Wolves fall to Bluestreaks

CHISHOLM- The Chisholm Bluestreaks sent Ely home with the blues last Friday, as the Wolves’ losing streak stretched to six with a 14-6 loss.
The bus ride home was especially long given that the Wolves controlled both sides of the ball for much of the game, but could not overcome penalties, turnovers, and missed scoring chances.
The first big break went Ely’s way on Chisholm’s first play from scrimmage. Owen Marolt and Gunnar Skager converged on a Chisholm receiver and knocked the ball loose, with Max Brandreit making the recovery at the Chisholm 47.
The Wolves moved the ball to the Bluestreaks 17 in nine plays, but a holding penalty and a Chisholm sack set up fourth-and-22. DJ Johnson’s pass fell incomplete, squandering the early gift.
Ely forced a punt, then crossed midfield again before coming up short on fourth-and-2 at the Chisholm 36.
Another Chisholm punt early in the second quarter pinned the Wolves at their own 10, but Ely drove all the way to the Chisholm 20. Tyde Brecke appeared to put Ely ahead with an electrifying touchdown run, but the play was wiped out by a holding penalty. The Wolves recovered well enough to draw Chisholm offside on fourth-and-5, but fumbled for a 9-yard loss on the next play and eventually turned the ball over on downs at the 17.
The Wolves defense stiffened again, but the Bluestreaks finally broke through in the final minute of the half. After a quarterback scramble moved the ball out from the Chisholm 20, the Bluestreaks went deep. The receiver made the catch at the Ely 42 with a defender on him, turned and split two more defenders, and won a footrace to the end zone. A successful conversion pass gave Chisholm an 8-0 halftime lead.
Leading 8-0, the Bluestreaks tried an onside kick to start the third quarter, but Ely recovered and had good field position at its own 49. Nine plays later, the Wolves had driven to the Chisholm 15 and were facing third-and-13. That’s when Ely Head Coach Louis Gerzin reached into his own bag of tricks and pulled out a winner. Johnson took the snap and flipped the ball back to Marolt, who in turn launched an arching pass to the back of the end zone that Brecke pulled in for a touchdown. Chisholm stopped the two-point try, leaving the score 8-6.
The momentum carried over to the defense, with Chisholm going backward on its next possession and punting from its own 22. Sean Merriman fielded the kick at the Ely 42 and ran it back to the Chisholm 35, the Wolves’ best starting position of the night. But another opportunity slipped away when Ely fumbled at the 21.
The Bluestreaks were in trouble with third-and-20 from their own 30, but a 19-yard pass and an Ely offsides penalty kept the drive alive. Five plays later, Chisholm scored on a run from the 4-yard line. With 8:49 left, the Bluestreaks led 14-6 after the failed conversion.
Ely had two more possessions, giving the ball up on downs with 6:01 to play before forcing a punt to get one final chance with 3:35 remaining. The Wolves needed to cover 69 yards for a potential tying score, but got only as far as the Chisholm 37 before Johnson was flushed from the pocket and tripped up in the backfield as time expired.
Gerzin knew this was a win that slipped out of Ely’s hands.
“I feel we were the better team for 95 percent of the game,” he said. “Unfortunately, unless you finish it doesn’t matter. We had either a penalty or fumble on almost every offensive drive that killed our momentum and progress.”
Ely’s offense had one of its better rushing nights of the season, piling up 273 yards on the ground with seven players carrying the ball.
Skager led the Wolves with 112 yards on 19 carries, while Brecke added 72 yards on 10 carries. Marolt ran eight times for 35 yards, and Arturo Cameron added 24 yards on seven carries.
Johnson completed 11 passes for 18 yards, while Marolt threw Ely’s lone touchdown pass, a 15-yarder to Brecke. Brecke finished with two catches for 19 yards and a touchdown, while Merriman added two receptions for 14 yards.
Defensively, Marolt led Ely with 10 tackles and a forced fumble. Sawyer Hegman added five tackles and a forced fumble, while Brandreit and Leo McRahl each had four tackles.
The Wolves were scheduled to go on the hunt for their first win of the season on Wednesday against 0-6 East Central in Babbitt.