St. Croix Central (SCC) came to Ellsworth last Friday night to determine who is this season’s superior Panther in the Middle Border Conference. Coming into the game both 2-0, only one Panther could leave undefeated.

Last season’s contest was tied at the half before SCC rattled off 20 unanswered points in each of the following quarters to finish with a decisive win.

This year was different, even if SCC led by a score of 7-6 at the mid-game break.

Ellsworth’s young team was not intimidated by SCC’s size or physicality. With just four seniors on the roster, the local Panthers have a myriad of youth that seem to step up when they are needed most.

Last week, sophomore Bo Hines took a Prescott Cardinal kickoff back for a touchdown after going down 12-7 just minutes before the halftime break. Number 24, sophomore Jurrell Gooden led the Panthers in tackles against the Cardinals before showing against SCC that it wasn’t a fluke. The Panther defense continues to grow in this young season and as a unit, they showed up in full force every time SCC ran it between the tackles. The Panthers were introduced as a team, and the Panthers tackled as a team. It seemed like nearly every tackle was credited to, “The Panthers”, as it was nearly impossible to tell who got to the ball carrier first.

SCC returned the opening kick and chipped away to the 41 before Hines made a stop on third and long, forcing a punt into the endzone.

Ellsworth wasted no time getting on the scoreboard.

Senior Quarterback Mason Anderson hit junior receiver Jack Janke split out to the right, who beat his defender and took it all the way for an 80-yard touchdown to go ahead 6-0. The limited crowd at Fuller-Symes field went wild.

SCC marched down the field and returned the favor and took a 7-6 lead after a 13-yard touchdown run by quarterback Tadan Holzer with 15 seconds remaining to play in the first quarter.

Junior running back Ashten Quade’s two runs gave Ellsworth a first down at their 32-yard line before the quarter came to a close.

On third and 12, Anderson’s pass was caught by Janke for a first down at the 46 for a 14yard gain. Quade ran it the 50 before Anderson couldn’t find an open target and scrambled for an 11-yard first down on the next play. A few SCC defenders hit the quarterback with everything they had, but Anderson shook it off. Quade’s two carries behind a Panther’s offensive line that had their hands full all night brought up third and one at SCC’s 30-yard line. After no gain on third down, Anderson kept the ball behind his offensive line for a four-yard gain to move the chains.

After coming up short on another fourth down, SCC took over at their own 18 with seven minutes to play in the first half.

A couple of first down runs brought them to the 50 with 4:15 on the clock. An eightyard run followed by a 20-yard run brought up first and 10 at Ellsworth’s 21-yard line with only 3:15 on the clock. SCC seemed to be moving the ball at will between the tackles and Ellsworth had to make a stop. The clock favored the wrong Panthers before the mid-game break. A few more SCC runs brought up second and goal at the five-yard line while the clock ticked just under two minutes. Quade met the ballcarrier at the line of scrimmage and stopped him in his tracks.

Another SCC run was met by another gang tackle by the Panther defense for a short gain to bring up fourth and goal at the three-yard line before SCC called a timeout with 4.5 seconds on the clock.

SCC used a fullback-lead run to smash the ball between the tackles all drive for most of the 79-yards, and they called it one more time. This time, Ellsworth was ready. Junior

Photo by Jack McLoone. linebacker Ian Matzek met the ball carrier with Quade at the line of scrimmage to complete the goal line stand and Ellsworth took over on downs, still trailing 7-6 into the half.

Ellsworth started the second half with the ball but failed to convert a fourth and two, deep in their own territory.

SCC took over at Ellsworth’s 28, just two minutes into the second half. A couple of short runs brought up a first down at the 18. Hines tackled SCC’s ballcarrier for a two-yard loss on an outside run. SCC stayed persistent and continued to run it between the tackles, eventually scoring a seven-yard touchdown on fourth down before they converted the two-point conversion to take a 15-6 lead with 6:02 on the clock in the third quarter.

Ellsworth took over at their own 10-yard line. Anderson scrambled around and found #3 Shane Lange for a 52-yard gain before Janke scored again on a 35-yard touchdown. The Panthers trailed 15-13 with 4:33 to play in the third quarter.

An empty possession gave SCC the ball back at the 37-yard line. On second and seven, their quarterback scrambled to the right and got hit low, sending him careening through the air. His legs could be seen with his cleats pointed at the sky. The ball was loose. Ellsworth had the ball, but the officials ruled the runner down before the ball left his hands.

SCC completed a 20-yard pass before an Ellsworth offsides call on fourth down gave SCC a free first down at their own 20-yard line with just 1:30 left on the clock in the third quarter.

Gooden led a group of Panther defenders on a tackle to bring up third and five at their own 15-yard line. Once again, Ellsworth’s defense had their backs against a wall and needed to make a play. Down two points going into the fourth quarter in their own red zone, senior linebacker Braden Matzek sliced through SCC’s looming offensive line and forced a quarterback fumble to set the tone of the final stanza.

Senior Shane Lange took the ball 32-yards up the middle after the offensive line cleared him a hole to bring up first and ten at the midfield marker. Junior Max Grand took it six yards to the 44-yard line to put Anderson in striking distance.

Anderson sat back in the pocket on the next play and took a huge hit as he unleashed a bomb towards the end zone.

Janke climbed the ladder over the defender and held on to the well-placed ball to bring up a first down at SCC’s eight-yard line. Quade brought the local Panthers to the five before Anderson was sacked to bring up third and goal at the nine-yard line. Anderson hit Janke close to the goal line, but SCC’s defenders forced a fumble that went into the endzone for a touchback. SCC took over at the 20 with 9:07 left to play, leading 15-13.

A 50-yard touchdown run gave SCC a 22-13 lead with 6:15 left on the clock.

SCC continued to wear down with the clock as the night went on and Ellsworth’s offseason work was evident. The hometown Panthers never slowed down.

On the first play of the drive, the offensive line cleared Lange a hole and #3 took it the distance, scoring an 80-yard touchdown to make it 22-20 just seconds later.

A kick out of bounds gave SCC the ball at their own 40. Gooden and Ryan Matzek came up with a first down stop for no gain. #10 Jack Voelker joined Gooden on the next stop for no gain to bring up third and 10 with 4:45 remaining.

Janke came up big with an interception and found the ball he lost earlier in the quarter sailing over the receiver.

On second down, Grand caught a well-placed Anderson ball over his shoulder for a 43-yard gain to bring up first and goal at the four-yard line.

On second down, a SCC defender made an athletic play to knock an Anderson pass to the ground.

On third down, they wouldn’t get so lucky. Wearing the defender like a winter coat, #88 Ryan Matzek caught the go-ahead touchdown with 3:15 to play. An unsuccessful two-point conversion attempt made it 26-22.

Gooden and company tackled the ball carrier on the first play for a gain of two. On second down, Ian Matzek blasted the ball carrier with Voelker in on the stop to bring up third and five. SCC had just 2:15 to make something happen, but they could have had all the time in the world. Gooden flashed through the line and tackled the ball carrier for a loss of two yards before an incomplete pass gave Ellsworth the ball back.

Quade took a sweep 14-yards to the left before SCC started using the rest of their timeouts.

Even with a limited crowd, Fuller-Syme Field went wild as the hometown Panthers lined up in victory formation.

“Our whole attitude this year is taking it one week at a time, going 1-0 each week. We’ve had a few good practices,” Head Coach Rob Heller said after the thriller wrapped up.

In a season that was filled with questions and doubt, Coach Heller has been very impressed with how the Panthers respond to adjustments at halftime.

“The kids are just really embracing the opportunity they have to play football. They love coming to practice after school, they love hanging out with each other and they love football,” Heller stated. “This is a special group. I couldn’t be more proud of them.”

Gooden led all defenders with 18 tackles, closely followed by Ian Matzek’s 11. Hines and Voelker notched 10 each, while Lange added nine more.

Janke led all receivers with 178 yard and two touchdowns on six catches. Lange led all rushers with 118 yards on just four touches. Quade contributed another 54 yards on 16 runs.

Anderson efficiently completed 10 of 14 passes for 283 yards with three touchdowns.

Through three games, the balanced Ellsworth offensive attack has rushed for 616 yards while Anderson has recorded 602 yards through the air.

Photos by Jack McLoone.

At left, St. Croix Central had their hands full trying to wrangle #34 Ashten Quade in last Friday night’s thriller. At right, Bo Hines tackled the St. Croix Central ballcarrier behind the line of scrimmage for a tackle for loss.