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Second-half redemption

Alex Eisen/MDN Des Lacs-Burlington junior Caleb Bonness (28) carries the ball in the first half against Killdeer in a Class 11A first round playoff game in Des Lacs.

DES LACS — Replacing injured standout running back Colton Bartuska, junior Caleb Bonness was thrusted into the Des Lacs-Burlington starting lineup Saturday afternoon in a first round Class 11A playoff game against Killdeer.

Bonness fumbled the ball on the Lakers’ opening drive, but he made up for it in the second half.

After a scoreless first 24 minutes, Bonness accounted for all three of DLB’s touchdowns in the second half to help carry the Lakers (8-1) over Killdeer, 22-0.

“He stepped into a tough situation,” DLB coach James Johnson said about Bonness. “One of our captains went down this week with an injury and that shakes up the whole team… Somebody has to step up and I think our whole team stepped up in that second half.”

Senior Bartuska is out the rest of the season after dislocating his ankle in practice Tuesday. Bonness filled in on offense and senior Lyle Pedlar picked up Bartuska’s defensive duties.

Alex Eisen/MDN Killdeer sophomore Kadin Nodland (45) runs with the ball after intercepting a pass from Des Lacs-Burlington quarterback Dante Gunville in the first quarter.

“A kid like Bartuska that has worked his tail off for four years and had a great career,” Johnson said. “But, unfortunately, had an injury in practice. It’s tough.”

Not capitalizing on turnovers in the first two quarters was ultimately the downfall of the Cowboys (6-3).

“We needed to have scored in the first half,” Killdeer coach Lou Dobitz said, and then he went on to address what they could have possibly done differently. “One thing is catch the football. I think we dropped six passes, maybe seven. We just had to make some more plays.”

Besides the early fumble by Bonness, Lakers sophomore quarterback Dante Gunville also threw two interceptions in the first 13 minutes of the game.

Killdeer marched down the field after DLB’s third turnover with a couple of first downs on the ground by senior tailback Cole Dukart.

Inside the red zone, however, Cowboys junior quarterback Dylan Tabor telegraphed a pass to 6-foot-4 senior receiver Garrett LeMieux. DLB senior defensive back Joshua Knutson undercut the route and intercepted the ball on his own 5-yard line.

The turnover took both teams into the locker room tied at 0-0. The Lakers’ offense regrouped and got rolling in the second half.

“First half we just weren’t playing with the intensity we needed to play with,” Johnson said. “But, they definitely changed their tune in the second half and got more aggressive. Killdeer is a physical team and they’ll attack you. I don’t think some of our younger guys were quite ready for that.”

Bonness scored his first touchdown 1:59 into the second half. A couple of deep passes set up the nine-yard score. Gunville passed to Scott Drovdal for the two-point conversion, 8-0.

Five minutes later, Bonness bounced in from three yards out on his second touchdown run. Gunville hit Knutson toe-tapping in the back of the end zone for the extra two points, 16-0.

To cap things off, Bonness showed up on defense with a 20-yard interception return for a touchdown with 3:44 remaining in the contest. The two-point pass attempt fell incomplete, 22-0.

“I got to give credit to my D-line,” Bonness said. “They tipped it and it came right to me. I caught it and ran… We are excited. Meeting our goals of advancing in the playoffs.”

The Lakers move on to face No. 4-ranked Dickinson Trinity in the quarterfinals next Saturday at Biesiot Activities Center. The Titans (7-1) defeated Stanley on Saturday in the first round 47-6.

Meanwhile, the season comes to a close for Killdeer.

“Our kids did a nice job this year,” Dobitz said. “Our senior class has been in the playoff every year and they have worked hard to be here. It didn’t work out our way this game, but I’m proud of the kids.

Alex Eisen covers Minot High School, Minot State athletics and high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @AEisen13.

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