Jimmy Lafakis/MDN Bishop Ryan junior wide receiver Bryson Elm (2) and junior running back Logan Merck (33) celebrate after Merck's first touchdown against Des Lacs/Burlington on Friday evening's game in Minot. Merck rushed for three scores in Ryan's 39-14 victory.

The Des Lacs/Burlington Lakers could not stop Logan Merck. They could only hope to contain him.

Merck, donning a gold mouthguard, put on a platinum performance during Bishop Ryan’s 39-14 Region 3 victory Friday evening over DLB at Herb Parker Stadium. The Ryan junior running back rushed for 177 yards and three touchdowns in the win.

Although Merck found great success running the ball, his first play of the game started with a mishap.

“First play, kickoff, my real mouthguard fell out,” Merck said. “I couldn’t find it. So then, I ran to the sideline and found Brett McKay, a little youngin. I said, ‘Hey, I need your mouthguard.’ It was a gold, full mouthpiece. I just threw it in there.”

He admitted he never found his original mouthguard. However, Merck and fellow junior running back Jaxon Feller combined for 463 yards and five touchdowns.

Merck found paydirt twice in the first half, helping the Lions take a 13-0 lead into halftime.

The Lions swaggered around the sidelines. Bishop Ryan sophomore running back Rylan Vibeto bellowed, “They have no answer!”

“When we’re a full-string team and we execute the way that we should, the way that we teach, the way that these kids play that hard, we’re a real good football team,” Ryan head coach Roger Coleman said.

Tempers flared throughout the second half, as flags flew through the blustery October wind. Both teams were assessed unsportsmanlike conduct penalties in the third quarter.

“To be honest with you, I’m an emotional guy, man,” Coleman said. “I wear it on my sleeve and these kids play with high emotion. Just the way that we practice and do things, you can do that when your emotions are so high. As long as you practice that way, you can obviously do the job well in game time too.”

Feller and junior quarterback Nick Sanders punched in respective touchdown runs in the third quarter, continuing Ryan’s trend of juniors starring on senior night.

Merck and Feller found the end zone once apiece between two DLB touchdown passes. The Lakers stopped the running clock in the fourth quarter, but the game was already out of reach.

“It feels amazing, to do what we did tonight,” Merck said. “To be the best football team out there on the field. The most physical. It feels amazing. A lot of talk about this game going into it, who’s the more physical team? I believe we came out on top.”

DLB senior quarterback Dante Gunville found sophomore tight end Chance Mickelson and senior wide receiver Jameson Lesmann for his two second-half scores.

“They come to practice every day and they work hard,” DLB head coach James Johnson said about the Lakers. “I love coaching them. We’ve got some young kids on the field in certain positions and it showed tonight. I think we got out-physicaled in some areas, but I’m proud of these kids.”

With the win, Ryan improved to 7-1 (5-1 Region 3), and DLB fell to 5-3 (4-2 Region 3).The Lakers will host South Prairie on Wednesday at 7 p.m., while the Lions will welcome Garrison/Max to Herb Parker Stadium at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, Oct. 19.

“I give props to my O-line,” Merck said. “And Jaxon (Feller), my running back buddy. Big win.”

Jimmy Lafakis covers Minot High School sports and Class B high school sports. Follow him on Twitter @JJLII30.