ELLSWORTH — High school football season is officially underway in Ellsworth, as the Panthers took on La Crosse Logan in what proved to be a heartbreaking 22-21 loss for Ellsworth on Thursday night.

A touchdown with 41 seconds to play seemed to seal a win for the Panthers, but Logan posted a touchdown drive with the clock draining away that would steal a home-opening win away from Ellsworth.

“It was definitely a week one game, I think you’re going to see that across the state,” Head Coach Rob Heller said. “First time under the lights, but real happy with our kids’ effort. It comes down to execution, when you want to win games. We didn’t execute, and that’s on us as coaches. We’ve got to prepare those kids better for end of the game situations.”

While the game was one that was hard to forget, the first half was not, with the teams locked up at 0-0. Logan had a chance to score late in the half, but a sideline pass was met with a full-extension one-handed interception from junior Omar Coulson at the two yard-line.

It was all defense to open the game, but the halftime break allowed legs to get fresh again and opened the gates for some scoring.

Ellsworth’s opening second half kickoff pinned Logan at the five yard-line, and a quick stop allowed the Panthers to take over about 30 yards from the endzone.

Coulson got the scoring started for the Panthers, catching a slant route and shrugging off his defender, breaking away for a 31-yard touchdown with no one in sight for a 7-0 lead.

“Omar played with his hair on fire man,” Heller said. “He made some big plays for us, kept us in the game.”

Coulson had eight catches for 129 yards and two touchdowns receiving offensively to go along with the interception on the other side. Junior quarterback Jack Stoltenburg put a lot of faith in Coulson, as Coulson led the team in receiving production by a landslide. Stoltenburg finished 15-of-26 passing with 164 yards, a touchdown and an interception.

Logan’s six-foot-five tight end Jacob Hackbarth quickly countered, coming across the field and making the catch about 10 yards downfield before breaking a tackle and squeaking through for a 60-yard touchdown to tie the game.

Ellsworth would not let the Logan momentum hang around, punching back with a one-yard touchdown from powerful senior running back Braydon Anderson. The extra point was blocked, setting the scoreline at 13-7. The run game was slowed throughout the day, with Anderson leading the pack at 61 yards and a touchdown on 17 rushes.

Logan would then go on a methodical drive that would span both the end of the third quarter and start of the fourth, ultimately scoring to take a 14-13 lead.

The connection between Stoltenburg and Coulson had one mishap in a game full of highlights, with a deep ball over the middle just a hair too long for Coulson to come down with, deflecting off Coulson’s fingertips. Coulson got open off a secondary miscommunication and would have had room to walk in for a touchdown.

The Panthers were in desperate need of a stop, but Logan drove across midfield and looked to be cruising. Quarterback Bradley Check took a third down snap, rolled right and fired downfield to Hackbarth, but this time Nash Kuhl jumped in front of it to keep the hometown hopes alive.

Logan dropped an interception that would have sealed the game, and after a holding call and an incompletion, Ellsworth drew up a trick play for the ages. A pitch to Anderson looked to be swallowed up by the defense, but Anderson shed a tackle, leaped and made a throw to the right sideline while taking a hit, finding the open Coulson who tip-toed near the sideline and lunged into the endzone for a 25-yard score with 41 seconds to play to take a 21-14 lead.

Andrew Stanton leaked underneath the deep prevent defense, turning up-field across the 40-yard line. After a roughing the passer penalty was tacked on, Logan was up to the 22 yard-line with 17 seconds to go.

Check dumped a short pass to Stanton on the very next play, and Stanton did the rest. Stanton shed a tackler, burst to the outside and motored it in. They did not make the trip to Ellsworth to leave the game in Ellsworth’s hands, so they decided to go for two to decide it. Logan used Hackbarth’s size to get in the way of the Ellsworth defense and free up a wide open player for the conversion.

Heller said there were some things on both sides of the ball that need to be cleaned up, but also saw some positive signs for the year.

“Third and long, we weren’t real solid tonight, and obviously that prevent kind of ended the game for us,” Heller said.

Logan is a larger school than Ellsworth, and it showed in the size difference from some of the players. Heller said while this presents a challenge, it is one that will only help the team as the season goes on.

“We like to schedule non-conference games that are going to prepare us for [Middle Border Conference] games,” Heller said. “You don’t do that by scheduling cupcakes.”

Ellsworth's second game comes against La Crosse Central, which will be another massive test for a Panther team looking for as many challenges as they can find before conference play begins.