Nathan Beitler/MDN Minot High swarms a West Fargo running back, led by junior strong safety James Pallotta (3) during a Class AAA football game at Duane Carlson Stadium on Friday, Sept. 12. The Magicians lost 19-14 to fall to 0-3 this season.

It was deja vu for Minot High against West Fargo.

For the second time in as many weeks, the Magicians held a lead late into the fourth quarter and for the second time in as many weeks, they left Duane Carlson Stadium on the wrong side of the scoreboard.

Aiden Samek scored his second touchdown of the game with 6:25 remaining in regulation to give West Fargo the lead and the Magicians were unable to come away with points on their final two possessions, falling 19-14 to the Packers on Friday, Sept. 12, to drop to 0-3 on the season.

Minot High is winless in its first three contests for the first time since 1997. The silver lining is that season they still ended up with five wins and advanced to the Class AAA semifinal.

The Magicians were shutout in the second half, having to play without their top running back Blake Anderson, who was on crutches on the sideline after being injured before the intermission. Minot High went into the locker room with a 14-7 advantage, but was outscored 12-0 over the final 24 minutes.

Samek provided all the points in the second half on a pair of rushes deep in Minot territory. His first touchdown of the night came with 5:07 left in the third quarter on an 11-yard run. But the Packers still found themselves trailing when they mishandled the snap on the extra point attempt. It wouldn’t matter, as Samek found paydirt again midway through the fourth quarter on a 3-yard burst up the middle to put the Packers in front for the first time since the opening drive of the first quarter.

The Magicians (0-3) had two final possessions to march down for the game-winning drive, but neither got close. They went 3-and-out on their first attempt, but came away with a game-saving 4th down stop at the 1-yard line with 1:27 left for one final opportunity. But having to go 99 yards with no timeouts proved too tall an order for the Magicians. They got as far as the West Fargo 38, but a desperation heave from Ryder Sutton was knocked down at the 5 as time expired, giving the Packers (1-2) their first win of the season following a pair of 1-point losses.

Both teams found their rhythm offensively early, trading touchdowns in the opening quarter. The Packers took the opening drive 70 yards in 4:34 without putting the ball in the air. Ashton Wigestrand capped off the drive with a 1-yard score.

Minot would respond late in the quarter on a nifty run by Sutton on third down. Sutton ripped off a 29-yard run, juking a defender at the 22 before running across the field en route to the end zone to tie the game with 1:16 left in the first quarter.

Sutton also showed off his arm strength, hitting Tariq Bell in stride for a 55-yard touchdown with 7:41 left in the half to give the Magicians a 14-7 lead. The score would stay that way the rest of the half, but Minot was unable to find the end zone again the rest of the game.

Class A Region 3: DL-B continues strong start; Bishop Ryan falls in OT

Des Lacs-Burlington fans have got to be wondering what its team has to do at this point to crack the top five in the media poll. The Lakers once again put up a dominating performance this past week, defeating South Prairie-Max on the road, 33-6, to improve to 4-0 on the season. DL-B is outscoring its opponents 123-20, allowing just five points per game.

The Lakers – who are receiving votes in the latest poll – scored the first 33 points of the game and led 27-0 at halftime. Quarterback Kyler Fischer put up a stellar performance, throwing for five touchdowns, twice connecting with Easton Anderson and Jayden Davis. He also delivered a 40-yard TD pass to Zane Bjerklie.

DL-B hasn’t allowed more than eight points in a game all season. The Lakers play arguably their toughest task to date on Friday, Sept. 19, when it hosts defending state champion Velva/Drake-Anamoose/Garrison.

Speaking of the Aggies, they appear to have righted the ship after a 10-8 loss at Harvey-Wells County two weeks ago. V/D-A/G has won two straight, knocking off Stanley, 44-0, before sneaking by Bottineau, 24-18, this week to start the region slate 2-0. The Aggies trailed 18-16 heading into the fourth quarter, but a 17-yard touchdown run by Logan Vincent with the accompanying two-point conversion helped them get by the Braves. Cooper Kittleson ran for a touchdown and threw for another in the victory.

The game of the night came at Herb Parker Stadium between Bishop Ryan and Ray-Powers Lake. A back-and-forth affair ultimately came down to a two-point conversion in overtime, which R-PL was able to convert for a 30-28 victory.

Bishop Ryan quarterback Jake Altringer threw for a pair of scores and Zach Spain ran for two others, including both the game-tying score as well as in overtime to give the Lions a brief lead. But the Outlaws responded in the extra session when Jace Becker found Colton Grove for a 5-yard touchdown and then proceeded to convert the two-point try. Becker also had a pair of 1-yard touchdown runs.

9-man Region 3: Lewis & Clark, Nedrose combine for 82 points; Kenmare-Bowbells earns first win

Offense was certainly not at a premium when Lewis & Clark and Nedrose matched up on Friday. The two teams combined for 82 points, with the Longhorns coming out on top, 48-34, over the Cardinals.

Nedrose quarterback Brickson Burckhard tossed three touchdowns to three different receivers and Lewis & Clark quarterback Drew Erickson threw two and ran for one. Erickson’s two touchdown strikes accounted for 90 yards as his first went for 46 yards to Hank Asmundson and his second went 44 yards to Holden Meyer. Meyer also had a pair of first-quarter touchdown runs.

Nedrose led 14-12 after the first quarter, but a 16-point second quarter gave Lewis & Clark a 28-20 advantage at halftime. The score remained unchanged until the fourth quarter, where the Longhorns tallied the next 14 points to break the game open.

Lewis & Clark got the win, and so did Kenmare-Bowbells for the first time this season when they defeated TGU, 32-28, in what has been a difficult start to the season for the Honkers. In a season filled with high expectations, K-B has been on the wrong side of three lopsided defeats to Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn, Alexander and Lewis & Clark. The Honkers were outscored 112-40 in those contests, allowing at least 30 points in each game.

Ranked-vs-ranked across North Dakota

If there was a theme this week, it was big-time matchups between ranked opponents. All in all, there were five contests pitting ranked teams against one another and six others between ranked teams and those receiving votes in the poll.

The higher ranked team won three of the matchups and all of the ranked teams defeated those who were receiving votes (Dickinson Trinity and Killdeer had their game suspended due to lightning and has not been completed). Bismarck Legacy will be the new No. 1 in Class AAA after knocking off current No. 1 Fargo Davies, 40-30. It is the second time in three weeks the Sabers have defeated the top-ranked team in Class AAA, beating West Fargo Sheyenne in Week 1. No. 4 Fargo Shanley went on the road and knocked off No. 3 Bismarck High, 39-21, in a battle of unbeatens.

In Class AA, top-ranked Minot North dominated No. 4 Grand Forks Red River in their home opener, 45-14. The remaining ranked teams in Class AA all came away with victories.

The last two matchups were both in 9-man. New Rockford-Sheyenne continues to blast its way through its competition, crushing No. 4 North Border, 48-8. No. 3 Linton-HMB didn’t have much trouble either, knocking off No. 5 Grant County-Flasher, 32-12.

Two other ranked teams fell to unranked opponents, with No. 5 West Fargo Sheyenne losing at home to Bismarck Century, 17-13, in Class AAA and No. 2 Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm falling to Hillsboro-Central Valley, 6-0, in Class A.