gunnar Hart each made five tackles.
“We had some young guys come into the game that actually did pretty well,” Gerzin said. He noted that eighth grader Jesse Oelke was in at safety for a few plays. “Freshman Conner Baltich came in and made some nice plays, and so did junior Ashton Cook,” he said.
The Timberwolves are scheduled to host Cherry on Friday. Logan Meskill, who suffered a hit to the head last week against Mt. Iron-Buhl, was set to be back on the practice field this week, according to Gerzin.
A trip to Cromwell/Floodwood on Oct. 1 will be followed by Ely’s homecoming game on Friday, Oct. 8 against Cook County.