Sean Williams/MDN Tyson Ruzicka (2), of Minot High, finds a hole and takes one to the house for a first quarter touchdown versus Century on Friday night.

Following an outstanding road win over No. 1 ranked Mandan last week, the Minot High Magicians were back home on Friday, hosting the Century Patriots for a Class 11AA, West Region showdown.

With last week’s win, the Magicians (3-1 overall, 3-1 West Region) have matched their win total from the season prior and picked up their first win over Mandan since 2017. The Magi are looking to keep the wins coming and aiming to continue to re-establish themselves, which was one of head coach Chauncey Hendershot’s goals heading into the year.

For Century (0-4 overall, 0-2 West Region), this year hasn’t been quite as kind to them. 2022 marks the first time the Patriots have started out 0-3 since 2005, as they keep searching for their first win.

With one team looking to keep racking up positive momentum and the other looking to change the outlook of their season, it was the Magicians who shined the brightest on Friday night, walking out of Duane Carlson Stadium with a 19-12 win.

The Patriots drew first blood, taking advantage of good field position when Peyton Arndt ran in a touchdown at the goal line, giving his team an early 6-0 lead with 7:06 left in the first quarter. With momentum building early, it seemed as if the Patriots were ready to make a statement, however, the Magicians would not back down.

Coming off a two-touchdown game against Mandan, Tyson Ruzicka would pick up right where he left off by taking a handoff from Minot’s 39-yard line, cutting and juking his way to the endzone for a score, knotting things up at 6-6 with 5:27 left in the opening quarter.

Following a stout, five interception performance on defense last week, the Magi would begin to settle in on that side of the ball, as they forced two three-and-outs over the next two Patriot’s possessions. The Patriots were looking to run the ball early, but the defensive line of Minot stepped up by stuffing the run and forcing the Patriots to open the playbook.

With the first quarter ending at a 6-6 tie, the Magi would take their first lead of the night when quarterback Jayden Speraw kept one for himself, punching it in from the 2-yard line to give the Magi the lead at 12-6 with 8:59 left in the half.

Putting themselves back into the thick of the fight was the Patriots, who responded when quarterback Kyan Barth helped lead the team down field and ran in a touchdown, making it a 12-12 game after the Magi blocked their second extra point of the contest. This scoring drive would be the final one for either team in the first half.

Opening the second half with authority was the Minot defense, who once again proved to be a force on Friday night. On the Patriot’s first drive, the Magi forced a fumble and recovered it, giving themselves a prime opportunity to retake the lead.

Wanting to show that they had the ability to step up as well was the Patriot’s defense, who forced a turnover on downs when the Magi went for it on fourth but came up short and were held scoreless.

Seeming like anyone’s game at this point, the Patriots appeared to have momentum building on their side as the offense put together an extended drive and were approaching midfield. Kaydn Turnbow squashed the momentum by plowing through the line and picking up a sack on second down, forcing the Patriots into a long situation.

After getting the ball back, the Magi utilized Speraw’s legs to bring the ball back on the Patriot’s side of the field. This drive is when a turning point in the game occurred. On fourth and eight, Speraw threw an incomplete pass, however, a penalty on the Patriots gave the Magi a first down to extend the drive.

It wouldn’t take long for the Magi to cash in on the Patriot’s mistake, when Ruzicka busted up the middle for a 26-yard touchdown run on the next play, marking his second TD of the night and giving him back-to-back games with two rushing touchdowns.

After the successful J.J. Dufner extra point, this gave the Magi their first lead since early in the second quarter, as they now led 19-12 with 2:09 left in the third. With the way the Magi defense was playing all game, the late lead seemed like it would be insurmountable for the Patriots to overcome.

Keeping the Patriots off the scoreboard since the second quarter, the Magi put together an extended drive with 3:24 left in the game, as they looked to have one last gut punch.

While the gut punch wouldn’t occur yet, the continuation of a strong rushing attack caused the Patriots to burn all their timeouts with 2:25 left in the game. Following a turnover on downs, the Magi defense would close out the night with one last turnover, putting a bow on a remarkable performance on Friday night in a 19-12 final in favor of the Magi.

Following the victory over Century, the Magicians will be on the road once again, as they head to Fargo to take on Fargo Davies on Friday, Sept. 23. Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. in what should be another exciting matchup.