NIAGARA, Wis. — Northern Elite recovered from a shaky start and defeated Crandon 30-16 in a Northwoods Conference football opener Friday.

Ryan Erickson rushed for 110 yards and two touchdowns to lead the offense.

Scoring at the end of the first half to tie the game at 8-8 gave the Predators a boost, said coach Ben Laarman.

“We made some adjustments and took over in the second half,” he said.

The Predators had a balanced attack on the ground, with Andrew Niven rushing for 88 yards and a TD and Landon Kalkofen contributing 71 yards and a score.

The passing attack netted 44 yards.

Northern Elite will host Tomahawk on Saturday, Oct. 3, at Niagara. The contest had originally been scheduled at Goodman.

Northern Elite 0 8 15 7 — 30

Crandon 8 0 0 8 — 16

1st quarter

C — Hudson Kane, 81-yd. run (2-point conversion good)

2nd quarter

NE — Ryan Erickson, 1-yd. run (Andrew Niven run)

3rd quarter

NE — Landon Kalkofen, 3-yd. run (Kalkofen run)

NE — Erickson, 7-yd. run (Andrew Niven kick)

4th quarter

NE — Andrew Niven 4-yd. run (Niven kick)

C — Kane, 9-yd. run (2-point conversion good)