Ryan Ladika/MDN Velva starting quarterback Benjamin Schepp (10) carries the ball early in the first quarter of the Aggies’ Friday night matchup with Nedrose.

The Velva/Garrison Aggies met the Nedrose Cardinals in a Class B heavyweight showdown Friday night, and the Aggies outlasted the Cardinals on the road by a 20-12 final score.

The two squads entered the evening expecting a war. Two of Region 11B North-West’s top programs, Nedrose and Velva brought a combined 8-1 record into the evening with both riding a four-game win streak.

The Aggies had allowed their first six points of the season in their 14-6 victory over Rugby last week, but still had outscored their opposition by an aggregate 134-6 through their first four games of the year.

“As a young ballclub, especially in all the skill positions, you have a lot of freshmen out there playing some key roles,” Velva head coach Larry Sandy said. “The maturity level that they’re able to play at, I think that’s been big for us. Our backers are getting better understanding their schematics, and I think that’s been a big part defensively, is we’re getting a little better all the time there too understanding our assignments.”

After suffering a season-opening 14-12 defeat to the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers in Week 1, the Cardinals had rattled off four consecutive wins of their own, including three shutouts. Nedrose had compiled 169 total points during the four-game span, allowing just 32 in one game to Westhope/Newburg/Glenburn in a thrilling 33-32 Week 3 victory.

Nedrose head coach Tommy Weidler pointed to his team’s toughness as a key ingredient in the Cardinals’ recent hot streak.

“Our physicality is starting to show through at times, and the guys put a lot of time in to understand all of our schemes and in the weight room,” he said. “They put a lot of work in and you’re starting to see the results of that.”

It was certainly a physical, defensive struggle from the start. The entire first quarter consisted of only three plays, two of which were authored by the Aggies. After Velva’s first drive, that ate up 5:08 of the game clock, was stopped by the Cardinals’ defense, the Aggies forced a quick three-and-out to get the ball back.

Velva began its second drive with 5:52 remaining in the opening 12 minutes, and 11 plays later had used up the remainder of the quarter. With a 4th down goal line stand, the Cardinals had stopped an Aggies rushing touchdown attempt at the three yard line, but Velva had used up 8:10 of game clock on its second drive of the contest alone.

The Cardinals were unable to find their offensive footing on their second try, and Velva ran with its early momentum in breaking the ice a little under halfway through the second quarter.

Starting from the 50 yard line, freshman starting quarterback Benjamin Schepp completed a 13-yard pass to Kade Beeter and then found Ty Iglehart for 13 more on second down. The signal-caller lined up for the third straight passing play on the ensuing first down and delivered a dime to Payton Bodine for a 24-yard touchdown reception to give the Aggies the early 6-0 lead.

Velva’s defense did its job once more, paving way for the offensive unit to build on its early advantage. On the seventh play of the drive, Schepp once again called sent a pass Bodine’s way and the receiver pulled off a Randy Moss-like reception over a group of defenders in the end zone.

An illegal blocking penalty on the two-point try set Velva back to the 15, but Schepp broke a tackle en route to dragging a defender into the end zone to put the Aggies up 14-0 just before halftime.

A Keaton Cole kickoff return to Nedrose’s 49 yard line set the Cardinals up nicely for a counterpunch. Running back Cameron Bailey rushed three times for nine total yards on the drive, but Velva defensive back Thomas Bodine picked off an errant Josh Kalamaha pass and returned it to the Nedrose 18 yard line. Schepp capped off a brief four-play drive with a seven-yard touchdown rush, diving just inside the pylon to extend the Aggies’ lead to 20-0.

Nedrose’s offense was finally able to find some offensive life in the final quarter. The Cardinals received a five-yard rush from Bailey on second and goal on the heels of a lengthy nine-play drive, and they cashed in on a Reggie Bruner fumble with a 44-yard touchdown reception by Cole. A botched snap, though, on 4th down and 2 from the Velva 48 yard line with just under two minutes to play sealed the 20-12 win for the Aggies.

Velva advanced to 5-0 on the season with the win, with a matchup with South Prairie-Max next on the docket Oct. 1, while Nedrose dropped to 4-2 and will square off with Rugby next week.