Mike Kraft/MDN Minot High sophomore quarterback Ryder Sutton is coming off his best statistical performance of the season against Fargo Shanley, completing 16 of 27 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns while also running for 98 yards and a score on nine carries.

The days are shorter. The nights are longer. The sun has set by kickoff. The air is crisper. Mother Nature is more unpredictable. And there is a heightened sense of urgency on the gridiron.

That can only mean one thing: the conference season is underway.

After four games against non-conference competition from the eastern part of the state, the Minot High football team welcomes a familiar face to Duane Carlson Stadium on Friday, Sept. 26, as part of its Homecoming festivities. The Magicians kick off their West Region schedule against rival Bismarck High, looking to put a winless non-conference start to their season behind them and focus on the games that matter the most in terms of getting them into the postseason.

“With those four non-conference games, essentially we have a reset at 0-0,” Minot High coach Chauncy Hendershot said. “We get an opportunity for Homecoming, which usually means a pretty good crowd and we play at historic Duane Carlson Stadium. It should be a beautiful Friday night. I’m just really excited for our guys to take advantage of that opportunity and kind of cut it loose Friday Night. Quality opponent coming into town. We just want to make it about the game. The Homecoming stuff is fun in school, we certainly feel the energy, but for us it’s about the game on Friday.”

The Magicians enter Friday’s contest 0-4, going winless against the EDC during the regular season for the first time since 2021. They finished 2-8 that season. Prior to 2021, Minot hadn’t gone winless against the East since 1997 back when they would play just two non-conference games. They finished 5-7 that season. The Magi have never started a season 0-5. When they started the 1997 season 0-4, they defeated Williston, 13-6, the following week.

Minot is coming off its best offensive performance of the year, where it put up a season-high 34 points against Fargo Shanley. The Magicians led 27-20 at halftime before being outscored 34-7 in the second half. Sophomore quarterback Ryder Sutton completed 16 of 27 passes for 340 yards and three touchdowns and ran nine times for 98 yards and a touchdown that went for 57 yards for Minot’s first points of the contest. James Pallotta (four catches for 134 yards) Logan Ludwig (5-130) and Tariq Bell (4-51) were the primary targets.

In his first season under center, Sutton is 50-for-94 passing for 725 yards and five touchdowns. He’s also accumulated 271 yards and three touchdowns on 31 carries.

“In that game, our pass game, we were just clicking,” Hendershot said. “Ryder did a great job. Just looking at every game, Ryder is getting better. He played great on Friday. We were able to get him loose for a touchdown. He commanded the offense. He was able to distribute the ball. Our receivers played well as well. It’s one where you go back and look at a few drives there where if you were able to punch it in and get some points it’s possibly a different outcome, but we still have a long way to go and have a lot of work to do, but we’re seeing growth in some areas, especially in some of our younger players who are being thrust into the varsity scene.”

If history is any indication, Friday’s game against the Demons (2-2) will look dramatically different. Bismarck prides itself on being physical upfront and winning the battle in the trenches. This season, the Demons have won the games they’ve controlled the line of scrimmage and lost the ones they haven’t. In their two victories, Bismarck allowed 19 total points. In their two losses, they’ve surrendered 81 points. Offensively, the Demons average 16 points per game.

“Every time we play them, we expect to play one of the most physical games we’re going to play all year,” Hendershot said. “It’s an awesome football game. It’s a football program we have tremendous respect for. They’re going to show up and be ready to play hard between the whistle and they are going to bring it. It’s going to be a physical four-quarter football game. Offensively, on both sides of the ball, they are so well-coached and their kids execute their scheme with great intent and great physicality.”

The Demons return their entire defensive line from last season, making it their most experienced position. Seniors Parker Gabriel (6-foot-2, 230 pounds), Kaden Heupel (6-1, 290) and Bryce Pennington (6-0, 275) and juniors Anthony McArthur (6-1, 275) and Nolan Standish (5-11, 290) give the Demons plenty of size along the line of scrimmage.

Most of Bismarck’s newer faces are on the offensive side of the ball. Hayden Bondley takes over at quarterback, but the Demons do bring back experience at the wide receiver position in Deegan Staudinger, Weston Scott and Brennan Greff.

After their first winless campaign in program history in 2022, the Demons have rebounded and gone 17-8 since (7-3 in conference). They are 34-20 lifetime against the Magicians, but have lost the last four meetings. Bismarck’s last victory in the series came in a 41-14 victory in 2020. The program is highly decorated, winners of 36 region titles and 13 state titles, but the most recent for both came in 2018. Head coach Mark Gibson – in his 27th season – has been around for six state titles, 12 region titles and 221 victories.

“Coach Gibson and his staff do a tremendous job,” Hendershot said. “They are extremely respected in the profession and you just look at the players they have produced, the production of the program year after year. It’s fun. It’s an honor. Everyone on our staff hopes to do it as long as coach Gibson and some of his staff are.”

The Magicians got a bit banged up during their non-conference schedule and are continuing to develop depth at most positions. According to Hendershot, the best way to develop that depth is to get them on the field and experience the game at full speed.

“It just comes through experience,” Hendershot said. “We have a lot of athletes that are rolling in and getting reps and we’re going to build depth through experience and practice. It is happening. Guys are taking steps, but in AAA, there are no training wheels on for them. Some of them have to race to maturity and grow up pretty quick.”

For the next five weeks, the attention to detail gets magnified, as it could be the difference between a win and a loss, which could ultimately mean the difference between a playoff game in late October/early November or a long offseason. Six teams are vying for four playoff spots out of the West Region. It now comes down to which four teams execute their game plans the best over the next five games.

“By this point of the year, there is some stuff that we should have shored up and attention to detail is going to lead to execution in these key moments and that execution ultimately paired with the physicality of the WDA schedule will dictate who’s winning and who’s losing,” Hendershot said. “We’re working to improve our execution. It comes down to who’s going to execute the game plan and which side is going to be able to go four quarters and play really tough football.”

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m.