Thursday night football was not good for the Glenville-Emmons Wolverines as they lost the first game of the season to Lyle/Pacelli at home 50-14. The loss was the fourth consecutive to the Athletics dating back to 2004 and the 10th in a row overall for the Wolverines after an 0-9 season a year ago.

“I think we are just about there, I know the score doesn’t say it, but I can see it,” said Wolverines head coach Derek Nelson. “I liked the way we pursued the ball and never gave up. I know it’s hard for them to lose like this, but we’ll get there eventually.”

It didn’t take the Athletics long to show who the dominate team was when they scored on their first possession, a six-play drive that ended in the end zone on a 17-yard run by Nate Williamson for an early 8-0 Lyle/Pacelli advantage.

After a four and out for Glenville-Emmons, the Athletics marched the ball 35 yards for a 14-0 lead after Riely Marsolek rumbled in from a yard out. On the Wolverines next possession they fumbled the ball away but got right back a play later when Lyle/Pacelli’s Matt Buntje threw an interception to Glenville-Emmons’ Zack Williamson at the Athletics’ 45.

Once again though the Wolverines were forced to punt; but this time lightning struck in the form of the Lyle/Pacelli’s Cody Meyer who broke a half dozen tackles on his way to a school record 88-yard punt return for a touchdown and a 20-0 Lyle/Pacelli lead.

Trailing 28-0 the Wolverines finally got on the board with less than eight minutes left in the first half when Michael Thofson took a reverse around the right side for a four-yard score to make it respectable at 28-6. Unfortunately for Glenville-Emmons the Athletics weren’t done and went on to score two more times in the first half to take an insurmountable 44-6 lead into the locker room.

“We were pretty upbeat at halftime,” Nelson said. “We told them we weren’t mad, we like the way they played, it’s just we were really outsized on the line and that hurt us all night.”

Just to show how things couldn’t go right for the Wolverines, at the start of the third they forced a fumble but Meyer was there to scoop up the ball and ran the 40 yards to paydirt untouched for a 50-6 Lyle/Pacelli lead.

Glenville-Emmons scored one last time with just 35 seconds remaining in the third on a Michael Adams scramble for a 50-14 final. As part of a new Minnesota High School League rule, the teams played with a running clock in the fourth quarter because the Athletics led by 35 points or more.

Garrett Schumaker led the Wolverines on the ground with 39 yards while Adams and Glenville-Emmons’ new passing attack netted 172 yards in the air. With the loss the Wolverines start the year at 0-1 and will have to go on the road to try to redeem themselves at Grand Meadow next Friday.

Lyle/Pacelli 50, Glenville-Emmons 14

LP – 20 24 6 0 — 50

GE – 0 6 8 0 — 14

First Quarter

LP – Nate Williamson 17 run (conv. good)

LP – Riely Marsolek 1 run (conv. failed)

LP – Cody Meyer 88 punt return (conv. failed)

Second Quarter

LP – Williamson 27 run (conv. good)

GE – Michael Thofson 4 run (conv. good)

LP – Michael Lonergan 10 yard pass from Matt Buntje (conv. good)

LP – Williamson 3 run (conv. good)

Third Quarter

LP – Meyer 40 run (conv. good)

GE – Michael Adams 12 run (conv. good)

Individual Statistics

Passing – Michael Adams 14 for 31 for 172 yards

Rushing – Garret Schumaker 15 for 39 yards

Receiving – Michael Thofson 1 for 73 yards