ELY- As the Ely Memorial High School football team hits the field on Friday, Sept. 3, two players from Northeast Range will suit up in red and white as the Timberwolves take on Carlton in their season opener.
A last-minute agreement between the two schools, with approval from the Minnesota State High School League and conference opponents, allows the players from Babbitt to compete on the gridiron this season after the NER program was suspended last month due to insufficient numbers.
The agreement, announced last Wednesday after the Timberjay’s deadline, still needs to be approved by the school boards of both ISD 696 and ISD 2142, but the athletic directors of both schools indicated last Thursday that they have the support of both their superintendents and administrations.
The Timberwolves were expecting as many as nine NER players to join them on the practice field last week, but six players showed up on the first day and ultimately just two players made the commitment to play this season. The Timberwolves will start the nine-man season with 22 players on the roster.
“What it all boils down to is that Northeast Range didn’t have enough participants to field a team, and we were able to work something out very quickly, with the help of the Minnesota State High School League, that will allow Northeast Range students to play football this year in Ely,” ISD 696 Athletic Director Tom Coombe said. “Given our numbers and theirs, we were heading in the direction of an eventual merger, but this (agreement) sped things up.”
Northeast Range High School Athletic Director Aaron Donais added, “I’m glad for our students who want to play football to have the opportunity to play in a safe and competitive manner for this season. I’m thankful for the open-mindedness and support of both the administration and coaches of our schools to make this arrangement possible on such short notice.”
In a letter sent to Ely football families last week, Coombe wrote, “Because of extremely low participation numbers, Northeast Range is unable to field a team this fall.  Over the last several days, we have been involved in discussions with Northeast Range officials, the Minnesota State High School League and area (athletic directors) ADs, and we are moving forward with a cooperative agreement that would allow Northeast Range students to play football in Ely this year, and hopefully in future seasons as well.”
The Ely varsity schedule is set and will remain the same as they compete at the nine-man level for the regular season, but because of the combined enrollments of the two schools, the Timberwolves will be forced to compete at the 11-man football team level should they advance to the playoffs in Section 7A for the postseason, according to Coombe.
“This is not uncommon. Just last year, Carlton/Wrenshall played a nine-man schedule and moved up to 11-man for the playoffs,” he said. If the cooperative agreement is extended to the 2022-2023 season and beyond, the Timberwolves will compete at the 11-man level.
With the agreement in place, the Timberwolves have an open date on their schedule on Oct. 15, the date Ely and Northeast Range were scheduled to play each other. “It is a longshot, but we will look to see if there is an 11-man, Class A program that has an open date the same day,” Coombe said.
The junior high football programs at Ely and Babbitt also have very small participation numbers this year. “It is our hope that some Northeast Range students in those grade levels will also join our program,” he said. “We will make every effort to maintain some level of junior high football this year if the numbers allow, playing some grades 7-9 games in an effort to get all of those students a football season.” As many as six Babbitt students indicated initial interest to join the Ely junior high football team.
Ely first-year football coach Louis Gerzin said he welcomes the two NER players to the team. “We are looking to have a competitive season,” he said. “This is all about giving the kids an opportunity to play football.”
Coombe said the process of merging the teams at the 11th hour was “an extremely fluid situation with a lot of moving parts,” and involved numerous discussions with multiple individuals over several days.  “While the timing is not ideal, the bottom line is this will provide some much needed depth for our football program this year and provide opportunities for Northeast Range students to play after their season came to an early end,” he said.
“I also believe both programs were on course for a merger, given the respective participation numbers, and the events of the last week simply sped up that process. I’m sure there may be some growing pains or bumps in the road as our student-athletes come together, but I feel this is a move that will allow both Ely and Northeast Range to maintain football as an extra-curricular offering,” Coombe added.