Football:
Minot State vs. Wayne State
Minot State is trying to recover from a tough road loss at Sioux Falls, South Dakota. Starting quarterback Dawson Macleary was knocked from the game early and Minot could not overcome the loss at that position. The defense played well considering the offense could not stay on the field long enough to get them rest. Macleary has practiced all week and is ready to go this week against Wayne State.
The Wildcats have squeaked by in each of their first two games. They beat Mary 33-28 and Northern 13-6. Wayne’s quarterback, Nick Bohn, has completed only 58% of his passes but he likes to hit home runs. Deep threat Jadon Johnson takes the top off the defense. Johnson has 5 receptions for 145 yards on the season, averaging 29 yards per catch. If Wayne catches the Beavers in man defense Bohn will take off and run. The threat of Johnson stretching the defense and Bohn running, forces defenses into two high safeties, which opens the running game for the Wildcats. The Beavers will have their hands full with the Wildcat attack.
The three keys for the Beavers
Wayne 21 Minot 20
Velva vs. South Prairie-Max
Velva will dominate this matchup in all phases of the game. They will dominate the trenches and they will be better on the outside. South Prairie is steadily improving each week. South Prairie is building a strong culture. I love their offense, just give the Royals time. They are putting football into their DNA. Velva is a powerhouse and a state championship contender. They can take the ball away and they can play “ground and pound” football.
Velva 41-0
Minot High v.s Bismarck Century
Minot High Football rose to new heights last Friday night to take down the number 1 AA team in the state, the Mandan Braves, on the road. I wrote earlier this fall that the Magicians are team to watch come state playoffs. Like many other up and coming teams, Minot needs to learn how to handle success. Minot beat St. Marys as underdogs, then lost to Bismarck Legacy as favorites. They take down the Braves as underdogs, now they face Century at home as favorites again. Century has two All-State returning players in the trenches, Joel Edland and Jacob Burckhard. Century also returns All WDA Ryan Brynjolfson, Peyton Arndt and Jaxson Walz. They are strong in the trenches but cannot match Minot at the skill positions. Minot will be moving closer to the playoffs after Friday night if they can control the Century defensive line.
Minot 27 Century 13
Boys Soccer:
Minot vs. Williston
Minot vs. Mandan
Minot boys soccer is looking to secure the top seed in the WDA tournament and lock down another WDA regular season title with two winnable games this week. Minot should easily take down Williston and get much needed rest in the compact fall boys soccer schedule, a schedule that has multiple three game weeks. Dylan Helde has been becoming a force on flighted balls lately. It doesn’t matter if it’s defending crosses in front of his own net or attacking free kicks and corners in front of his opponent’s net. His threat to score on corners makes it tougher on opponents defending Brayden Oswalt, Mannasseh Boakye and Ian Hagerott. Oswalt is a jittery midfielder that takes opponents on one-on-one and leaves them a man down and unbalanced. This puts immense pressure on opponent’s backline to stay connected.
Mandan is an older team that is fighting to be in the top 4 in the West. They felt they should have beaten Minot the first time but came away with a loss. The Braves didn’t just lose to the Magi, they lost in gut wrenching fashion on a late goal by Mannasseh Boakye. The weather was a factor as the much less deep Mandan wilted on the hot turf. The weather will much cooler this week than last time. Minot will have to put the Braves away early if they want three points from this one. Mandan features All-State Winger Alex Wegner. He will try and stretch the Minot defense. Minot did well to keep him in check last matchup.
Minot 4 Williston 0
Minot 1 Mandan 0
Volleyball:
Bishop Ryan vs. Surrey
Bishop Ryan lost All-State Sydney Upton and Berkely Lundeen from last year’s squad but they are focused and better at every other spot. They could easily represent Region 6 in the state tournament. They are 10-3-1 and play error free volleyball for the most part. Setter Magee Rovig has been amazing this season for the Lions. Libero Tyanna Weeks and outside hitter Chinelo Udekwe have been playing at an All-region level. Ryan will be a little too much for Surrey.
Bishop Ryan 3 Surrey 1
