James Jackson/MDN Aggies sophomore dual-threat quarterback Ben Schepp put on a gridiron masterclass Friday night, showcasing his offensive and defensive skills and leading Velva to a 40-8 victory over Des Lacs-Burlington in their Region 3 opener.

A picturesque North Dakota sunset painted the backdrop for the opening night of 2022-2023 Class B Region 3 play for Velva/Garrison/Drake-Anamoose and Des Lacs-Burlington as they went to war on the gridiron Friday evening.

Off to a scorching start to the new season, the Velva Aggies (2-0 overall, 0-0 Region 3) rustled up a 44-12 home win against Hazen in week 1, followed by a 30-19 victory on the road against Beulah last week.

Steered by sophomore standout quarterback Ben Schepp, the Aggies up-tempo offense has kept scorekeepers busy in the first two weeks of Class B play.

Capitalizing on their propensity to launch a dangerously quick-paced passing attack, Velva has more than doubled their opponents’ scoring by a margin of 74-31.

For the Des Lacs-Burlington Lakers (0-1 overall, 0-0 Region 3), they entered Friday’s match-up focused on jump-starting their offense and a strong bounce back from a 36-0 week 1 home loss to Dickinson.

In spite of last week’s less than ideal start to the new season, the Lakers entered Friday’s contest with the memory of last year’s 26-12 victory over the Aggies in week 9 fueling their competitive fire.

Nevertheless, in their 36 total head-to-head meetings, Velva holds a 26-12 all-time win margin over Des Lacs-Burlington.

Furthermore, last year’s win over the Aggies was the first for Des Lacs-Burlington since their 26-14 victory over Velva in 2015.

Over the course of the last five years, Velva has outscored the Lakers in their match-ups by nearly 250%, with Velva posting 148 points in their meetings during that time to 61 points for Des Lacs-Burlington.

Repeating what is becoming a trademark of this season’s Aggies, Velva wasted no time in putting points on the board on their opening drive of the night.

Serving up balanced doses of passing and running plays as they moved into Lakers territory, the Aggies would cap the drive with the first points of the game on an 11-yard touchdown pass by Schepp to sophomore tight end Reggie Bruner in what would become an 8-0 Velva lead.

Aspiring to not only tie the game but score their first points of the 2022-2023 season on the board, Des Lacs-Burlington’s only credible scoring drive of the first half was one that ultimately put them a lone yard from manifesting this goal.

Leaning heavily on a run-heavy scheme, the Lakers would end up on the goal line after a pass interference call in the end zone would put them 36 inches away from tying the score.

However, a rock-solid stand by the Aggies defensive line in the trenches would prevent the Lakers from inking their first touchdown of the year in the books.

Feeding off of the energy of the defense, the Velva offense would continue to roll in the second quarter.

Taking a page out of the Brett Favre-Patrick Mahomes playbook, Schepp would make a flip pass at the line of scrimmage to senior wide receiver Treyson Iglehart that would set the second scoring drive of the game up for Velva.

In fitting fashion, Schepp would finish off the drive not with his arm, but with his legs on a 12-yard QB keeper up the middle to put the Aggies up 16-0.

Not to be left out of the scoring, Velva’s defense would get involved in the points department after senior defensive lineman Kyle Sandy would recover an errand snap and take it 12-yards for what would become six more Aggies points and a 22-0 lead heading into halftime.

Down three touchdowns with the lights dimming on the chances of a win, Des Lacs-Burlington would come out in the third quarter and put their fortitude on display.

Veering away from their ground game, the Lakers would take to the air to generate their first points of the season on two highlight receptions.

The first would come with just over 8 minutes on the clock on a 29-yard pass from junior QB Paxton Ystaas to senior Jaylin Fullin Ross.

Putting the exclamation mark on the drive was a 29-yard TD reception by junior wide receiver Braylon Fisher from Ystaas to mark the first points of the new season for the Lakers and breaking the shutout as they reduced the Aggies lead to 22-8.

Nonetheless, the Velva offensive machine was unrelenting, seeing Schepp go in to the end zone from 1-yard out with less than 2 minutes left in the third quarter for his second rushing touchdown of the game and extending the lead to 28-8.

Highlighting his dual-threat potency, it took Schepp less than a minute into the fourth quarter to score his third rushing touchdown of the night on a beautiful 10-yard scramble to swell the Velva lead to 34-8.

Just two minutes later, Schepp would put the icing on arguably a career night, coming up with an interception on defense before connecting just 30 seconds later on a 35-yard TD strike to sophomore wide receiver Treyson Iglehart to cement the eventual final score at 40-8 for Velva’s third win of the season and first of Region 3 play.

Friday night’s loss dropped Des Lacs-Burlington to 0-2 overall and 0-1 in Region 3 competition.

The primary contributor to the Aggies’ 401 yards of total team offense, Schepp would finish the contest with 101 yards and 3 touchdowns on the ground while adding 214 yards and 2 touchdowns on 15-25 passing.

Still searching for their offensive footing, the Lakers would finish with 145 total yards as a team, with Ystass tallying 114 yards on 7-17 passing.

Next Friday will see more Region 3 action for both teams, as Velva will square off at home against Nedrose at 7 p.m., while Des Lacs-Burlington will welcome Kenmare/Bowbells/Burke Central for a home contest at 7 p.m.