Devils Lake head coach Dustin Brodina. (Photo by Noah Clooten)
Since the implementation of the three-class system, matchups between Devils Lake and Four Winds/Minnewaukan have been a hit.
Whether it’s at the Devils Lake Sports Center or Four Winds High School gym, the game has consistently brought in the teams’ biggest crowds of the regular season. This year, the boys will play each other twice. The first matchup is set for this Monday, Jan. 5, in Fort Totten.
And both teams are ranked.
No. 1 Devils Lake (6-1, 3-0) is coming off its first loss of the season. The Firebirds fell 59-46 to No. 5 Wahpeton on Saturday.
It was a different-looking team to begin this year, with big players like Parker Brodina, Oliver Wirth and Joel Nelson graduating. Now, the Firebirds are temporarily playing without their top two scorers, who were each averaging over 20 points a game.
Devils Lake has filled those holes with Talan Gregory and Alex Hammond.
“They went from a completely different team [compared to last year]. And they’re a handful,” FW/M head coach Rick Smith said about the Firebirds in December. “When you’ve got good guards out there, when you’ve got good guard play, you’re going to have a good team. A lot of people don’t understand that. But I’ve been in the game long enough, when you’ve got good guards, you can have a good team. And Devils Lake has that.”
The Firebirds’ entire current starting five primarily played junior varsity last year. Head coach Dustin Brodina admitted Saturday that they’re still trying to figure out their offense. They’ve only had a couple of practices with the new crew.
Sophomore guard Ben Brodina took over as a starter to begin the year, and he’s averaging close to 12 points a game.
In addition to Gregory’s boost since joining the starting lineup — 34 points in two games — Hammond has chipped in to round out the starting five. Both have held their own since being unexpectedly sprung into new roles, but they’re still trying to “catch up to the speed of the game,” as Brodina said.
Despite the inexperience, Devils Lake still has some senior leadership on the floor with forwards Bryar Exner and Kade Fee. Both of them play with physicality and were key players on the championship football team.
The Firebirds’ main target in this year’s matchup will be the tall, athletic senior Marial Deng. The UND football commit is averaging 21 points a game. Deng is the Indians’ best, most well-rounded player.
FW/M is 4-1. Monday’s contest will be its first region game.
The No. 4-ranked Indians are coming off a 63-61 win over No. 3 Central Cass on Saturday. Like Devils Lake, they beat then-No. 2 Beulah in Minot over Christmas break. They previously lost by 20 to current No. 5 Wahpeton.
Beyond Deng, the Indians have a versatile group of players. Their bench might not go quite as deep as last year, but they have a big, strong post in Sonny Alberts and a spry, good-shooting guard in Jonte Delorme. They’ve also gotten a boost from Joran Lohnes recently.
“They’re a great team. They’re great-coached,” Brodina said of the Indians. “They’re not going to make a lot of mistakes, and I know we can’t make many mistakes. It’s going to be a real battle. It’s going to be tough for us to win. We’re going to have to do a lot of things right in order to get a win on Monday.”
The Indians are trying to get over the hump of making a Class A state tournament — a goal they’ve fallen just short of in each of the last two seasons. Devils Lake has a target on its back, ranked No. 1 and having made it to the state championship game both years. But Devils Lake is also still trying to figure things out with its new lineup. And the Indians should bring a lot of confidence to the floor after muscling out a win over Central Cass.
FW/M will try to keep Saturday’s magic rolling on Monday. Devils Lake will try to forget Saturday ever happened.
The Firebirds have won four out of their five matchups against the Indians in two years of competing in the same region. The game is set for approximately 7:15 p.m. Monday at Four Winds High School. It will be a one-point game in the standings, with the next matchup scheduled for Feb. 10 in Devils Lake.
