DEVILS LAKE — In a game where the Firebirds were shut out through the first three quarters, they let a 14-13 lead slip away with 24.6 seconds left.
Bismarck St. Mary’s failed a two-point version attempt. But No. 2 Devils Lake, in its first home game in nearly a month, trailed 19-14.
As the local contingent at Roller Field sat bundled up in hats and coats for the first time in 2026, the energy felt deflated.
But the team didn’t.
“Coach [Christon] Dallas and them guys were saying, ‘There’s still time left on the clock,’” Devils Lake senior Easton Encinas said. “And I think that really sparked something about us. We were like, ‘All right, we can still do it.’ We had three timeouts. We knew we could get down there.”
St. Mary’s committed a late hit on the kick return. So Devils Lake had the ball on its own 46. Talan Gregory threw a pass to Rylan Samuelson by the right sideline — a modest five-yard gain. The clock ticked down to 11 seconds.
Back to work.
Gregory threw it to Will Heilman. The reigning all-state second-teamer gained 17 yards to the Saints’ 32. The clock went down to 5.2. Devils Lake used another timeout.
Gregory received the snap from Casey Brown. He assessed his options. This was going to be the last play no matter what.
He heaved it towards the end zone on the right side.
“I was looking, just trying to find someone open. And I seen nothing. And I was about to get sacked,” Gregory said. “So I just threw it up as high as I could.”
Domingo Engberg watched it sail. He ran, slowly, timing it to a tee.
He said it’s something they do in practice all the time. Doing it in this moment was a smidge different.
“It was a little bit more difficult,” Engberg said. “But I knew I could get the job done.”
Engberg leapt. He stayed in bounds.
And he caught the ball.
His teammates, including Encinas, watched in awe.
“I seen the ball up in the air. I was like, ‘Right where we were supposed to put it. Middle of the right side,’” Encinas said, grinning with gleeful anticipation. “I seen Domingo in the back. Me and Will were getting ready to catch the bounce if it bounced, but Domingo came up with a big play like he did. … He’s always making plays for us. He’s a great player.”
The St. Mary’s side stood as still as the 0.0 on the clock. Moments after the Saints had sucked the air out of the stadium, the Firebirds snatched it right back and exploded in celebration of their fifth consecutive win.
“That was one of the best feelings I’ve ever felt in my life,” Gregory said. “It was amazing. We’ve worked so hard for this. And just watching that happen, it was really amazing.”
Devils Lake (5-1, 2-0) won, 20-19, over St. Mary’s (3-3, 1-1) on Friday. The Firebirds secured a fifth consecutive victory for the second straight year — a streak they hadn’t previously achieved since 2010.
“Sometimes, things like that happen,” Devils Lake head coach Todd Lambrecht said of his team’s rollercoaster win. “They were talking in the huddle, and it’s kind of what they talked about. The ball wasn’t quite thrown where it was at, but Domingo did a good job adjusting his route and catching the ball. Talan did an awesome job just throwing it down there. So I’m proud of the guys that they didn’t give up. They just kept chipping away.”
With star running back Egan Laite out due to an ankle injury, the Firebirds were shut out for the first three quarters. They missed a field goal, turned the ball over on downs four times and punted the ball twice in that span.
“We just needed to quit making dumb mistakes, and not staying with our blocks and just not running to the holes that were open for us when they were there,” Lambrecht said. “More emphasis on that, and understanding where we need to be a little bit better. It’s frustrating as a coach when you see those things. Just those little things make that big a difference, and we need to understand that so we get better.”
St. Mary’s couldn’t get much going either. Encinas and Engberg snatched turnovers.
It was 0-0 at halftime.
“We got a good talking-to by Coach in the locker room,” Encinas said.
The Saints scored first on a 30-yard pass from Patrick Richter to John Miller. They led, 7-0.
Devils Lake got a good drive going late in the third quarter — then ended up scoring three times in the fourth, all on passes to Engberg.
“He’s an amazing receiver,” Gregory said. “Truly, I’m nothing without my line and these receivers. That’s all them, just doing their jobs. All I gotta do is get it to them.”
Engberg had an eight-yard touchdown catch five seconds into the fourth quarter.
He had a five-yard catch on the next possession to give Devils Lake a 14-7 lead.
And later, of course, were his final-second heroics.
“Just get the ball moving and have our line keep pushing through,” Engberg said. “We all have to work as a team. No more arguing with each other and just score. Score as much as possible.”
St. Mary’s pounced back with an 80-yard touchdown run by Beckett Price. That made it 14-13, and the Saints fell short on a gutsy two-point conversion attempt.
The Firebirds tried a fake punt, but it didn’t work. They turned it over on downs for the fifth time. That led to a 44-yard touchdown drive for St. Mary’s, capped by a 10-yard pass to Keller Hertz Barnett.
The final drive put a bow on the three-touchdown quarter for the Firebirds, who made the grind of the first three quarters worth it in the end.
“We didn’t have our best game in the first half,” Gregory said. “So offensively, we knew what we had to do in the second half. It was just a matter of going out there and producing what we needed to do to get it done. Even if it was a little shaky, I’m just glad we got the win.”
The Firebirds will host Minot North for a state championship rematch on Friday at 7 p.m.