Devils Lake-Kindred rivalry set to continue in football season opener

The last two years of Devils Lake-Kindred matchups in basketball have ended in heartbreak for each side. One championship for the Firebirds, and one for the Vikings.

This summer, Devils Lake got some revenge on the baseball diamond. Down to their last out of the region tournament in Devils Lake, the Storm walked off Kindred’s Legion squad. Devils Lake won another close game over the Vikings to eliminate them in the state tournament.

Now, the rivalry extends to football.

Kindred won 24 consecutive games across two seasons in Division A. That streak was snapped with a 14-12 loss in the Division A state championship game last fall. But now, Kindred moves up to Division AA and is set to face the Firebirds in Week 1.

“I’m looking forward to next week. We get to go down and play Kindred, a really solid team,” Devils Lake head football coach Todd Lambrecht said on Saturday. “They’re stacked. They’re good. Got a great coaching staff. We’ve got to step up and meet those expectations first and just play one at a time.”

Firebirds quarterback Mason Palmer was on the court for both basketball championship games: the win over Kindred in 2024 and the loss in 2025. He was right in the middle of the baseball matchups, too.

“You’ve always got that competitiveness in you,” Palmer said. “And we’ve been going back and forth in different sports, but we always want to win.”

Kindred essentially took Devils Lake’s place in the AA East. The Firebirds moved to the West in the latest football realignment.

“You just have to be ready for the situation,” Lambrecht said. “Sometimes it changes. It’s like life. You’ve just got to teach them that situations are gonna change, and we just have to adapt and do what you’re coached to do.”

Kindred was ranked No. 2 in the NDAPSSA’s initial football rankings released Monday. Devils Lake was unranked, but received the most top-five votes of any unranked team.

With Kindred moving levels, it’s probably the biggest wild card among Devils Lake’s opponents. But Kindred has a sparkling track record of producing quality athletes.

Luke Starcevic and Brooks Bakko headline the Vikings’ returners. They’re both considered four-star recruits by the outlet 247Sports.

Their quarterback, Luke’s older brother Jake Starcevic, graduated last spring. He now plays football for the Division-I Army Black Knights. Kindred has three quarterbacks remaining on its roster: senior Gabe Whipple, sophomore Jackson Schlieman and freshman Bristol Swanson. Quarterback is more of an uncertainty than some of Kindred’s other positions.

L. Starcevic, a junior lineman, is not only the top-rated football player in North Dakota, but one of the most prized recruits in the country. He’s ranked 152nd nationally by 247Sports, and 14th among all D-linemen. He’s listed at 6-foot-5 and 250 pounds, with room to grow given his youth.

Starcevic has received 13 D-I offers as of July, per the Forum. The list includes Auburn, Oklahoma and Minnesota.

The Firebirds will also have to contend with Bakko, an especially familiar name for Devils Lake fans. In this year’s state championship basketball game, Bakko tipped in a buzzer beater for Kindred with milliseconds left on the clock.

But Bakko is most heralded as a football player. He’s ranked second in North Dakota by 247Sports among the 2027 class, behind only his teammate Starcevic. Nationally, he comes in at 233rd overall and 13th among tight ends.

Bakko has also received a handful of D-I offers, which includes big-time schools like Michigan and Wisconsin.

Lambrecht said he’s researched Kindred as much as possible.

“We tried to find some stuff, and I’m sure they found stuff on us. It’s out there, and the Internet makes that way easier,” Lambrecht said. “But it’s one of those things to where we have an idea what they run and what they’re gonna do. And we’ve just got to prepare.”

The Firebirds will be led by Palmer, the now-senior quarterback. His future is likely on the baseball diamond, where he’s already received multiple Division-II offers. But right now, he’s set on guiding Devils Lake to the playoffs for the second straight year.

Palmer said that this fall camp has been a successful one.

“We seem to keep improving every day,” he said. “Got to keep doing things faster and faster at practice, really get us into game speed.”

While Devils Lake graduated a solid senior class, the overall roster is bigger and deeper, Lambrecht explained.

Senior running back Bryar Exner, wide receiver Coby Dronen Levitt, wingback Kade Fee and Swiss Army knife Will Heilman should be among the key pieces. Devils Lake graduated a host of linemen last spring, but the depth has filled in nicely during fall practices, Lambrecht said.

“As usual, everybody gets banged up, and we have,” he said. “And we’ve had some guys step up and step in. It’s always that depth that we look for and look at. It’s kind of a next-man-up attitude that we have to have, because we don’t know what’s gonna happen. And those guys got to realize that your moment could happen just like that.”

This year, Devils Lake doesn’t have a bye week. Starting Friday, it will play a game every week of the season.

Last year, the bye week followed one of Devils Lake’s most exciting wins of the season, a road victory over Jamestown. When the Firebirds returned from the bye, they lost to Wahpeton in their homecoming game.

“It’s been a while since we haven’t had the bye week. So I guess we’ll see how that goes,” Lambrecht said. “I know when the season starts, we just want to keep going, stay healthy, and that’s where that depth comes in handy.”

The new Devils Lake squad will head to Horace on Friday to see what it’s made of. The game is set for 7 p.m. at West Fargo Horace High School, with Kindred finishing up some construction on its track.