Kari GIbb/MDN Half the Velva/Garrison/Drake-Anamoose defense corrals the Langdon/Edmore/Munich ball carrier in the 2024 NDHSAA Class A Semifinal match on Saturday, November 9, at Velva high school. The Aggies won and will play Kindred in the XXXII Dakota Bowl on Friday, November 15, in Fargo.

The final week of playoff games were played leading into the North Dakota High School Activities Association (NDHSAA) XXXII Dakota Bowl championship games. In the Class A and 9-Man brackets, the two local teams experienced both sides of the postseason experience.

Class A Semifinals

Velva/Garrison/Drake-Anamoose 51, Langdon/Edmore/Munich 13

The Langdon/Edmore/Munich (LEM) Cardinals traced to Velva to face the Aggies. The Velva/Garrison/Drake-Anamoose (Velva) team continued their mission to get to the state championship game with a dominant win over the visitors.

The Aggies used half of the first quarter to battle the Cardinal offense and get their shot at showcasing their scoring ability. Velva posted the first touchdown of the game at the 5:42 mark for the 6-0 lead.

The Aggies again used high pursuit defense and stellar backfield play of defensive backs to hold LEM and scored the second touchdown of the game at the 2:53 mark of the first quarter for the 12-0 lead. The Aggies hit the endzone with 53-seconds left in the first quarter to take the 18-0 lead as the second quarter started.

Velva scored another touchdown in the first half at the 7:53 mark of the second quarter for the 25-0 lead and the visiting Cardinals began to look dismayed. At the 2:06 mark of the second quarter, the Aggies added their final score of the first half for the 32-0 lead.

With little time left in the first half, LEM mounted an attack that showcased their deep-ball threat and scored with 7-seconds left in the second quarter to narrow the Aggies lead to 32-6 going into halftime.

The halftime talk by the Velva coaches refocused the team and the stellar defense allowed a late score for the Cardinal enroute to the 51-13 final that put them into the championship game this week.

The Aggies will face a familiar foe on Friday, November 15, as the top ranked Kindred Vikings will be across the field at the XXXII Dakota Bowl with the 2024 NDHSAA Class A Championship on the line.

Velva traveled to face Kindred in the first game of the season on August 23, and lost to the hosting Vikings that day. Kindred won 13-6 over Velva and have been the top ranked and undefeated team in the Class A category since that meeting.

Kindred 29, Central Cass 15

Central Cass traveled to Kindred for a chance to unseat the top ranked team in the Class A bracket and play in the XXXII Dakota Bowl. While the visitors had the closest score since the Vikings beat the Aggies in the season opening game, Kindred was never threatened in the 29-15 win.

Kindred posted a 19-point win over Shiloh Christian in the quarterfinals – a 39-20 win, and a 14-point margin of victory over Central Cass – the 29-15 win in the semifinal game on Saturday, November 9.

The closest game that Kindred played was the season opening win over Velva. That 13-6 score for the Vikings was the only loss for the Aggies and closest, lowest scoring contest for either team.

The two face off in the first of the four title matches at the Dakota Bowl with kickoff taking place at 9:10 a.m. at the Fargodome in Fargo.

9-Man Semifinals

New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock 64, Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn 28

The third seeded Westhope-Newburg-Glenburn Sioux, who are ranked third in the 9-Man classification traveled to face the second seeded New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock hosts in a matchup of unbeaten teams in the 9-Man semi final game for a shot at playing in the 2024 NDHSAA 9-Man Championship game in the XXXII Dakota Bowl on Friday, November 15, at the Fargodome.

The hosting Rockets struggled to a 14-6 lead in the first quarter before both teams turned on the offense. New Rockford surged with homefield momentum to a 42-20 halftime lead and added to that with a 58-28 lead early in the fourth quarter.

The second ranked Rockets will face the top ranked Loboes at the Fargodome on Friday.

LaMoure-LM 52,

Linton-HMB 16

The other semifinal game for the right to play in the 9-Man title matchup in the Dakota Bowl was the second contest between unbeaten teams. Linton-HMB traveled to LaMoure-LM and the fourth ranked team never got close to a win as the hosts dominated enroute to the 52-16 victory.

At the 2024 NDHSAA 9-Man Championship game, LaMoure-LM will face New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock with kickoff being roughly 20-minutes after the Class A title game is over on Friday, November 15, at the Fargodome.