BAUDETTE—A long bus ride and poor football weather didn’t keep Ely from sprinting out of the gate against the winless Bears. The Timberwolves racked up 62 points by halftime en route to a 76-0 win and their third straight shutout of the young season.

The Bears’ offense has yet to score a point since a single touchdown in their season opener, and they weren’t about to end that streak against a punishing Ely defense, which held them to negative yardage for the game. The Wolves’ offense, meanwhile, scored early and often and the special teams added some huge plays.

For the second game in a row, Ely’s large early lead allowed plenty of playing time for younger players, giving them valuable game experience and keeping the starters healthy for the tougher part of the season yet to come.

The Wolves again put big numbers on the scoreboard, but it didn’t require an overwhelming offensive performance thanks to excellent field position throughout the game. Eli Conaway led the way, rushing 12 times for 132 yards, three touchdowns, and an extra point conversion. Blaise Lah added 57 yards and two touchdowns on seven carries. A long list of other Ely rushers help add to their total of 241 yards on 34 carries for an average of just over seven yards per carry. Ely never bothered to pass the entire game.

On defense, Ely had 18 players record a tackle and were led by senior Blaise Lah with 11. Tjae Banks had a strong game with nine followed by Eli Conaway tallying eight for the Wolves.

Nate Netiffee was the benificiary of a fumble recovery forced by Collen Saliskar.

“We are starting the tough part of our schedule,” said Ely Head Coach Brian Lamppa. “Let’s see how we play in those games.”

The next three games for Ely start a much more competitve stretch of their schedule and will help determine how they match up with the better teams in nine-man football. That group includes South Ridge 2 - 1, Mountain Iron/ Buhl 2 - 1, and Cook County 3 – 0, all with winning records, something the Wolves have yet to face this year.

3-0 Ely will be at 2-1 South Ridge as both teams will be playing to stay on top of the conference on Friday, Sept. 22 at 7 p.m.