PRESCOTT — The final week of the regular season brought with it a major opportunity for Prescott, as the Cardinals took down Ellsworth at home 28-14.

The win was the first for Prescott over Ellsworth in the Highway 10 rivalry since 2015, and it meant a lot for Prescott to close the regular season with the statement win.

“Two really good football teams going at it and we knew it was going to come down to one of the last plays in the fourth quarter,” Prescott Head Coach Jordan Hansen said. “It’s been 10 years, I think, since we’ve beat them, so it feels pretty good.

Coming off a loss against Baldwin-Woodville in a matchup that ultimately determined the conference champion, Prescott was looking to come out of the gates strong.

The Cardinals did just that, with Barrett Temmers taking the opening kickoff after a bounce and bringing it all the way inside the 10-yard line. On the first offensive play, Teddy Bernick took it on a quarterback keeper up the middle and scored for a 6-0 lead.

Each team earned a stop on the next drives, but late in the first the Panthers would strike back. A drive that featured long runs from Omar Coulson and Braydon Anderson brought the Panthers to the one where they would break out one of their signature plays. A direct snap to the physical running back in Anderson worked to perfection and it was 6-6.

Ellsworth made a goal line stand on Prescott, which was followed up by Kobe Russell jumping a crossing route on the right side to keep Prescott in business. Russell finished what he started, finding a hole in the endzone for an 11-yard receiving touchdown and a 14-6 lead.

Prescott took the second half’s opening drive and controlled the ball for over seven minutes; however, the Cardinal field goal attempt was blocked. They got the ball back and would not let the same thing happen as a diving catch from Russell set up a 25-yard touchdown run from Andrew Lesso to take a 20-6 lead in the final minute of the third quarter.

The fourth quarter scoring opened in an unusual manner, as a whopping 61-yard punt from Gavin Wittenburg pinned Prescott all the way at the two yard-line, where Ellsworth would secure a safety.

With four minutes to play, Ellsworth took over again in need of about 90 yards to score. The Panthers found the magic again, driving all the way down and scoring on another direct snap to Anderson to cut the lead to 20-14 with 2:41 to play.

Ellsworth attempted an onside kick, and they had their chance to recover it as the ball jumped around the Cardinal players. Prescott eventually recovered it but were quickly backed into a third and nine situation with plenty of time for Ellsworth to score if they got the chance. That is when Russell did what he had done all day, make plays when it counts. Russell sneaked past all the Panther defenders and caught the ball for a wide open 68-yard score to wrap up the win.

“We got out-physicaled by a really well-coached team, by a team that was hungry, by a team that wanted to get a W tonight,” Ellsworth Head Coach Rob Heller said. “We just came out flat on special teams and that’s on us on coaches. We’ve got to have those guys ready to go on specials. It’s one third of the game.”

Russell has been a key piece for Prescott all season long, and the Ellsworth game showcased his abilities, tallying 111 yards and a pair of touchdowns on three catches and an interception on the other side.

“He’s a special kid,” Hansen said. “One thing with Kobe, he’s a natural talent, but he works hard. He puts a lot of time and effort into his craft and those things don’t happen by accident.”

Hansen said losses like the one against Baldwin-Woodville can teach just as much as the big wins can, and they learned a lot about themselves defensively a week ago.

“When our defense trusts their keys and do their job, good things happen,” Hansen said. “We expect to play defense like that every game and we have in most games.”

At the beginning of the season, Hansen spoke on the importance of defending home, something they failed to do a year ago, and it was a different story this year. Prescott finished 5-0 at home on the season.

The WIAA playoff bracket was released, with Prescott and Ellsworth making it in Division 4. Prescott secured a No. 4 seed and will host No. 5 Seymour, who boasts a 7-2 record on the year.

“A 1-0 mentality. If you have a bad game in the playoffs then you’re done,” Hansen said. “The Baldwin game, we kind of built that game up too much… Have fun and just play our style of football and see what happens.”

Ellsworth snatched the No. 6 seed which lines the Panthers up with No. 3 Mosinee. Mosinee enters the playoffs at 6-3.

“We’re fortunate to be in the playoffs,” Heller said. “A lot of teams gotta turn their gear in tonight, we’re not one of them. We’re excited to have another week to regroup.”