Warriors dominate Wolves 37-8

ELY— Homecoming proved a home drubbing for the Timberwolves this past Friday as Deer River racked up more than 340 yards of offense enroute to a 37-8 victory before a large homecoming crowd.
Ely set the tempo in their opening drive, as they initially moved the ball only to lose it to a fumble in Deer River territory. It was the story of the night as turnovers and penalties seemed to stymie every one of Ely’s attempts at a sustained drive.
“I felt we came out firing but shot ourselves in the foot with penalties,” said Ely Head Coach Louie Gerzin. “We were moving the ball down the field and had drives stall because of mistakes.”
The Wolves certainly had their chances. In the first quarter, they recovered a Deer River fumble at midfield but holding penalties kept pushing them back.
The Warriors, who faced their own struggles early, found a way to score late in the first quarter on a drive capped by a 31-yard run. A kicked extra point put the Warriors up 7-0.
On the subsequent kickoff, Ely senior running back Alex Merriman threaded the Deer River defense with a thrilling runback that left the Wolves at the Warrior’s 34 yard-line. But Deer River held firm and picked off a Sean Merriman pass on a fourth and seven play, leaving them with the ball on their own 20-yard line.
But on their first play from scrimmage, Deer River’s Sean Drotts broke through the line and scampered 80 yards for another six. The missed extra point left Deer River up 13-0.
The Warriors returned to the air on their next possession, as Schjenken connected with Hayden Schwochert for six more. Another failed conversion left Deer River on top 19-0 with just over six minutes remaining in the half.
Merriman gave the Wolves good field position on another nice runback to midfield on the kickoff, but a motion penalty followed by a holding call pushed them back. A nice pass completion from quarterback Merriman to junior Jesse Oelke, gave the Wolves momentary momentum with the ball at the Deer River 44. But a fumble on the next play seemed to deflate the Wolves and the Warriors took advantage with a quick drive capped by a 22-yard pass completion to put Deer River up 25-0.
Ely started its next drive on its own 35 with just over two minutes left ahead of the break. They managed a first down near midfield before the Warriors picked off another Merriman pass, leaving them with yet another scoring opportunity with less than half a minute remaining. They went to the air and Ely batted down their first attempt to the end zone. But on second down, Schjenken connected with Sean Drotts to put Deer River up 31-0.
The second half went mercifully quickly with the clock on running time. The Warriors would add six more points in the third quarter to take a 37-0 lead, but with most of the bench in after that, it was their last trip to the end zone. The Wolves scored their only touchdown in the fourth quarter on a Garrett Rohr run and with the two-point conversion, narrowed the final gap to 37-8.
Sean Merriman led in rushing with 33 yards, while Alex Merriman added 16 yards. Rohr tallied 14 yards and the touchdown, while Max Brandriet rushed for 17 yards, including a two-point conversion. Brandriet completed two passes for 29 yards and Alex Merriman completed a 27-yard pass. Jesse Oelke caught two passes for 37 yards, while Tory Hughley added a reception good for 19 yards.
On defense, Oelke led with seven tackles while Henry Lenz added four. Tory Hughley added two tackles along with a fumble recovery and a pass breakup.
The Wolves are set to host Barnum on Friday in their penultimate regular season matchup. They travel to Milaca next Wednesday for the regular season finale.