ELLSWORTH — It all came down to the final possession. An incredible leaping grab from Parker Peterson had Ellsworth in the red zone with a minute to play. Prescott faced an injury timeout after standout Kobe Russell had been dealing with a lingering leg injury.

Prescott Coach Jordan Hansen used the time to tell his team to get one last stand, finding the heart to do it for Kobe and the team as a whole.

Solid coverage on an outside endzone shot forced second down. Peterson made a catch and run to cut it to third and five with a quick out route. Ellsworth again went to a short route to Peterson on third who was stopped just short of the line to gain. Down 14-10 with their backs against the wall on fourth down after a timeout from each team, quarterback Jack Stoltenburg found tight end George Rohl open over the middle for a touchdown, but not so fast, Ellsworth was called for a hold.

“We all were nervous, but everyone wanted to blitz. Only one person could blitz,” Wyatt Budworth said.

Two more timeouts were called for a fourth and 14, and an Andrew Lesso blitz worked to perfection, forcing a tough throw that was picked off by Budworth and brought all the way back to the house to seal a 20-10 win.

“We were coming up the pipe quite a bit with some pressure, so we decided at the end, come off the edge,” Hansen said. “I saw a lot of heart. We talk about playing with a lot of heart and hustle and a lot of belief. I didn’t think we had that belief in the first couple games.”

Hansen said everyone did their 1/11th, which they desperately needed after starting 0-2 in non-conference games. The Cardinals actually trailed 10-0 at the halftime break. During the intermission, Prescott both changed their strategy and their attitude.

“We didn’t score in the first half, so we were trying different things and seeing what clicks,” Hansen said. “We’ve got great players; we’ve just got to find a way to get them in good position.”

Russell was tasked with many direct snap runs, doing whatever he could to wiggle for more yardage.

“When you have a kid like that, you’ve got to find a way to get him the ball,” Hansen said. “He sprung this thing for us in the second half and everyone rallied behind him.”

They also had a 62-yard touchdown pass from senior Brody Temmers to Jaylen Fleming where Fleming caught the ball down the sideline and broke five tackles to take the lead late in the third quarter.

According to Hansen, it was as great of a week of practice as the team has had since he took over.

Running the touchdown all the way back was a freeing feeling for Budworth in a way after the early season grind. He now feels they have all the momentum they need to tear through the conference.

“I had a lot of emotions. I didn’t think it was real at first,” Budworth said. “Just knew I was fast enough.”

Prescott hosts Altoona on Friday for conference game No. 2, while 1-2 Ellsworth heads to Saint Croix Central.