Mike Kraft/MDN Minot High is hoping to regroup after a rough outing against Bismarck High in its West Region opener when it travels to play fourth-ranked Bismarck Legacy on Friday, Oct. 3.

The Minot High football team knew it was going to experience its fair share of growing pains and wins would be hard to come by with so many young and inexperienced varsity players on the roster this season.

While the Magicians don’t have any wins to show for their effort, they had been in every game following their 42-14 season-opening loss to Fargo Davies leading into their conference opener against Bismarck High. They held fourth-quarter leads against both West Fargo Sheyenne and West Fargo and took a 27-20 halftime lead against Fargo Shanley.

With momentum seemingly building within the program, that was why last week’s 43-7 loss to the Demons – Minot’s largest defeat of the season – felt more disappointing and frustrating than the four losses prior. The Magicians had miscues in all three phases of the game and were never in the game. They turned the ball over four times on offense, surrendered four rushing touchdowns and a 53-yard passing touchdown on defense, and botched a punt deep in their own territory early in the first quarter.

“It was disappointing in how the game played out and execution,” Minot High coach Chauncy Hendershot said. “We started out the game and – credit to Bismarck – they get us pinned back and we block our own punt and they score and we struggled getting things going offensively. It was just a combination of things execution wise, turnovers and it just got going pretty fast and against a team like Bismarck, they are going to take advantage of that and they did.”

The schedule doesn’t get any easier for the Magicians, as they hit the road this week to play No. 4 Bismarck Legacy, which is off to a 4-1 start for the third time in four years. The Sabers are coming off a 56-18 victory over Williston. Their only loss of the season came with no time left on the clock when third-ranked West Fargo Horace scored a touchdown on the final play of the game and kicked the game-winning extra point in a 14-13 contest two weeks ago.

The Sabers (4-1, 1-0) sport a balanced offensive attack between senior quarterback Brody Weigel and all-state running back Yusuf Jama. Weigel is in his first year as a starter and has completed 42 of 69 passes for 684 yards, seven touchdowns and one interception. His primary target so far this season has been senior wide receiver Jack Julson, who has 24 receptions for 415 yards and five touchdowns. The Sabers average 136.8 yards passing per game.

Jama picked up right where he left off last season, anchoring a ground game that averages 237.6 yards per game. Last season, Jama eclipsed 1,000 yards rushing and found the end zone 12 times. Through five games this season, Jama has carried the ball 97 times for 707 yards and nine touchdowns. Jama has amassed 100 yards in three games this season, with his best output coming in a 40-30 victory over Fargo Davies, where he accumulated 242 yards and a pair of touchdowns on 20 carries.

“They have a lot of players who have been playing for a couple years,” Hendershot said. “They have something going right now and are really confident. They have a very talented quarterback and a really special running back. They are big up front, very athletic across the board. They are going to be a challenge.”

Legacy’s 34.2 points per game is best among the region and tied for third among Class AAA schools.

Defensively, the Sabers have forced six turnovers, five of which via interceptions. Bennett Lonn leads the team with three interceptions. He had four interceptions and 45 tackles last season, earning all-state honors.

Minot High quarterback Ryder Sutton will try and bounce back from his toughest outing since winning the starting job at the beginning of the season. The sophomore signal caller completed just five passes on 21 attempts, throwing for 51 yards and three interceptions. The week prior, Sutton had his best statistical game, going 16-for-27 for 340 yards and three touchdowns against Fargo Shanley.

Hendershot doesn’t believe last week’s performance will linger with his starting quarterback.

“It’s a great learning experience,” Hendershot said. “Bismarck is a great program. Bismarck is physical and that’s one thing we preached last week was that it was going to be a physical game. They play what can be an overwhelming style of football if you’re not ready for it. For Ryder, it was a great learning experience and he knows that. There were points at the end of the game where he was trying to make plays. He’ll get better from it.”

At times, the Magicians have relied on home run plays, leaving them more susceptible to turnovers. Against Legacy this week, the focus is more on taking what the defense gives them.

“We have to take what’s there,” Hendershot said. “With Shanley, we lived off the explosive plays. We weren’t able to find those last Friday. We just keep our rhythm and commit to a positive play each time and execute our job and putting some drives together. In the third quarter we came out and we had a 13-play drive and it’s one of the few 12- or 13-play drives that we’ve had this year. We lived off a lot of explosive plays so I think the next step is to be within the drive and build one off some 4-yard, 8-yard, 4-yard marginal gains.”

Minot has won the previous two meetings with the Sabers, winning 42-7 in 2024 and 49-0 in 2023. The Magicians lead the season series 6-4. Legacy is looking to start the season 5-1 for the first time in program history, while the Magicians are trying to avoid their first 0-6 start. The Magi started the 1997 season 0-5 before winning the next game. Minot last lost six straight games in a single season in 1985.

Kickoff is scheduled for 6:30 p.m.