Submitted Photo Tyson Enget (3) of Ray/Powers Lake showing off his dual-threat ability in a win over South Prairie-Max earlier this season.

Since starting the season 0-2, the Bishop Ryan Lions (2-3 overall, 2-1 Region 3) football team has turned things around and it couldn’t have come at a better time, as the team has gone on an offensive outburst since Region 3 play began.

Entering Saturday night winning two games in a row, the Lions have outscored their opponents 77-6 over that span. Quarterback Jett Lundeen has been a driving force behind the Lions success, completing over 63% of his pass attempts for a combined 483 yards and 8 touchdowns during the win streak.

Their next opponent in the Ray/Powers Lake Outlaws, however, have been playing great football as well after dropping their opening game to Shiloh Christian. The Outlaws (4-1 overall, 3-0 Region 3) are winners of three games in a row where they have outscored opponents 106-21 during that stretch.

Setting the stage for an exciting matchup at First Western Bank Field at Herb Parker Stadium, both teams are sitting near the top of their region as they look to keep climbing. In a shootout that featured a plethora of points and fireworks, it was the Outlaws who took the final shot, winning 46-39 over the Lions in what was a true classic in Minot.

Utilizing a fake punt to keep the drive going, the Lions broke the scoreless tie early in the first quarter when Jett Lundeen ran in a touchdown, giving the Lions an early 6-0 lead and showing signs of a trend that would continue throughout the game.

Before the brilliant display of fireworks would begin, both teams utilized quick passes and found space in the middle of the field to move the ball as they both wanted to get the ball to their playmakers and let them go to work.

Mirroring what would be a theme throughout the evening, the Outlaws had a quick response to the Lions scoring drive by orchestrating one of their own. Quarterback Tyson Enget would connect with Kyle Huseby on a 48-yard touchdown pass, giving the Outlaws an 8-6 lead after a successful two-point conversion with 7:21 left in the first quarter.

The first quarter would end with the same score, however, both teams would not be remotely close to making this a low scoring affair, as the next quarter would feature a busy scoreboard.

Looking to extend their lead, the Outlaws were driving at the end of the opening quarter, giving themselves an opportunity to tack on more as the second quarter began. On fourth down, Gracin Schroeder took the ball to the Lions’ 5-yard line for the conversion and would finish the drive himself from the same spot. Schroeder’s TD gave the Outlaws a 14-6 lead with 11:14 left in the half.

Coming off a win the last two weeks that saw Lundeen do damage with his arm, he changed the pace against the Outlaws, as the next drive saw him use his legs to keep the ball moving with multiple long runs.

In the first of many highlight reel plays on Saturday, Drew Zwak secured a helmet catch at the Outlaws’ 1-yard line, putting the Lions in a prime position to tie the game. Lundeen would run it in for his second rushing TD of the night and after a successful two-point conversion to Carson Merck, the game was knotted up at 14-14 with 8:50 left in the half.

The first half showed signs of what looked to be a battle between both quarterbacks, who were having a lot of success in the run and pass game. Lundeen was running all over the field with ease and Enget had completed 7/9 pass attempts up to this point.

After a surprising period of the half where both teams went scoreless, the Lions would retake the lead after getting the ball on the Outlaws side of the field to start their drive. Lundeen linked up with Daakon Helseth for a 20-yard TD reception, giving the Lions a 21-14 lead after a Christian Lormejuste nailed the extra point with 4:18 left. This would bring the first half to its final.

Not wasting any time in continuing the firepower, Enget took the second half kick to the house for 66-yards, however, it would be called back due to a holding penalty. On third down, Enget fired a deep pass to Schroeder, bringing the ball to the Lions’ 40-yard line as they looked to bring themselves back into the game.

Wanting to make their presence felt and successfully doing so, the Lions’ defense would come up big on this drive, stopping the run twice in a short situation to force a turnover on downs and get the ball back to the offense.

However, the game would take a bizarre twist at this time, as the Lions would give the ball back to the Outlaws on their next drive due to a fumble with 7:17 left in the third quarter. In a game that did not feature many turnovers, the two teams traded them for a brief moment.

With both teams not being able to separate themselves entirely, the Outlaws decided it was time to take advantage of the Lions turnover. Enget would take things into his own hands by running in a 57-yard touchdown to trim the Lions lead to 21-20 with 6:10 left in the third. This TD run gave Enget over 100 yards passing and 100 yards rushing and his work was far from complete.

After Parker Baier and Coy Okeson came up big with a combined tackle for loss on fourth down in the red zone, the Lions would get the ball back and orchestrate another scoring drive moving into the final quarter.

Lundeen would continue his strong connection with Zwak and connect with Gus Egelhard for long pass plays before he would punch in another rushing touchdown on the first play of the fourth, giving the Lions a 27-20 lead with 11:58 left in the contest.

Showing that he has dual-threat capabilities as well, Enget would get the Outlaws back on the scoreboard by taking one to the house from 56-yards out, trimming the Lions lead to one point at 27-26 with 10:21 left.

Being a threat on both sides of the ball and making himself a difference maker, Enget would intercept a pass on the next drive, taking the ball all the way to the Lions’ 8-yard line. Schroeder would take a pitch and run it in to give the Outlaws the lead at 32-27 with 8:32 to go.

Another Lundeen TD run with 5:33 left would give the Lions the lead again at 33-32 as both teams were hoping to get the last shot in the shootout. After Enget connected with Wyatt Bothe for a long completion to the Lions’ 32-yard line, the Outlaws were ready to answer once again.

On fourth down and with time not being on their side, Enget would link up with Benjamin Streifel for a touchdown with 2:21 left, giving his team a 38-33 lead. On the following drive, Lundeen would hit Zwak for two 17-yard completions as the Lions were showing that they had an answer too.

Following a bad snap, Lundeen scrambled around and hit Egelhard in the end zone on a 43-yard TD pass with 1:15 left to give the Lions a 39-38 lead as they were hoping to get one stop to close out the game.

After three straight incompletions by Enget, it was fourth down and the Lions looked like they were going to pull it off, however, a pass interference call on a fourth down incompletion gave the Outlaws another chance and they would make the most of it when Enget hit Schroeder for a touchdown with 24 seconds left.

The late touchdown by the Outlaws would be the final blow in the fight, bringing the game to its final of 46-39 as they were the last team standing in the shootout on Saturday night.

Following the win, the Outlaws will head home where they will take on Nedrose. The Lions will regroup and head to Stanley for their next contest. Both games are scheduled for 7 p.m. on Sept. 23.