Adam Papin/MDN Velva’s Reggie Bruner (24) finds the end zone during the second quarter of Saturday’s playoff matchup with Shiloh Christian. The Aggies won 44-14 to advance to the state semifinals.

The snow may have stopped the Velva/Drake-Anamoose/Garrison Aggies from playing on their home field, but it couldn’t keep the Aggies from plowing through the Shiloh Christian Skyhawks, 44-14, in Saturday’s NDHSAA Class B football quarterfinals matchup.

“We took what they gave us, and we just pounded right away,” said Velva quarterback Ben Schepp. “First drive, pound it, pound it, pound it. Then, we just took what they gave us and hit explosive plays. We’ve got athletes on that field, and the offensive line did great to get the ball to the playmakers, and they made plays.”

Schepp threw for five touchdowns on the afternoon as the Aggies jumped out to a 38-7 lead halfway through the second quarter, as the entire second half was played with a running clock. Schepp’s favorite receiver on the day was Reggie Bruner, who caught three touchdowns and eclipsed 100 yards receiving on the day.

His 72-yard touchdown reception with 1:35 left in the first quarter broke the game open, expanding the Aggies lead to 24-7.

“We’ve been approaching the season one game at a time,” said Bruner. “Just execute the plays. No mistakes. No penalties. Play Velva football.”

Hank Bodine got the scoring started early with a three-yard touchdown run. A successful two-point conversion gave Velva an 8-0 lead. Despite a touchdown from Shiloh Christian’s Isaac Emmel to cut the score to 8-7, Velva never trailed in the game.

Schepp connected with Treyson Iglehart for a 22-yard touchdown with 3:59 left in the first quarter, and Bodine ran in the two-point conversion to expand Velva’s lead to 16-7.

Just seconds into the second quarter Iglehart made a key defensive play when he grabbed a deflected pass for an interception and ran it back deep into Shiloh Christian territory. Two minutes later, Schepp found Bruner for his second touchdown of the day from 16 yards out, making the score 30-7.

With 5:38 left before the half, Schepp and Bruner connect yet again for a 38-yard pass and Iglehart took in the two-point conversion, giving the Aggies a 38-7 halftime lead. The Aggies closed out their scoring when Schepp found Matt Jochim in the end zone for an eight-yard score.

The win moves Velva to 11-0 on the year, while Shiloh Christian closes out the year 8-2. Velva hosts No. 4 seed Dickinson Trinity on Saturday in Velva. All four statewide seeds advanced to the state semifinals.

The win was the Aggies’ 24th consecutive win dating back to 2021.