The Ellsworth Panthers came into last Friday’s homecoming game at Amery undefeated, while the Warriors entered winless through three weeks.

The Warriors received the opening kick and started their first drive at their own 34-yard line. It didn’t take long before the Panther defense recovered a fumble.

For the second straight week, on their first play of offense, quarterback Mason Anderson connected with receiver Jack Janke for a touchdown. Last week it was for 80 yards, while this week it was for 63 yards.

It was just the start of another efficient game for Anderson, who finished with 282 yards through the air on 13 of 16 passing.

Janke dominated the Warrior defense, averaging over 24-yards per reception and finishing with three touchdowns on 10 receptions for 241 yards.

But the Panthers didn’t just beat the Warriors through the air in the 55-7 victory. Another weapon has emerged on their offense in sophomore running back Max Grand, who rushed for 195 yards on 17 carries. Grand found the endzone just once, but every carry seemed to dupe Warrior defenders with his quick feet.

Junior Ashen Quade found the end zone on one of his seven carries, totaling 66 yards on the night. Quade also scored on a 10-yard reception. Senior Shane Lange found the end zone behind the dominant Panther’s offensive line, while sophomore Bo Hines scored a touchdown on his second carry after running for 37 yards on consecutive carries.

This Panther’s offense will be hard for any team to

Photos by Jack McLoone. slow down, and not just because of all the players that can score. Their offensive line may not be the biggest in the conference, but they clear gaps for the backs to find space.

The Panther’s held a 21-0 lead before the Warriors returned a kickoff for a touchdown in the first quarter. Fortunately for Panthers, their defense held firm and did not let the Warriors into the game once they gained a lead.

Amery finished with 68 yards on the ground and 46 yards through the air, even after the Panther’s junior varsity defense took over in the second half and pitched their own shutout.

“We had to change up our defense to handle their spread offense and the kids handled that really well. It was awesome to see them pick up a new concept really fast, it’s another tool in our toolbox we can use the rest of the season,” Head Coach Rob heller said after the game. “You know, we have a lot of weapons on offense and I think we’ll be tough for a lot of teams to cover.”

Coming into the game against a winless team following last week’s huge win over St. Croix Central, Heller said the team was able to stay focused.

“I really think the kids did a great job of staying on task,” Heller stated. “They enjoyed the win, but I think they’re kind of realizing they’re doing something kind of special this year. Ellsworth isn’t really known for their football like they are wrestling, they only have a handful of conference championships. The kids are really embracing the mantra of going 1-0 each week, and they’ve been doing a really good job of getting better each week at practice and just having fun playing football.”

It’s really easy the Panthers have strong leadership among their ranks.

“I think it’s hard not to really love these seniors, the four kids that stuck it out all four years of high school. Especially them, they’ve realized the season almost never was,” Heller observed. “For them, every chance they get to practice together or play together, they really love it. We’ve got some pretty special juniors on this team and some really good sophomores as well. They love playing football together. It’s fun to see it coming together for us.”

Even behind a mask, Coach Heller’s face lit up when asked about the opportunity for the younger players to enter the game with the running clock.

“It was awesome, it was awesome. Those guys are the unsung heroes of our football team,” Heller emphatically said. “Those are the guys that take licks during the week, they play JV games on Monday, they miss play install on Monday, the coaches get upset when they don’t know what’s going on, and they try their best to give the Varsity guys a look so it was great to see them pitch a shutout.”

Ellsworth hosts Baldwin-Woodville (3-1) this Friday night, who’s coming off a 38-29 win over Somerset.

Jack Janke caught one of his ten receptions on his way to a monster 241-yard, three touchdown performance.