Minot North senior running back Evan Berg drives the ball down the field in their state finals match against the Devils Lake Firebirds on Friday, Nov. 14 at the Dakota Bowl of the 2025 NDHSAA Class AA Football State Playoffs held at the Fargodome.

The Minot North Sentinels were defeated by the Devils Lake Firebirds 39-34 at the Dakota Bowl in the finals match of the 2025 NDHSAA Class AA Football State Playoffs held at the Fargodome on Friday, Nov. 14.

The game started off fast for the Sentinels, as their defense continued to do what they did all season and kept the offense at bay.

The Sentinels were able to keep the Firebirds from advancing far on their kickoff return at the beginning of the game, starting the Firebirds off at the 18 yard line.

The Sentinels defense kept the pressure on through the Firebirds’ first possession, and took an early lead, dragging Devils Lake’s quarterback to their own endzone for a safety with ten minutes 56 seconds left in the first quarter.

The 2-0 lead for the Sentinels seemed to spell good tidings for the No. 1 seed, but that illusion started to show cracks not long after.

The Firebirds’ defense was just as formidable as the Sentinels, forcing them to punt, with a good bounce starting the Firebirds on their own four yard line.

A huge passing play for the Firebirds gave Devils Lake the first touchdown of the game with seven minutes 22 seconds left in the first quarter.

The extra point failed, giving the Firebirds their first lead of the game at 6-2.

The Sentinels were able to return the kickoff to their own 47 yard line, but the Firebirds were able to pick the ball off on a throw into the Minot North endzone, taking the ball to the 19 yard line where they took over possession.

The Firebirds were then able to break through the Sentinels’ defense on the first play of the possession with an 81 yard touchdown run to make the score 13-2.

The Firebirds lined up for kickoff and sent the ball away for the third time in the first quarter with Sentinel junior Gavin Tobey returning the ball.

After running inside the 30 yard line, the ball was knocked loose from Tobey’s grip and the Firebirds were able to recover the ball, giving them another possession, this time with just 34 yards to go for another touchdown.

They did not have to wait long for that touchdown, scoring again immediately on the first play with a 34 yard pass to give them another six.

They succeeded in the extra point, giving them a 20-2 lead over the Sentinels before the first quarter was even over.

Minot North was not beaten just yet, as the Sentinels scored their first touchdown of the game with just one minute and 14 seconds left in the first quarter.

Senior running back Christian Deadmond ran the ball into the endzone six yards to try and give the Sentinels a fighting chance. The extra point was successful, giving Minot North a deficit of 11 points at the end of the first quarter.

Neither team would score through almost half of the second quarter of the game, with the Firebirds breaking that pause in scoring with a three yard touchdown pass with six minutes eight seconds left in the half.

The extra point was no good, giving Devils Lake a 17 point lead.

The Sentinels slowly fought their way back down the field, finally reaching the red zone with just under two minutes left in the half.

A touchdown pass from Minot North senior quarterback Brayden Blikre to Deadmond once again made it an 11 point game, with the Firebirds leading 26-15 at the end of the first half.

The Sentinels were not yet beat coming into the second half of the game, being the first to strike in the third quarter with a run into the endzone by senior running back Evan Berg.

The failed two-point conversion left the Sentinels five points behind the Firebirds with eight minutes 23 seconds left in the quarter.

The third quarter ended with neither team scoring again, but a huge fumble by Sentinels quarterback Blikre turned the ball over to the Firebirds.

Devils Lake was able to widen their lead to 12 points with a touchdown pass with six minutes 55 seconds left in the ball game.

Two minutes later, the Sentinels were able to secure another touchdown for themselves on another run by Evan Berg. The extra point once again made it a five point game at 28-33 with the Firebirds leading.

Devils Lake scored again on a 56 yard run, quickly followed up by another passing touchdown to Christian Deadmond.

With just one minute 11 seconds left in the game, the Sentinels were trailing 34-39.

The Firebirds turned the ball over, but the Sentinels were unable to make a play with the few seconds left on the board, and the Sentinels ended their first Dakota Bowl appearance with a loss 34-39.

Friday’s loss against the Devils Lake Firebirds was the only loss for the Sentinels this season, but they will not go home empty-handed.

The Sentinels were awarded the runner up plaque at the conclusion of the Class AA game.