Mike Kraft/MDN The Minot North defense under defensive coordinator Zach Rudolph is allowing just 4.7 points per game, the lowest among any team in the state at any level, and hasn’t allowed a point over the last 10 quarters.

When Jacob Holmen was hired in 2022 to be the first head football coach in Minot North history, his first decision was to bring on Zach Rudolph as his defensive coordinator.

The two had never coached together, but the Holmen and Rudolph family relationship dates back more than a decade and continues to grow each day.

Zach’s father, Paul, was the head coach at Minot State from 2007-13 before taking the job at the University of North Dakota to be its next offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach beginning in 2014, the same year Holmen was recruited to play there. Not only did Holmen play for Zach’s father, but Holmen’s father, Barry, and Paul played college football together. Adding another level of connection between the two family’s, Zach’s younger brother, Creighton, played for Barry when he was the coach at Minot High.

Even though Jacob Holmen said he didn’t know Zach Rudolph all that well when he initially hired him, he knew how the Rudolph family carried themselves as people and that played a major factor in the decision to bring him on staff.

“Playing for his dad, his dad’s big on building relationships with kids and he’s a really smart football coach,” Holmen said. “I knew Zach had coached at a really high level. He’d been in the area for a while and that’s a family that I have a lot of respect for and my family knows fairly well. I thought that as a player for Paul, relationships were big for him and I knew the same would be true for Zach and Zach is one of the best relationship builders I’ve found.”

Before his time with the Sentinels, Rudolph was a wide receiver for Minot State from 2008-11, catching 103 passes for 1,230 yards and six touchdowns. He then went into coaching, starting as a graduate assistant and video coordinator for one year at Southern Illinois in 2012 before serving as an assistant coach under his dad for a year in 2013. He went on to coach Bishop Ryan for two years and then coached at South Prairie until Holmen offered him a job with Minot North.

“We got to become really good friends once I took the job at Minot North with him after he had asked and our friendship has grown from there,” Rudolph said. “I remember him as a player in high school when he was playing with his dad and then he went on to UND and my dad was coaching there. We would go down and watch a couple games and practice and got to see Jake. Jake is really the one who started it all and got everything off on the right foot. Just to help be a part of that. It was something new.”

Holmen’s decision to hire Rudolph three years ago may end up being a championship-winning decision with the way the defense has been playing this season. The Sentinels are coming off back-to-back shutouts and have three on the season. They haven’t allowed a point over the last 10 quarters and are allowing just 4.7 points per game, which is not only the lowest in Class AA, but the entire state across both 11-man and 9-man divisions. Through six games last season, Minot North was allowing 19.2 points per game.

“The number one reason is our kids,” Rudolph said. “They really attack each week and try to prepare the best that they can and they really play so dang hard. And then we have great coaching behind him. Coach (Logan) Krueger does the D-line for us and Coach (Jordan) Sanford does the backers. Coach (Kyle) Van Berkom and Coach (Steven) Ralph do the secondary and those guys do a great job of getting them on point and making sure they are in the right spot and doing the right thing and helping the team win.”

The Sentinels allowed just 64 total yards last week in a 43-0 victory over Watford City, limiting the run-heavy Wolves to 45 yards. Watford City entered the contest averaging 317.4 yards on the ground. No matter the style of offense the Minot North defense goes up against, it’s always ended with the Sentinels coming out on top.

“Our kids just play so hard,” Holmen said. “It’s a physical style of football they like to play in Watford City and we challenged them to be the most physical team on the field and I think our kids responded to that. It’s not a game where things are going to be flashy or anything like that. You have to do your job and be disciplined and we were pleased with their effort to do their individual job.”

Holmen has so much trust in Rudolph and his preparation that he’s barely watching the game when his team is on defense. Instead, the offensive-minded head coach is busy reviewing film on the iPad or talking with members of the offensive coaching staff or his players.

The Sentinels have allowed 28 points all season, including just seven points in four road games. Grand Forks Red River is the only team this year to score more than one touchdown and one of those was a defensive score and the other came with Minot North leading 42-6 in the second half. The Sentinels’ defense has nearly scored as many points as opposing offenses with two of the team’s interceptions being returned for touchdowns.

The Sentinels defense has 16 interceptions this season, led by Josia Jaquinet, who has five. Gavin Tobey has three. Even if they aren’t forcing the opposing quarterbacks into throwing interceptions, they are making their lives difficult. Minot North has nine sacks and Braxton Thompson leads the group with 3.5. They also have 14 quarterback pressures and 24 tackles for loss.

“Our defensive line has really taken steps to improve,” Holmen said. “I don’t know if I fully expected this, but on the D-line we have guys that can play. Our advantage is we have nine guys we rotate in on gameday, so it keeps guys fresh.”

The latest test for the Minot North defense is No. 4 Devils Lake, which comes into the game averaging 34.8 points per game. Since a season-opening loss to Kindred, the Firebirds ride a five-game winning streak for the first time since 2010 and have scored at least 28 points in all of those contests.

Devils Lake moved over from the East Region this year and even though the two teams didn’t match up in the regular season, they did see each other in the playoffs. The Sentinels won the quarterfinal contest, 35-20.

The Firebirds (5-1 overall, 2-0 West Region) are led by second-team all-state quarterback Mason Palmer and senior running back Bryor Exner, who have been a menace for opposing defenses all year. Palmer has thrown for 1,228 yards and 16 touchdowns, while Exner has gained 917 yards on the ground with nine touchdowns. Palmer has thrown for at least 200 yards in four of six games this season and Exner has eclipsed 200 yards rushing in half his games.

“They’ve scored a lot of points and they are well-coached,” Rudolph said. “They play very hard. We know this is going to be a four-quarter battle and we have to make sure we’re ready to play equally as hard and hopefully maybe a little harder. Stopping their offense is what I’ve been worried about the most. It runs through their quarterback. Their quarterback does a really nice job. He’s a heck of a player. They have good skill to complement him with their wideouts and their back. Their O-line does a good job of protecting for him and opening up holes for the running back. We definitely have our work cut out for us and we have to make sure our eyes are on the right spot and where they need to be and go out and execute the call.”

The Sentinels (6-0, 2-0) have played mostly run-heavy offenses this season, but Holmen expects to see a greater number of passing plays from Devils Lake.

“Their offense runs through their quarterback,” Holmen said. “He’s a really good athlete who runs well, throws a good ball and looks like he has a very good understanding of what they are trying to do offensively. Containing him and limiting his chances is a big focus. Our secondary hasn’t been tested as much as they will be this week. We’re going to see how these guys play against an offense that passes the ball a little bit more with probably the best quarterback we’ve seen in probably our two years of varsity football. He’s a really talented kid who will test us and challenge us.”

Win or lose, you can guarantee that Holmen and Rudolph will be discussing the game Monday morning, and they don’t even need to wait until practice or film study. They can just take the five steps that separate one another’s classrooms at Minot North, as they are literally right next door to each other.

Kickoff is scheduled for 7 p.m. at Sentinel Stadium.