Velva is back in the Class A state football championship game after a two-year hiatus.

The Aggies, who have won seven of a possible 12 Class A titles, will be looking for their eighth championship, and seventh this decade, when they take on Langdon-Munich today at the Fargodome.

Velva's road to the Dakota Bowl ran through two of the best football programs in the state.

Last week, the Aggies (11-0) played host to No. 1-ranked Watford City, the defending Class AA champion. Velva won 24-14, handing Watford City its first loss of the season.

A week earlier, in the quarterfinals, Velva unseated two-time defending Class A champion Harvey 18-12. Harvey had beaten Velva in the semifinal round a year earlier, keeping the Aggies from reaching the Dakota Bowl in two straight seasons. That had not happened since Velva missed the state title game in 1998 and 1999.

After the 1999 season, Velva won consecutive titles in 2000-01 and four straight titles in 2003-2006. The Aggies also won the first Class A title in 1997. Velva is 7-0 in Class A state championship games.

"People want to throw a lot of kudos my way, but it's about the players first and foremost," Velva head coach Larry Sandy said. "If you don't have the ingredients, you aren't going to be able to get the job done. Secondly, most winning programs have stability in the coaching staff and in ours we've had that over the years, although this year is a little bit different."

The Aggies run a multiple-back system implemented during the 2000 season after Velva suffered early playoff losses in 1996, 1998 and 1999. The featured backs are senior Michael Wiest and juniors Collin Kittelson and Jordan Weidler.

Wiest leads the team with 697 yards and seven touchdowns on 111 carries. Kittelson isn't far behind with 650 yards and 12 touchdowns, while Weidler has 518 yards and three scores.

"One thing about this system is it splits up the carries among these guys," Sandy said. "Even if you do have one player who is better, you don't have to be so reliant on him if he goes down. Where does that leave you? Just in case an injury does happen, you are not left out in the cold."

A competent passer, junior quarterback Jon Mack is also a threat to run, especially near the goal line. Mack has six rushing touchdowns and 165 rushing yards to complement his 1,158 yards and 15 touchdowns through the air.

Unlike the Aggies, Langdon-Munich (10-1) primarily features one running back Jon Dinius. The 5-foot-9 senior is an all-state track athlete who has amassed 2,792 yards and 22 touchdowns on 343 carries.

"(Stopping him) is going to start with the battles upfront. We are going to have to get off blocks and get a number of tacklers to him," Sandy said. "I think it is very similar to what we saw in Watford with Lund and with Harvey with (Casey) Weinmann."

Langdon-Munich's second running option, senior Travis Beck, is also its quarterback. Beck, who has 520 yards and 10 scores on the ground, took over at QB for injured Dylon Crockett midway through the season. In limited time, Beck has completed 15 of 29 passes for 200 yards and four touchdowns.

The game is scheduled to begin 20 minutes after the conclusion of the 9-man state championship game, which begins at noon.