DEVILS LAKE — The Firebirds found the end zone for the first time in 2026 courtesy of Domingo Engberg.
The Devils Lake junior wide receiver was wide open down the left sideline. Talan Gregory completed a perfect pass, and Engberg ran it the rest of the way for a 50-yard reception.
Up 7-6 in the second quarter, Devils Lake (1-1) went on to pull out a 21-19 win over No. 3 Central Cass (1-1) in its homecoming game at Roller Field on Friday. Engberg’s touchdown reception, and his later 70-yard pick-six, made the difference.
“It’s amazing to have this opportunity,” Engberg said. “I’ve waited so long for this.”
Engberg had four receptions for 122 yards and one touchdown on last year’s championship team.
With several key receivers graduating, Engberg’s role has opened up. He said he learned a lot from one of those graduates, Weston Nelson. He’s been trying to get better at “my acceleration and releases,” he said.
Engberg’s hard work paid off in its most substantial on-field form this Friday night.
“He’s an amazing kid,” Devils Lake head coach Todd Lambrecht said. “I mean, he’s happy. He loves playing football. He’s that kid you’ve been waiting to see step up because you know he had those talents. Just need to do it on a consistent basis week after week. But I’m proud of what he did and what he accomplished today.”
The Firebirds bounced back from a 35-0 loss to No. 1 Kindred in their season opener.
As they did after last year’s 30-point loss to Kindred, they beat Central Cass in Week 2 while being considered the underdog by outside observers.
“We had a lot of improvements that we saw at our offensive line and defensive line. They were steady, and did what we needed them to do. And that was huge,” Lambrecht said. “Central Cass is a great team. Our guys, they came out and played hard, played with tremendous will. … These kind of games help build integrity and belief in what you’re doing. So that was a good, crucial win for us.”
The Firebirds had the ball for nearly 10 minutes to open the game — and they didn’t score.
They drove the ball 78 yards, with 39 by Egan Laite and 15 on passes to Rylan Samuelson. On fourth and goal from the three-yard line, a Will Heilman carry fell short and Devils Lake turned it over on downs.
“A little flubs here and there. Just not quite in sync on a few plays, and that makes a difference against a good team,” Lambrecht said. “We’ve got to learn in that scenario and just keep getting better so we don’t make those little crucial mistakes. So yeah, it was a little disheartening, but seeing our offense move the ball down the field, that was pretty awesome.”
Central Cass, on the other hand, came out with monumental gains. The Squirrels had three plays of 20-plus yards to close out the first quarter. They scored on a 13-yard pass to Kellen Cruchet early in the second. They drove the ball 97 yards in just 3:33 of clock time.
Engberg, who was key on defense as well with at least five solo or assisted tackles, said the priority from there was on man coverage.
“We need to stop looking at the quarterback,” Engberg said, “and just focus on the player.”
After three incremental gains from Laite, Gregory found Engberg for the first Firebird score of the season. Engberg celebrated in the end zone.
“It felt really good knowing I’ve been practicing this for so long, and then having this opportunity, and make a big play like that,” Engberg said.
With the way the first possession had gone, Devils Lake getting on the board felt inevitable.
“Even during Kindred, we really struggled to put drives together,” Laite said. “And this game, we did a whole lot better than that. And especially running the clock down that much, that’s a really big improvement for us.”
Nash Riggin, who converted all three extra points on the night, put Devils Lake ahead 7-6 with his first.
Later in the second quarter, Gregory was intercepted, and Central Cass took just one play to score on a 48-yard reception by Easton Holland. The Squirrels’ two-point conversion attempt was no good, but Devils Lake trailed 12-7 at halftime.
Central Cass had a 33-yard drive going to open the second half.
That’s when Engberg came in again.
A pass from quarterback Brody Kegley deflected off his intended receiver and landed right in the hands of the Devils Lake first-year starter.
“It’s funny,” Engberg said with a smile after the game. “I just saw it pop out, and then last second, I just reached out my hand and caught it.”
Engberg broke through the pile and took it to the house for a 70-yard, go-ahead pick-six. The Firebirds went up 14-12.
From there, the key for Devils Lake was limiting Central Cass’ formidable offense. Ben Brodina, who got in a varsity game for the first time since sitting out last year, yanked a one-handed interception while falling to the ground, which put the ball back in Devils Lake’s hands.
“That was amazing. I think the ball was still in mid-flight when he jumped in the air,” Lambrecht said. “It was great getting Ben in, getting some reps. And I mean, we were cramping up, so he was crucial to come out this week and help us out.”
Devils Lake also applied consistent pressure on Kegley. Sophomore Aiden Stiven had two sacks. Easton Encinas also got in Kegley’s face quite a bit. The Central Cass offense, which appeared on the verge of dominance early in the game, didn’t score in the third quarter.
“Getting some pressure on their quarterback, making a move so he’s not standing back there and just picking us apart,” Lambrecht said. “And our DBs playing a little better. Changing up our coverage a little bit, too, helped tremendously. Just to keep them on the guess route. We knew they were gonna get those little hitches, and we stopped them here and there.”
Laite capped a 45-yard drive with a three-yard touchdown rush, his first score of the 2026 season. Devils Lake led 21-12 with 6:05 left.
Central Cass got one score back, with an 18-yard pass to Blaise Cotton followed by a one-yard rush into the end zone by Benji Boway. It wasn’t over yet, with the score at 21-19 and 4:44 on the clock.
Devils Lake got a stop to secure the victory.
Kegley couldn’t find an open pass and fell down in the backfield with Stiven on the coverage once again.
“Sacks are always huge,” Lambrecht said. “We knew coming in how mobile this quarterback was. And he likes to scramble, but he also likes to throw it down the field. Doesn’t like to run it a whole lot. So that was to our advantage. We were getting too deep in some areas on our pass rush, and created some lanes. And we’ve just got to look at that to make sure we’re not doing that all the time.”
Laite finished with 29 carries for 132 yards unofficially, plus three receptions for nine yards.
“It just felt so good tonight getting the win on homecoming,” Laite said.
Gregory had 98 passing yards unofficially, including a 24-yard pass to Encinas, who had that plus eight rushing yards.
Up next, the Firebirds travel to Wahpeton to face the Huskies Friday at 6 p.m.