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Magi to the Badlands

Lamoureux, Klabunde and Krueger to represent MHS in All-Star gridiron contest

Alex Eisen/MDN Minot High’s Peyton Lamoureux watches a field goal attempt in a preseason scrimmage last fall at Duane Carlson Stadium in Minot. Lamoureux, along with Magi teammates Lofton Klabunde and Logan Krueger, will represent Minot High on North Dakota’s roster in the 2018 Badlands Bowl being played today in Dickinson.

DICKINSON — North Dakota was smacked around in last year’s The Knights of Columbus Badlands Bowl. No mercy was given as Montana rolled to the biggest victory in the history of the All-Star high school football game between the two states, 63-0.

This evening in Dickinson at the Bieslot Activities Center, this year’s North Dakota senior class will attempt to rectify what happened a year ago. Among those competing for Team North Dakota in the 25th (or silver) edition of the Badlands Bowl are former Minot High School first team All-State standouts and future Minot State football newcomers Peyton Lamoureux, Lofton Klabunde and Logan Krueger.

The Minot trio is well aware of last year’s beatdown.

“There is a trophy with the scores on it downstairs in the lobby area of the hotel,” Klabunde said. “You just look at that and want to get revenge and you don’t want to get beat that bad.”

Montana holds a 18-6 record over North Dakota in the series, but the N.D. All-Stars have had most of their success playing in Dickinson with Montana only holding a slight 5-4 advantage. Montana has won the last three games by a combined score of 139-32.

The North Dakota roster includes seniors from all four levels of competition: Class AAA, Class AA, Class A and Nine-man. More Class AAA players are prevalent this year and there are no local Minot-area kids from the lower ranks taking part.

Former Minot High players who have participated in the Badlands Bowl over the last three years include: Manuel Bradford (2017), Kade Lindquist (2017), Ben Bolinske (2016), Logan Bischof (2016), Zach Danelson (2015), Karter Gorney (2015), Garrett Picard (2015) and Austin Burleson (2015).

Minot’s group this year joins the ever-growing list, as they intermingle and get to play with former foes.

“No, not really,” Lamoureux said when asked if it was weird playing with ex-rivals. “On the field, you never get to know them and who they actually are. But, then you stay with them and hanging out with them all the time (during the weeklong preparation leading up to the Badlands Bowl) and they are actually pretty cool.”

Lamoureux, a two-way receiver and cornerback, led the Magi last season in total touchdowns (11), receiving yards (907), catches (50) and interceptions (9). He also rushed for 127 yards on 14 attempts. He will be tasked to use his quickness and speed to exploit any Montana weaknesses.

“The first couple of days were tough because we are not in our normal football season shape,” Lamoureux said. “But, after a couple of days everybody gets into shape and everything has been great.”

Klabunde, a tight end and defensive back, caught 10 touchdown passes while racking up 629 receiving yards last season. On defense, he chased down 45 tackles and two interceptions. Klabunde will mostly be playing tight end and some special teams this evening.

“It’s fun having my two teammates here,” Klabunde said. “They help me out a lot. If I have a question I can ask them or if they have a question they can ask me. We just help each other out.”

Krueger, a sturdy 6-foot-4 lineman, was a force up front for the Magi in his senior season. He put down 46 tackles (6.5 for a loss), completed 3.5 sacks, forced two fumbles and had the memorable 85-yard pick-six against West Fargo Sheyenne in the first round of the Class AAA playoffs.

Krueger will be playing guard on the offensive line and will also slot in as a defensive end.

“We have been working a lot on getting the offensive line together and learn a different playbook in a short amount of time,” Krueger said. “They give us the simpler version (of the playbook), so we are able to pick it up easier. Plus, we are all experienced players so we can all pick it up pretty quickly.”

Defending Class AAA state champions West Fargo have the most representation from the state with five players. Team North Dakota is also coached by the Packer’s head coach Jay Gibson and he will be assisted by Mike Metcalf, Adam Palczewski and Micah Arnold from West Fargo, and Bismarck High’s Mark Gibson and St. Mary’s Dan Smrekar.

Kickoff is set for 7 p.m. this evening in Dickinson.

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

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