ELY— The Timberwolves finally caught the break they were looking for all season, and it left them on the high side of a 22-16 final score against Hill City/Northland here last Wednesday. A late pick-six by senior linebacker Jakson Hegman offered a rare bright spot in an otherwise frustrating season for the Timberwolves, who squandered opportunities to win at least three other games along the way to a 1-6 season record.
Playing in their final home game of the season, the Wolves battled back and forth with the Storm. The Wolves went up 8-0 early on a 30-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Gunnar Hart to senior fullback Erron Anderson. Hart took it in on a keeper moments later for the conversion.
The Storm put six and two on the board later in the half to leave the game knotted at eight heading into the break. The Storm came out fast in the second half and put up another six and two to leave Ely trailing 16-8. But the Wolves didn’t stay down long as they responded with a scoring drive of their own later in the third quarter, capped by a seven-yard scamper from senior Jason Kerntz. Sophomore Alex Merriman grabbed a Hart pass moments later for the game-tying conversion.
It was all defense after that and it looked like the game could be headed to overtime when Hegman suddenly made his move just after the two-minute mark, taking a pass away from a Hill City receiver, returning it 50 yards for the six amid excited cheers from the stands. Ely missed the conversion and still had to fend off the Storm for one more offensive series, but the Wolves weren’t going to be denied the W this time.
“It was a good win,” said Ely Head Coach Louie Gerzin. “We executed well and didn’t make the critical mistakes. The guys were really excited.”
Kerntz led the way for Ely offensively, rushing for 108 yards and the second half touchdown. Anderson rushed for 25 yards in addition to his touchdown reception. Hart connected for 50 yards total passing.
On defense, junior Deegan Richards had a big night, with nine tackles, a fumble recovery and a pass deflection. Merriman added 8.5 tackles and a forced fumble, while Hegman added 3.5 tackles, forced a fumble and deflected a pass in addition to his game-winning pick. Senior Logan Meskill stepped up when the Wolves needed it most, notching five tackles in second half to help keep the Storm at bay. “We had some injuries and some guys had to fill in,” said Gerzin.
In playoff action on Tuesday, Ely fell hard to 7-1 Braham in the opening round of the playoffs. No further information was available at presstime.