FINLAYSON — If you blinked during the first half of Ely’s matchup at East Central on Friday, you probably missed a touchdown – or three. The Wolves piled up 50 first-half points in a 58-40 win that felt like pinball with helmets, featuring three touchdowns in a 27-second stretch of mayhem.
After receiving the opening kickoff and driving on nine plays from their own 41 to the East Central one-yard line, the Wolves took a 6-0 lead on a fourth-down sneak by freshman quarterback D.J. Johnson. Arturo Cameron got the carry for the two-point conversion to make the score 8-0 with 6:51 showing on the clock.
And now it’s time to start your stopwatches. East Central’s Jarid Dornseif fielded the Sean Merriman kick at around the 23, faked a reverse, and streaked 77 yards to the end zone for the score. Dornseif’s conversion run tied the score at 8-8, with the clock at 6:36.
It took Ely exactly 12 seconds and one play to retake the lead. Having been burned by Dornseif just seconds before, Merriman answered back, catching the East Central kick at his 18, finding a seam on the right side, and racing down the sideline 82 yards for back-to-back kickoff touchdowns and a 14-8 lead for Ely. Jesse Oelke scored the conversion for a 16-8 advantage with 6:24 on the clock. Three touchdowns in 27 seconds.
“The return TD was huge for us,” Ely Head Coach Louie Gerzin said. “It gave us a breath of fresh air knowing that our costly mistake on the play before was now negated.”
The Eagles started their next series on their own 20, and a sack by Jayden Zemke pushed them back nine yards. Max Brandreit brought the heat on the next play and forced a fumble that the Wolves recovered at the three. Cameron carried it in for the touchdown and a 22-8 lead, less than a minute after the Wolves’ previous touchdown.
East Central went to the air on its next possession, gaining big chunks of yardage on two strikes before Oliver Carlin connected with Quentin Reichel on a 45-yard score. The two-point conversion cut the lead to 22-16 with 2:43 left in the first quarter.
Running behind an offensive line that Gerzin called “the heart of this team,” Oelke and Cameron had big runs to move the ball to the Eagles 33 on the next drive. Then they gave Merriman the crease he needed to get outside on a pitch play and dash to the end zone, breaking three tackles along the way. With still 56 seconds to play in the first quarter, Ely was up 28-16.
Merriman was in the mix again for the Wolves’ next big play, making an interception at the Ely 28 early in the second quarter. Oelke broke loose on a 35-yard run into Eagles territory at the 35, and Cyle Merhar capped off the drive with a five-yard touchdown, increasing the lead to 34-16.
After forcing an Eagles punt from their own 22 on the next series, Ely set up shop at the East Central 35. Cameron put the punctuation mark on the short drive with a one-yard touchdown plunge. Johnson passed to Leo Mcrahl for the conversion, and the Wolves led 42-16.
The Eagles tried going back to the air on their next possession at their own 25, but pickpocket Merriman struck again, this time intercepting the ball at the 40 and returning it to the Eagles’ 11-yard line with under a minute remaining before the half. And it was only fitting that Merriman was on the receiving end of Johnson passes for the touchdown and two-point conversion to hit the half-century mark with the clock running down. Ely held a commanding 50-16 lead at the half, already the most points Ely had scored in a game in eight years.
The Eagles made some adjustments during the break that slowed the Ely offense in the second half while turning up their own.
East Central capitalized on an Ely fumble with a 72-yard touchdown pass for the first score of the second half, and the conversion made the score 50-24.
Merhar scored Ely’s only touchdown of the half on a 25-yard pick-six interception early in the fourth quarter, with Johnson running in the conversion for a 58-24 lead.
The Eagles would score twice more but ran out of time to close the gap any further, with Ely hanging on for the 58-40 win.
The Wolves put up some big offensive numbers on the night. Merriman rushed the ball for 86 yards on 12 carries and added 41 yards receiving, scoring two touchdowns and a conversion. He also tallied 114 kick-return yards, including the return for a touchdown.
“Sean Merriman had the best game of his career so far,” Gerzin said. “It was fun to see him have the success.”
Cameron and Oelke had 70 yards each. Cameron’s 18 carries include two touchdowns and a conversion, while Oelke carried the ball eight times and scored a conversion.
But Gerzin’s words of praise were largely focused on the offensive line.
“I want to give credit to our offensive line – where the O line goes, the rest of the team follows,” Gerzin said. “We feel that our strength is our offensive line. We want to play football that is good for them, run the ball, and don’t get behind the sticks.”
The defense also racked up some impactful plays. Brandreit forced two fumbles and recovered two, while Merriman picked off two passes, and Merhar had the interception for a touchdown. Oelke led the team in tackles with eight.
It was a short week for teams as they readied for sectional playoffs, with Braham visiting Ely on Wednesday for the final regular season game for both. Ely will draw an away game against a high seed for round one of the 7AA sectional, opponent and date undetermined as of press time.