Mike Kraft/MDN Minot North junior tight end Braxton Thompson runs over a Fargo North defender during the second half of a game at Sentinel Stadium in MInot on Friday, Sept. 19.

Of all the seniors on the Minot North roster, perhaps no one had more emotion coursing through their veins leading up to the Sentinels’ Homecoming game than Christian Deadmond.

It wasn’t just because it was his final Homecoming in a Sentinel uniform, but also because he wasn’t sure if he would have the opportunity to play.

Deadmond suffered a fracture to the tibia plateau – the flat top surface of the tibia where the thigh bone rests, forming the knee joint – in the Class AA quarterfinal on Nov. 5. After five months of recovery, he had a second surgery on his meniscus that kept him out for another month.

The running back/linebacker immediately made his presence known in his first game back from injury last week, recording a sack on defense. On Homecoming, he kickstarted the offense, scoring his first rushing touchdown in a 28-7 victory over Fargo North on Friday, Sept. 19, in front of a standing-room only crowd at Sentinel Stadium.

“It felt really great,” Deadmond said. “It was a really good reliever for me. I just love being out here. It’s been a lot. A lot of PT, a lot of work, a lot of strains, a lot of aches, but it’s just been about getting through it all in the end.”

The victory capped off an undefeated non-conference run that included wins over two Class AAA schools, including the visiting Spartans (2-2).

While Deadmond was on a snap limitation, his impact in limited time was felt throughout his team.

“Christian has put in a lot of work and has battled a lot in the offseason,” Minot North coach Jacob Holmen said. “He gets injured in our quarterfinal game last year and we learn about a different injury that gets missed. He’s been rehabbing and working and a lot of it was just getting a little confidence back in playing at game speed. Christian’s a great kid and a hard worker, so I’m really happy for him.”

Deadmond barreled into the end zone on Minot North’s second drive of the game — a 1-yard run with 4:41 left in the opening quarter — to put the Sentinels in front 6-0 after a missed PAT.

The opening touchdown came following a defensive stop on fourth down that saw the Spartans come up short of the first down marker on the Minot North 28 yard line.

Despite the early lead, the Sentinels found themselves trailing 7-6 late in the first half, but closed out the game with 22 unanswered points, a couple turnovers and some trickeration on an extra point.

Minot North (4-0) tallied a pair of touchdowns over the final 2:29 to build a 21-7 lead heading into the intermission. Quarterback Brayden Blikre had the first on a 3-yard touchdown run up the middle. Much like during Minot North’s first scoring drive, Sentinel running back Cian Hannon played a pivotal role with a pair of chunk runs. HIs first big run went for over 20 yards, bringing the ball deep into the red zone for Deadmond to finish off. His second large run moved the ball into Spartan territory.

“Cian is a special kid,” Holmen said. “He’s just moved in. He’s from Guam. So he’s a base kid. He has some speed that we don’t have anywhere else. Being able to get him on the field and attack edges at times. He can be a downhill, physical kid, too, but kind of a weapon to get on the edge with some of our other power backs running downhill. We’ll keep giving Cian touches and he’s still learning our offense a little bit. His role will likely expand.”

The Sentinels also took advantage of several presnap penalties by the Spartans, including a critical offside on a fourth down that allowed the drive to continue to that Blikre would later find the end zone on. The Sentinels got tricky on the extra point, executing a fake that saw Hannon convert the two-point conversion.

Minot North wasn’t done scoring in the first half, as it was able to navigate 65 yards down the field in just over a minute, with Josia Jaquinet punching it in from a yard out.

“You don’t want to be glad to be behind, but it’s a good thing where we responded pretty well,” Holmen said. “Every time we’ve gone down or given up a touchdown and faced some adversity, our guys have responded really well and we’re a team that wants to try and sustain drives and run the ball and wear teams out. If we can continue to do that when teams strike, we’ll find some success.”

Blikre put the game out of reach with 2:40 remaining in the third quarter on his second rushing touchdown of the contest.

Defensively, Gavin Tobey recorded his second interception in as many games and Landon Salyards picked off Kellen Dougherty in the opening minutes of the fourth quarter.

Capping off Homecoming Week with a victory was extra special for Holmen and his team.

“We have a special place to play,” Holmen said. “Sentinel Stadium is nowhere else I’ve ever been. It’s because of the people that come and support us. Beautiful facility, but our fans and our families that love Sentinel football and have bought into this is really special.”

The Sentinels begin their conference schedule on Friday, Sept. 26, when they travel to Bismarck St. Mary’s for a 7 p.m. kickoff.