We are just a week away from finding out who will be hoisting the state championship trophies at the Dakota Bowl in Fargo. But before the teams can do any hoisting, 12 teams have one last week to punch their ticket to the Fargodome. Here’s a quick preview of ALL Class AAA-9 man Semifinals this weekend in North Dakota.
AAA
Bismarck High @ West Fargo Sheyenne (Friday)
- A rematch from earlier in the season, where Bismarck came out on top 28-7. Both teams have high scoring offenses, and defenses that don’t give up a lot of points. Both teams were number 1 at some point in the season for the AAA Poll, this time they will meet for a shot at the Dakota Bowl.
Fargo Davies @ Minot (Friday)
- Another matchup of teams that played each other once before, and also were at one point ranked #1 in the AAA poll. Fargo Davies did get an edge earlier in the season when they traveled up to Minot and defeated the Magi 17-10 during Minot’s slow start to the season, where they went 1-2, and have won 7 straight entering the semi-final. Minot finished as the Classes #1 team, can they continue it with a trip to the Dakotabowl for a chance at a repeat in AAA?
AA
Wahpeton @ Grand Forks Red River (Friday)
- Wahpeton was one of the only teams in AA this season to play Red River close, however Red River has been a roll the last couple weeks including their 41-13 win over St. Mary’s last week, and brings a defense that only averages giving up 8 points a game. Wahpeton was the only team this season to score more than 20 points on them in a losing effort 34-28 on October 11th. Can Red River cruise to the dome or does Wahpeton have plans for an upset?
West Fargo-Horace @ Minot North (Friday)
- Both teams are coming off decisive wins in the first round, including Horace shutting out Jamestown 14-0, and Minot North defeating Valley City 35-20. Both teams enter the matchup with offenses averaging more than 28 points a game, and defenses that our stout, Horace with slight edge defensively averaging giving up 9.5 ppg, with North giving up 17 points a game.
A
Central Cass @ Kindred (Saturday)
- Earlier in the season, Central Cass traveled to Kindred as the number two team in the class, and got demolished 48-7 against a Kindred team missing their starting quarterback. The question all season has been, who was going to slow down this Kindred team? Central Cass will get its second crack at the Vikings in the semi-final for a chance to stop the powerhouse and get into the state championship.
Langdon Area-Munich @ Velva/Garrison/Drake/Anamoose (Saturday)
- These teams did not play each other in the regular season. But since losing to Kindred in the first week of the season, Velva has been on the warpath for a chance at a rematch, beating opponents by an average of at least 30 points. Langdon however has been playing good football too, building on 4 straight wins including a road win last week against the #3 team in Class a Killdeer that came down to the wire 44-41. What team can push through for a matchup with either Kindred or Central Cass for the Class A State title?
9-Man
Linton HMB @ Lamoure-LM (Saturday)
- From perhaps the best state tournament of all the classes, #1 Lamoure comes in hot after a big win against South Prairie Max last week where they passed their season high of 73 points by scoring 76 points. Linton HMB will have something to say about all these points scored after they handled Cavalier 30-18. Lamoure has played and looked like the true #1 in 9-man all season long, can they continue this hot streak for a trip to the Dakota Bowl and a State Championship?
Westhope/Newburg/Glenburn @ New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock (Saturday)
- Perhaps the BEST matchup of this weekends games. Both teams have high scoring explosive offenses and stout playmaking defenses. It will be a battle of the titans as Walker Braaten leads the Sioux into New Rockford against the Rockets and their plethora of playmakers on both sides of the ball. Both Teams averaged nearly 70 points a game, while giving up few points throughout the season. Plan on this game to either be a low scoring, defensive effort, or a high scoring shootout between the two teams that are itching for that chance at a state title in the Fargodome.
We will have play-by-play action from the Linton HMB and Lamoure-LM game starting at 1:10 PM with Patrick McColl and Danny Ledda on the call, We will have all the results from these games on our website as they come available, as well as a breakdown and analysis during the Sunday Sports Roundup(Sunday 11-12), and the Buffalo City Blitz (Monday-Friday 12-12:30) on KSJB 100.1 FM and 600 AM!
Photo Credit: NDHSAA
Comments