ELY- The Ely High School football stadium could rightly be renamed the Ely Heartbreak Hotel after the Wolves came up short in a rain-delayed thriller against International Falls on Friday, 21-8.
The Broncos had shown no mercy to Ely in their previous two games, winning by a combined score of 113-8.
But the Wolves were determined to turn that around, and they set out to do just that on their opening drive.
Taking the ball at their own 47 after a good kickoff return by Owen Marolt, the Wolves ground their way fearlessly and relentlessly down the field, using big fourth-down conversions by Marolt and Arturo Cameron to move to the Bronco’ seven yard-line.
Tyde Breck then swept around end for an apparent score, but the Wolves’ jubilation was short-lived, as a holding penalty took six points off the board and put the ball back at the I-Falls 15.
Ely got new life when the Broncos were flagged for a late hit on quarterback DJ Johnson, setting the Wolves up with a first down at the five-yard line.
Three runs gained just two yards, and on fourth down Ely Head Coach Louis Gerzin decided to go to the air. Johnson rolled right, but his pass was picked off in the end zone by the Broncos’ Huxley Herges. The Wolves gave chase, but Herges outran everyone 102 yards for the score, and the extra point gave the Broncos a 7-0 lead with 4:17 remaining in the first quarter.
Another holding penalty short-circuited the Wolves’ next drive, and a big run, with a personal foul on Ely tacked on for good measure, quickly set the Broncos up at the Ely 32. I-Falls kept the momentum and scored on a short plunge to increase the advantage to 14-0 with just over ten minutes left in the half.
Penalties on both teams stalled offensive efforts as the game moved into the half with the Broncos holding the same 14-0 lead.
The Wolves caught a break late in the third quarter when the Broncos punter fumbled a snap and was tackled trying to run, giving Ely the ball at the I-Falls 46. A big run by Brecke moved the ball to the Broncos 18. Johnson was tackled 10 yards behind the line, but a Broncos personal foul set Ely up on the 12. The Wolves picked up a first down at the 8 before the teams switched ends at the end of the quarter. On third down from the 5, Cameron took the ball and bulled his way up the middle for a touchdown. Johnson passed to Max Brandreit for the conversion, putting the Wolves in striking distance at 14-8.
The Broncos chewed up the clock on their next possession, but the drive stalled at the Ely 15 and the Wolves took over after a missed field goal attempt by I-Falls.
Ely found a stroke of lightning when Brecke races around left end for 38 yards, and a personal foul on the Broncos moved the ball to the I-Falls 32. With over three minutes left, the Wolves were in position to push for a score, but the Broncos stiffened, snuffing two Ely runs and setting up third-and-13. Facing a blitz, Johnson had to hurry a pass that fell incomplete, and Ely’s threat ended on another incompletion.
The Broncos squashed any hope of a miracle comeback by the Wolves when Kingston Jean took a pitch and streaked 63 yards for a touchdown with 1:54 remaining, and the point after kick accounted for the final score in the Broncos’ 21-8 win.
The performance represented a dramatic turnaround against a team that had dominated Ely in its previous two meetings, and Gerzin came away encouraged by the Wolves’ play.
“That was the most complete game we’ve played yet,” Gerzin said. “I made a bad play call on the goal line that hurt us pretty bad. Take away that play call and a couple other mistakes and we would have been in a great position to win that game. Unfortunately, the few mistakes we made came in costly down-and-distance situations.”
Brecke led the Ely ground game with 69 yards on 13 carries, while Marolt ran nine times for 62 yards. Cameron finished with 18 yards and a touchdown on seven carries, and Brandreit caught the Wolves’ two-point conversion.
Marolt led the defense with 12 tackles, followed by Leo Mcrahl with nine, Cameron with six, and Kooper Dostert with five.