By Reagan Hoverman

On Friday, Aug. 26, the Ellsworth Panthers football team lost its first regular season game since Oct. 18, 2019.

That seemingly unfathomable regular sea son winning streak came to an end on the road in a 22-8 loss against the New Richmond Tigers, a team that is expected to make noise throughout Division 2 football this season.

After the week one blowout victory against the Arcadia Raiders, Ellsworth head coach Rob Heller spoke about how week two against a talented New Richmond team was going to be a measuring stick game for his Panthers.

The Panthers came out flat on the open ing possession and New Richmond took advantage. The Tigers quickly marched down the field in their signature spread offense and capped off a two-minute drive with a 31-yard touchdown pass from senior quarterback Seamus Scanlan to senior wide receiver Drew Euertz. A successful two-point conversion made it 8-0 for New Richmond.

Ellsworth drove methodically down the field before finding itself in a fourth and long near the New Richmond 30-yard line. That’s when senior quarterback Kaeden Grau took a shot downfield that got picked off by a defender at the New Richmond nine-yard line.

Another one of Ellsworth’s scoring opportunities was cut short when junior quarter- back Grivn Blomberg launched a ball down – field that got tracked and picked off by a New Richmond defender with approximately five minutes left in the first half.

After a stop by the Ellsworth defense, the Panthers’ offense gave it right back when Grau and senior running back Jurell Gooden

muffed a snap that was eventually recovered by the Tigers at the Ellsworth 20-yard line.

Less than one minute later, Scanlan again connected with Eertz, this time on a 20-yard touchdown pass that made it 15-0 in favor of New Richmond. Throughout the first half, New Richmond cashed in on Ellsworth turn – overs that generated the two-score advantage.

Throughout the last two years, Ellsworth’s offense proved to be one of the most potent in the state. This season, explosive plays have come at a premium, especially in that Friday night contest against New Richmond in which the Panthers didn’t score in the first half.

“(New Richmond) is a big, physical, athletic team that has speed,” Heller said. “I wasn’t extremely proud of the way we got o of the bus, we were kind of sleepwalking. We had some blown assignments and didn’t take care of the football in the first half.” Ellsworth’s offense got going late in the third quarter when Blomberg connected with senior wide receiver Lance Gipford on a 29yard pass down the sideline. The strike down – field got the Panthers into a premium scoring position for the first time against the Tigers.

A couple of plays later, the aforementioned Blomberg dove into the endzone for what appeared to be the Panthers’ first touchdown of the game. However, the play got called back as Ellsworth got flagged for assisting the runner. On the ensuing play, the Panthers fumbled the snap and New Richmond recovered, ending Ellsworth’s best scoring opportunity of the night late in the third quarter.

New Richmond again capitalized on Ellsworth’s turnover. This time it was senior running back Andrew Trandahl, who broke loose on a 52-yard touchdown run to make it 22-0 for New Richmond.

Despite trailing by three scores, the Panthers continued to battle and capped o their lone scoring drive with an 11-yard touch – down pass when Blomberg connected with freshman wide receiver George Rohl in the back of the endzone with 11 minutes remaining in regulation. Ellsworth converted a two-point conversion to make it 22-8 which remained the score until the end of the game.

“After that touchdown got called back (by the flag) we shot ourselves in the foot with a turnover,” Heller said. “That’s just kind of the way the night went for us. We couldn’t get out of our own way.” The 22-8 loss was a game of missed opportunities for Ellsworth. Twice the Panthers had the ball inside the New Richmond 10-yard line and failed to capitalize with points. Heller spoke about the slow start and missing out on key scoring chances.

“We’ve got to get o of the bus ready to go better,” Heller said. “As far as coaches go, we’ve got to coach those guys up better during the week on what we might be seeing on Friday. (New Richmond) is a good squad, they’re a big school and they’ve got a good football team.” Losing by – at one point – three posses – sions is essentially uncharted water for this program. It’s been years since Ellsworth has been down three possessions in a regular sea – son game. Heller spoke about how his team responded while trailing late in the ballgame.

“I like how the guys responded when they were down,” Heller said. “They didn’t fold up and quit. That’s a sign of a good team. They’re mentally tough, but we need to be doing that in the first quarter and not the third quarter. We’ll take this as a learning experience and get better.” Another positive for Heller and the Ellsworth staff is that Blomberg appears to be having an immediate impact for the Panthers offensively, despite getting limited snaps as he is eased back into the rotation from an offseason injury.

Ellsworth was expected to have a QB position battle between Blomberg and Graff this offseason, but Blomberg’s injury derailed that. Now, both players are getting snaps at QB and essentially splitting time.

“(Blomberg being back) is definitely going to change some things for us,” Heller said. “I’m not going to call him Jack Janke, but he’s more of a physical runner than Kaeden (Graff) is going to be. (Graff) is going to be a pocket passer and he throws a good ball, but Grin is going to be a weapon back there at QB.” The Panthers begin Middle Border Conference action next week on the road against the Amery Warriors on Friday, Sept. 2. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Ellsworth junior quarterback Griffin Blomberg bounces a quarterback sneak to the outside for a big gain on the road against the New Richmond Tigers on Friday, Aug. 26. Photo by Reagan Hoverman