Ellsworth football Coach Rob Heller is expecting big things from his Panthers this season.

They sure didn’t disappoint Friday night, as they handed perennial powerhouse Osceola a 28-12 loss to open Middle Border Conference play in front of a limited crowd made up of family members on the Panther home field.

It was the first time Ellsworth has defeated Osceola in six years, and the Panthers made a statement that they’re ready to compete with the best.

“Anytime you beat Osceola, that’s a good start,” he said. “That’s the first time since I’ve been here that we’ve actually taken care of business against them.”

This is a new look Ellsworth team that has worked hard and is maturing into quite a squad.

“We only have four seniors, but we have a lot of experience. We definitely took a lot of licks last year when we were starting a bunch of sophomores. You tend to reap the benefits of that down the road, but now we have a lot of experience coming back this year,” said Heller. “Anytime you beat Osceola, you’re in a good spot. They’re a potential contender for the title in a tough conference. We’re hoping for big things this year. We’ve had big plans for this group for a number of years.”

Ellsworth came at Osceola with a balanced attack with Mason Anderson at quarterback. The team ran or threw the ball an equal number of times.

“It was a very balanced approach, and for the most part, we played well, but it was definitely week one. We were in the red zone several times, and we shot ourselves in the foot,” said Heller.

Ellsworth drew first blood on a 55-yard touchdown strike from Anderson to Jack Janke. Chase Snyder was perfect on his first of four points after, and the Panthers were up 7-0 midway through the first quarter.

Osceola got on the board, and Anderson hit Janke again for a touchdown, this time from 20 yards, and Ellsworth led, 14-6. Osceola narrowed that margin to 14-12 by halftime.

Ellsworth’s final two touchdowns in the second half were on the ground, as Osceola couldn’t contain Ashton Quade all night. He ran in from one yard out in the third quarter, and sealed the win with a 53-yard touchdown scamper.

Anderson was an impressive 14-19 passing for 239 yards and no interceptions.

Janke caught five of those passes for 91 yards, and Ryan Matzek had three catches for 71 yards. Shane Lange and Urban Broadway each caught three passes.

Quade was explosive out of the backfield, running 19 times for 168 yards.

Ellsworth plays rival Prescott on the road Friday night at 7 pm.

“They’re going to be hungry for their first win, so we have to go out there and execute. It’s a rivalry game. Their parents are going to be talking about it. The kids are talking about it, but we need to focus on the game,” said Heller. “We’re taking this one week

Photos by Jon Claesson.