CHERRY— It was another dispiriting outing for Ely here last Friday as the Tigers shredded the Timberwolves 76-0 to drop Ely to 0-6 on the season.
“I think overall they were just faster and more athletic,” said Ely Head Coach Louie Gerzin.
The Wolves have shown spark at times against some of the section’s more middling teams, but they’ve struggled against the area’s top performers. Friday’s loss was reminiscent of the team’s 84-0 shellacking at the hands of Mt. Iron-Buhl two weeks ago.
Gerzin said the margin for error is just that much less when playing against some of the section’s powerhouses. “Seems to me with other schools, if you make a mistake on defense, it might go for ten or twenty yards. Cherry is so athletic that even a missed tackled can turn into a touchdown in a matter of seconds,” said Gerzin.
Cherry proved it time and again, particularly in the first half, when the Wolves simply couldn’t answer a powerful Cherry running attack that racked up over 500 yards for the game. The Tigers led 28-0 at the end of the first quarter and took a 48-0 lead into the break. They were up 62-0 by the end of three, as the clock went to running time.
If Ely’s defense failed to find its footing, it was no different on offense. “We pretty much tried everything,” said Gerzin. “We tried running, passing, even quick little passes, but nothing worked. Give credit to Cherry, they’re a really good football team.”
No stats were available as of press time, but Gerzin did make note of some younger players, who made a good showing as they got some playing time on Friday. “We had some young guys really step up,” he said. “I thought Jesse Oelke, Tobin Bird, and Garrett Rohr all had a good game.
Despite last Friday’s pounding, Gerzin said the Ely squad was able to close out the contest without injuries, which he was hopeful would leave them at full strength for their final game of the regular season, set for Wednesday evening (after the Timberjay’s weekly deadline), when they host Hill City/Northland. Gerzin remained hopeful that his team could avoid an 0-7 season with a win.
Looking ahead to the playoffs, Gerzin said the Wolves plan to take part even though it means stepping up to 11-man. Last year, the Wolves bowed out of the playoffs, due mostly to injuries, but this year, Gerzin said the team is ready to make the switch. He said they expect to meet Deer River in the opening round.