Mike Kraft/MDN Minot High quarterback Ryder Sutton runs toward the corner of the end zone during a game earlier this season against West Fargo Sheyenne. Sutton threw for three touchdowns and ran for another in a 54-34 loss to No. 2 Fargo Shanley on Friday, Sept. 19.

Minot High might not subscribe to moral victories, but it has to be pleased with what it saw out of its offense despite a 54-34 loss at No. 2 Fargo Shanley on Friday, Sept. 19, to close out the non-conference portion of its schedule.

The Magi put together a slew of big plays on offense and went to the locker room with a 27-20 lead. In four games this season, Minot has been leading in the second half three times. Outside of its season opener against Fargo Davies, Minot has found itself ahead on the scoreboard. The problem is that all three of those instances ended in a loss.

The Magicians (0-4) led in the final minute against West Fargo Sheyenne in the second week of the season, but surrendered a game-winning touchdown with 34 seconds left to drop that contest. The following week, Minot took a 14-7 into halftime, only to be shutout in the second half in a 19-14 loss, surrendering the lead with 6:25 left.

Against the Deacons (4-0), the Magicians were outscored 19-0 in the third quarter and 34-7 in the second half to go winless against the East Region this season. John Eaton ran for three touchdowns in the third quarter and Derek Boehm ran for a pair in the fourth quarter, as Shanley’s high-tempo offense eventually wore down Minot’s defense.

The first half proved to be the bigger bright spot for the Magi. Shanley struck first with an 8-yard touchdown run from Jax Mattern, but the Magicians responded with a 57-yard quarterback scramble by Ryder Sutton to get within 7-6 after the missed extra point.

Sutton made several big plays in response to the Deacons offense. When Mattern rushed for his second touchdown in the opener quarter, Sutton found his favorite target – Tariq Bell – for a 22-yard touchdown to tie the game at 13. The Magicians would go on to score 21 unanswered points, opening the second quarter with a 28-yard interception return for a touchdown by Anthony Alexander followed by Bell’s second touchdown reception of the contest.

However, that run was met with a 26-0 burst by Shanley to put the Deacons in front for good. Mattern connected with Jacob Kraft for a 48-yard touchdown before halftime and then Eaton and Boehm went to work in the second half. Sandwiched in between that was Sutton’s third touchdown pass of the night, a 33-yard pass to James Pallotta.

While coming away with wins over the first month of the season would have been ideal at building some confidence for the Magicians, non-conference games don’t have any bearing on the postseason. They are essentially glorified exhibition games. The “real” season begins next week with the start of the West Region portion of the schedule. Up first is a matchup with rival Bismarck High at 7 p.m. It is one of just two home conference games this season for the Magi, the other coming on Oct. 17 against Mandan. The Magicians will have to travel to Bismarck Legacy, Bismarck Century and Williston this season.

Aggies topple Lakers in battle for congested Region 3

Region titles can’t be won in September, but they can be lost, which is why every game is important. Defending state champion Velva/Drake-Anamoose/Garrison didn’t win the Region 3 crown once again on Friday in its road victory against Des Lacs-Burlington, 34-6, but it earned itself a valuable tiebreaker as well as a spot atop the standings with fellow unbeaten Ray-Powers Lake.

The second-ranked Aggies (4-1 overall, 3-0 Region 3) received a pair of touchdown passes from quarterback Cooper Kittleson in the first half, one a 32-yard strike to Grady Crawford and the second a 17-yard touchdown to Brady Hauff.

Kyler Fisher found Will Marquardt for a 13-yard TD connection as the Lakers (4-1, 2-1) trimmed their deficit to 14-6 going into halftime.

The Aggies dominated the second half, outscoring the Lakers 20-0 over the final 24 minutes. Logan Vincent rushed for a pair of touchdowns and Raider Barstad ripped off a 28-yard touchdown to power the Aggies to a 3-0 start in region play.

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Aggies next week, as Ray-Powers Lake (4-1, 3-0) comes to town with a spot all alone atop the region standings on the line. The Outlaws are coming off a 51-12 victory over Tioga and are riding a four-game winning streak after dropping their season opener against Northern Cass. R-PL leads the region in scoring with 43.7 points per game. The Aggies are the region’s top defense, allowing just eight points per game.

Bishop Ryan (2-2, 1-2) picked up its first region victory with a 31-0 victory over Stanley. Jake Altringer threw three touchdowns, two to Hayden Seay. Jason Spain kicked a 21-yard field goal and ran for a 27-yard touchdown in the victory.

Bottineau posted a 53-6 victory over South Prairie-Max to stay within a game of both the Aggies and S-PL, but have already lost to V/D-A/G this season.

WF Horace walks off top-ranked Legacy

Walk-offs are usually a term exclusively used in baseball, but Friday night saw such an instance on the gridiron and involved the No. 1 team in Class AAA. With the final seconds ticking off the clock, West Fargo Horace quarterback Matthew Dick found Aiden Green in the end zone for a 5-yard touchdown pass to tie the game at 13. WF Horace kicker Hudson Kissell calmly converted the extra point to lift the fifth-ranked Hawks to a victory over the top-ranked Sabers.

The Hawks scored on their opening possession and their final possession, and that’s all they would need. WF Horace opened the scoring with Green hauling in his first touchdown pass of the contest from 18 yards.

Legacy tied the game before halftime on a 1-yard run from Yusuf Jama and took the lead in the third quarter when Brody Weigel connected with Jack Julson for a 6-yard touchdown pass, but the Sabers couldn’t convert the extra point, which proved to be critical.

The rest of the Class AAA slate went as expected, as No. 2 Shanley scored 54 points in a 20-point victory over Minot High. No. 3 Fargo Davies put up 42 against No. 4 Bismarck High. Class AA went 2-0 against Class AAA, with top-ranked Minot North defeating Fargo North, 28-7, and Grand Forks Red River besting Williston, 49-12.

Conference games begin Friday for both Class AAA and Class AA.

Chalk (mostly) wins out

It’s been a pretty wild opening month to the North Dakota high school football season, with plenty of upsets and ranked teams falling by the wayside. But this week was a bit more calm. Ranked teams went unbeaten when playing against unranked opponents or teams receiving votes in the most recent media poll. The only ranked teams that fell on Friday were playing other ranked opponents.

In Class AAA, No. 5 West Fargo Horace defeated top-ranked Bismarck Legacy and No. 3 Fargo Davies routed No. 4 Bismarck High. The only other ranked-vs-ranked matchup took place in 9-man, with No. 2 LaMoure-Litchville-Marion coming away with a 64-34 victory over No. 4 Hankinson.

The rest was chalk. No. 2 Shanley claimed victory in Class AAA, as did No. 1 Minot North, No. 2 Kindred, No. 3 Grand Forks Central, No. 4 Devils Lake and No. 5 Central Cass in Class AA. The closest game among them was a 15-point victory for Central Cass on the road over Dickinson.

Class A did the same, with the top five teams all winning. No. 4 Park River Area snuck by Carrington for a 18-8 victory, but the other four ranked teams won by at least 28 points.

In 9-man, No. 1 New Rockford-Sheyennne-Maddock, No. 3. Linton-HMB and No. 5 Alexander won by a combined 112 points.