That would be 475,200 yards.

Minot North’s season was two yards away from ending one game short of a trip to Fargo for the second consecutive season. The Sentinels’ defense faced a 4th-and-2 with 3:38 left trailing 17-14 to Central Cass with the ball at the Squirrels’ own 40. A fourth down conversion would all but end Minot North’s dreams of playing for a state title the following week.

Instead, the Sentinels’ defense did what it has done all season long: stand strong. Minot North’s linemen won the battle upfront and denied Central Cass the first down, stopping the Squirrels a yard short of the line to gain and giving the ball back to the Sentinels’ offense with one final chance to win the game.

Brayden Blikre and the offense did just that, taking advantage of the short field and scoring the game-winning touchdown with 48 seconds remaining. Blikre tossed his second touchdown of the game to tight end Will Bentley, sending the Sentinels to their first Dakota Bowl appearance, where they will play fellow West Region member Devils Lake on Friday, Nov. 14, at the Fargodome. The Firebirds knocked off No. 2 and previously unbeaten Kindred, 28-27, in overtime.

Mike Kraft/MDN Minot North and Devils Lake will meet in the Class AA Dakota Bowl at the Fargodome on Friday, Nov. 14, with both programs looking to capture its first state title.

“If they get the first down, we still could have had a chance because we had all of our timeouts, but that was a massive play,” Minot North coach Jacob Holmen said. “It set us up with really good field position. Christian Deadmond ended up making the play. He came from his outside backer position and ran his guy trying to block him into the running back. Really good play by Christian. That didn’t win the game by any means. We had to put together a drive and convert a fourth down. Our kids made plays at the right times. It was just two teams with really good effort going at it and it fell in our favor.”

Ironically, the Firebirds represent the only other time Minot North dealt with a game coming down to just a couple yards, although with a bit less ramifications as it related to the finality of its season. Devils Lake nearly rallied from a 26-7 fourth-quarter deficit to hand the Sentinels their first loss of the season, but quarterback Mason Palmer was stopped short on a 4th-and-1 from the 4-yard line with 18 seconds left.

“We just have to come out and play hard, be physical the whole game and not wait until the second half to do things,” Devils Lake coach Todd Lambrecht said, “Our guys need to realize that they are very capable of playing with them and matching up with them and striving for something to give us a chance.”

Had the Firebirds scored on that final drive and pulled off the improbable comeback, it could have drastically changed the course of the season for both teams. With everything else following suit the rest of the regular season, Devils Lake would have eventually claimed the No. 1 seed and home field advantage throughout the playoffs. Minot North would have been the No. 2 seed, meaning a road trip to Kindred in the semifinals.

But that wasn’t the case and instead Minot North and Devils Lake head to the Fargodome each looking for its first Dakota Bowl title in program history. The Firebirds have played 487 games, while the Sentinels have played 22.

Devils Lake enters the Dakota Bowl fresh off its road victory over previously unbeaten and No. 2 ranked Kindred in the semifinals in overtime. The Firebirds partially blocked the potential game-tying PAT attempt in the extra session to send the Firebirds to the Fargodome for the fifth time in program history and first since 2010.

“It’s one of those things where it’s overtime and guys take a chance and go for the block and one of our guys actually did get a little tip on it so that’s why it was a little bit off,” Lambrecht said. “The kids never gave up and kept working hard. I was ecstatic for them and I was happy for them and enjoyed watching them succeed after working so hard for something. It was pretty amazing.”

Devils Lake has been close to capturing that elusive championship in previous trips, but have come up empty on all four attempts. Its first trip to Fargo came in 1989 and resulted in a 28-11 loss to Fargo South as a member of Class A. The Firebirds returned in 2007, but were shutout 28-0 against Fargo Oak Grove. They went to back-to-back Dakota Bowls in 2009-10, both against Fargo Shanley and both close losses. In 2009, they lost 31-30 and in 2010, they fell 24-21.

For Holmen, this will be his first trip to the Dakota Bowl as either a coach or a player. He twice advanced to the state semifinals as a tight end for the Magicians in 2011 and 2013. He has been in the stands, as his father, Barry, took the Magicians to the championship game four times as the head coach in 2006, 2014, 2015, 2017. He now serves as the Sentinels’ quarterbacks coach. The Holmen family is still looking for that first Dakota Bowl title.

The atmosphere will be different come Friday, but everything else surrounding the two teams is business as usual. The rosters are the same, the preparations are the same and the mindset is the same. Both teams will head for Fargo on Friday morning after a week’s worth of practice and film study.

“We’ve talked about controlling what you can control and we can control our attitude and effort and our surroundings that we have around us, and that’s going to be our primary focus,” Lambrecht said. “To be inside a dome and all the energy that’s going on, you can’t mimic it so you just have to prepare your guys the best you can mentally for that situation.”

Holmen said he believes it is important for kids to sleep in their own beds the night before a game instead of bussing a day early and sleeping in a hotel.

The Sentinels conducted two practices at the Minot Air Force Base to utilize its air-supported dome to help get a feel for football indoors. Last Friday, the Sentinels played in below-freezing temperatures and snow. This week, weather won’t be an issue.

The weather didn’t bother Minot North quarterback Brayden Blikre, who had his best game of the season. The senior signal caller completed 16 of 22 passes for 210 yards and two touchdowns and also ran for another. For the season, Blikre has passed for 876 yards and nine touchdowns, while running for another 200 yards and 10 touchdowns.

“That’s the best game Brayden has played in the two years of varsity football but also the four years that we’ve had him,” Holmen said. “He’s one heck of a competitor, probably our fiercest competitor. Really tough kid and he’s not 100 percent healthy, so there was some challenges there with that, but his stat line was the best he’s had. In games like that you need your quarterback to step up and make plays and that’s the best he’s played. Hopefully he has one more really good one in him.”

Josia Jaquinet has been his top target, connecting with him on 20 passes for 308 yards and three touchdowns. Both of Blikre’s touchdown passes against Central Cass went to tight end Will Bentley – the second-leading receiver on the team with 169 yards. His two touchdown receptions on Friday were his first of the season.”

The Sentinels are still a run-first offense, however, and they don’t plan to change that heading into the most important game in their short program’s history. They had three rushers gain more than 350 yards on the ground this season, led by Cooper Chick, who compiled 770 yards and three touchdowns on 119 carries. Christian Deadmond amassed 437 yards and nine touchdowns on 72 rushes and Evan Berg carried the ball 82 times for 379 yards and five touchdowns.

Minot North’s defense had its hands full with the Firebirds in its last matchup and it will so again in Fargo. In its last four games since its loss to the Sentinels, Devils Lake hasn’t scored fewer than 28 points and is averaging 35.3 points per game.

“It comes down to the intangibles like turnovers, the little mental mistakes that can add up over time,” Lambrecht said. “Penalties are always a crucial thing in games like this. Overall, which team can come out, play together and keep the momentum going and just keep playing hard is a crucial part as well.”

Friday will serve as a shot at redemption for the Sentinels’ defense, which has been near immoveable all season aside from one quarter against the Firebirds. Minot North allowed a Class AA low 8.4 points per game this season, pitched three shutouts and allowed seven points in three other contests.

Minot North’s defense has picked off opposing quarterbacks 23 times this season, with Jaquinet’s five interceptions leading the way. Gavin Tobey came down with his fourth and Cameron Jesz hauled in his first against Central Cass. The Sentinels have also forced four fumbles and recorded 17 sacks.

The defense is tasked with slowing down Devils Lake quarterback Mason Palmer, who has completed 168 passes this season for 2,483 yards and 27 touchdowns. He threw for 338 yards and three touchdowns against the Sentinels in their first meeting. Palmer hasn’t slowed down since that game, completing 55 of 89 passes for 895 yards and nine touchdowns in his last four games.

“Devils Lake is a really good football team and they have rattled several off in a row since we played them,” Holmen said. “They have one of the best quarterbacks that I have ever coached against in the Palmer kid. They’ll be a very good challenge for us. It’s hard to beat a football team twice. They know what you do and have answers and they probably feel like after their game with us that they could have and should have beat us with the circumstances with how we stopped them at the end of the game. We’re preparing like we always do.”

His primary target has been his brother Max Palmer, who’s been on the receiving end of 38 receptions for 584 yards and 10 touchdowns. Weston Nelson grabbed 26 passes for 459 yards and four touchdowns and William Heilman put up 466 yards and five touchdowns on 35 receptions.

The Firebirds aren’t a one-dimensional offense either, as Bryar Exner eats up a ton of yardage on the ground and also catches passes out of the backfield. Exner has rushed for 1,501 yards and 15 touchdowns on 245 carries and has added another 363 yards and four touchdowns receiving on 36 catches.

Devils Lake average 33.6 points per game, most among teams from the West Region.

Devils Lake is roughly 100 miles closer to the Fargodome compared to Minot, but Holmen expects the dome to be filled with fans donning the navy blue and silver, as they have traveled well all season.

“Our parent group is tremendous,” Holmen said. “They rally around our team really well and are wholly supportive of our program. There’s a lot of excitement on the north side of town and hopefully the entire town. I think a lot of people will make the trip. It’s a long trip. I wish it was a little closer, but it is what it is. We’ll play wherever we’re asked to play and our loyal fans will follow us.”

While Holmen would be more than happy to be a state champion when he goes to sleep on Friday night (or whenever the adrenaline wears off), the lasting impact the current roster has already had on such a young program won’t soon be forgotten.

“Win or lose, these kids have set a tremendous foundation for our program,” Holmen said. “As a second-year program, not a lot of teams have a lot of success as start-up schools and we’ve been able to find some and it’s all due to the kids we have in our locker room who have dedicated tremendous amounts of time to improving and growing together as a team and as a family. Would we love to win? Yeah. We’re going to compete our tails off and we’re going to do everything we can to win a football game, but at the end of the day we’re really proud of this group and they’ve done something really special at our school and hopefully it sets us up for years to come.”