The Ellsworth High School football program continues to be the class of the Middle Border Conference, as the Panthers secured their third consecutive MBC championship with a 53-12 victory against Prescott in the annual Highway 10 rivalry game on Friday, Oct. 7.

The 2022 Middle Border Conference championship is just a continuation of Ellsworth’s nearly unparalleled success over the last four years, which includes three league titles, multiple deep playou runs and one appearance in the state championship game against Catholic Memorial.

Ellsworth has made itself known as a football school throughout the state, given the team’s recent success, but it wasn’t always that way. Ellsworth head coach Rob Heller spoke about where the program is now compared to where it was nearly a decade ago.

“To win three consecutive MBC titles really speaks volumes about how far this program has come,” Heller said. “Nine years ago, we were a 2-7 football team struggling to find an identity in one of the best football conferences in the state; to accomplish what we have been able to accomplish the last three seasons is nothing short of remarkable.”

While Ellsworth has had program-changing success in the last half-decade, it didn’t come easy. The MBC remains one of the best leagues in the state for high school football. Baldwin-Woodville has had some great teams, Somerset has gone to multiple state championship games in the last 20 years, Ellsworth was in the state title game last year, and Saint Croix Central has been a consistently good program. Heller spoke about the conference as a whole.

“The MBC is an elite conference in the state when it comes to football. The MBC is the reason we preach the importance of going 1-0 each week,” Heller said. “I think this is as strong as I have seen the conference in my decade of experience up here. Rice Lake is a power out of the Big Rivers, and Baldwin- Woodville is always well-coached and extremely talented this year, and SCC seems to be finding a rhythm late in the season with a big physical front on both sides of the ball. It is a challenge to win every week in this league.”

The Panthers are 7-1 overall this season and are a perfect 6-0 in MBC action. The lone loss came in week two on the road against the New Richmond Tigers, a team that at one point was ranked in the top 10 in the Division 2 rankings, according to the weekly Wissports. com coaches’ poll.

Since then, Ellsworth has rolled ou six straight wins, including a pivotal conference game on the road against Rice Lake. Last year, the Warriors played in the Division 3 state championship game and finished run ner-up to Pewaukee. Heller spoke about the challenge of having Rice Lake move into the MBC.

“To be able to do it with the addition of a program like Rice Lake makes it that much more special and that much more legitimate,” Heller said. “With that being said we have expectations within our program and a conference championship is only a part of those expectations.”

Reaching the goals for the 2022 season in- clude checking that first box of winning the conference championship, which Ellsworth ovcially did against Prescott on Friday, Oct. 7, in that 53-12 drubbing of the Cardinals.

Whether it was the rivalry game against Prescott, the chance at an outright conference championship or something else, the Ellsworth Panthers took care of business early against the Highway 10 rival.

The Panthers got the ball to start the game and put together a three-minute, scoring drive that junior quarterback Grivn Blomberg capped ou with a 10-yard touchdown run to give the Panthers a 6-0 lead early in the first quarter.

Blomberg added another score with just under two minutes remaining in the opening frame when he punched in a one-yard touchdown run. A successful two-point conversion gave the Panthers a 14-0 advantage.

Ellsworth capitalized on the rushing attack early, relying heavily on the aforementioned Blomberg and senior running back Bo Hines. However, the Panthers mixed in a couple of pass plays including a 36-yard pass and catch from Blomberg to senior wide receiver Lance Gipford.

That pass put the Panthers into a prime scoring position, which they later capped ou when Blomberg scored his third TD of the game on a four-yard scamper. A two-point conversion gave the Panthers a 22-0 lead with just over 11 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Ellsworth continued to push Prescott around the field, both ouensively and defen sively. The Panthers got whatever they want- ed throughout the first half, which contribut ed to a 46-0 halftime lead against Prescott. Heller spoke about what that dominant first half says about his team and how beneficial it was to get reserve players in for the second half.

“To get up 50 points on a team this late in the season really speaks to how the players have bought into the program and expectations put before them,” Heller said. “Slow starts have been an issue for us all season, it cost us a game in week two, for the guys to go up the road and play a first half like that week eight is a really good sign for these guys. It is also nice to get our younger players some reps on Friday, those guys work exceptionally hard to give our ones a good look all week in practice; it’s nice to get them on the field in a big win like that.”

While Heller didn’t mention specifics, it’s safe to assume that Ellsworth’s plans for the 2022 season include winning a regional championship and making another deep run in the playous. However, Ellsworth first must finish up its regular season against Saint Croix Central on Friday, Oct. 14.

Ellsworth will host SCC on Friday night in the regular season finale. That game is slated to begin at 7 p.m.

Ellsworth junior wide receiver Jakob McCabe catches a swing pass from junior quarterback Griffin Blomberg during the rivalry game against Prescott on Friday, Oct. 7. McCabe finished the game with three receptions for 37 yards and a touchdown. Photo by Reagan Hoverman