Photo by Cameron Carlson
DEVILS LAKE — Ever since losing by 30 points to Kindred in their season opener, the Firebirds have done nothing but win.
No. 4 Devils Lake football (4-1, 1-0) opened region play with a 41-27 win over Jamestown (1-4, 0-1) on Friday at Roller Field. It was the Firebirds’ fourth consecutive victory.
The key to this stretch?
“Definitely getting our butts whipped in Kindred,” Devils Lake running back Bryar Exner said. “That really humbled us. We’ve got to play our best every game. We can’t come in thinking we’re the best team. Losing to Kindred and then coming back and beating Central Cass really gave us the confidence.”
After finishing non-region play at 3-1, Devils Lake hosted a rematch of last year’s 27-23 win over the Blue Jays. Exner rushed for 220 yards, with three rushing touchdowns. He added 53 reception yards.
Quarterback Mason Palmer threw for 193 yards. He made two touchdown passes to his twin brother, Max. Kade Fee also had a touchdown rush.
“The offense was gelling really well,” Devils Lake head coach Todd Lambrecht said. “The line was making holes, moving piles, giving Mason time when he needed it. And it was really nice to see. It was very complementary.”
On the flip side, Jamestown rushed for 271 yards. It was led by running back Liam Frey, who rushed for three touchdowns, including two of 50-plus yards.
Frey had a 55-yard touchdown run just 60 seconds into regulation.
“He’s good,” Lambrecht said with emphasis. “I mean, he just was gouging us. And we just weren’t doing a good enough job containing him or tackling him.”
Exner and the Firebirds came out with a burst of energy on their first possession. Exner broke a tackle to make a 40-yard run, and eventually ran in for a 14-yard touchdown to even the score at 7-7.
“We’re amped up. We trust our offense,” Exner said. “We can’t have our heads down just because of one big play.”
Jamestown appeared to run the kickoff back for another touchdown, but it was negated by a holding call. The Blue Jays were called for holding again on the very next play.
Penalties plagued the Blue Jays all night. They made 11 total, including eight in the first half.
Devils Lake wasn’t much better, with nine penalties on the night. An illegal facemask helped Jamestown out on the same drive.
“Those little dumb penalties don’t do us well,” Lambrecht said. “And the guys know it. Things are gonna happen; as long as they’re not dumb things — just a dumb personal foul and stuff like that — sometimes penalties happen. We just don’t want them to hinder us all the time.”
Luke Wasness came up with a sack for Devils Lake. Each team turned it over on downs after scoring on its first possession.
With 31.7 seconds left in the first quarter, Will Heilman grabbed his first of two interceptions. Devils Lake’s possession carried into the second quarter, when Mason Palmer finished off a 62-yard drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Max Palmer.
But another big run kept Jamestown in the game. Frey broke a tackle after catching a screen pass, then sprinted all the way to the five-yard line for a 45-yard run. Frey finished the drive by carrying it seven yards.
The point after was no good, leaving Devils Lake up 14-13 at halftime.
“It was one of those things to where we weren’t playing our best,” Lambrecht said. “And I challenged them at halftime. … It was a ‘not gonna quit’ type scenario.”
The Firebirds were hit with an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty to open the second half. They had to start at their own 15-yard line. But Exner had six plays on the resulting drive, with four carries and two receptions.
Lambrecht compared the explosive Exner to a piston.
“It just keeps going until you turn it off,” he said. “And turning it off is by tackling him.”
Devils Lake finished the drive with another Palmer-to-Palmer connection. Max caught a 16-yard touchdown pass for his second score of the night. The wide receiver totaled 71 yards.
What seemed like an extension of breathing room was quickly flipped on its head. Frey had yet another big play, this time a 43-yard rush to get to the one-yard line. The Blue Jays nearly blew a massive opportunity — but on fourth and goal, quarterback Karson Schmidt made a pass to Cephuriah Sayler in the end zone.
Jamestown picked up the two-point conversion and tied it at 21-21.
But Devils Lake didn’t let the Blue Jays’ comeback spiral into anything more detrimental. Aided by unsportsmanlike conduct on Jamestown during the kickoff, and a pass interference call, Devils Lake went back ahead with a 58-yard touchdown drive. Fee caught a nine-yard pass, Mason Palmer rushed it nine yards and Exner ran the final three yards.
Jamestown turned it over on downs in a drive that extended into the fourth quarter. Mason Palmer swatted away the final pass attempt.
But Palmer also fumbled the ball back to Jamestown on the next drive. Still, the Blue Jays didn’t capitalize, going three and out. Devils Lake very much did capitalize on its chance to put the game away. Exner broke for a 45-yard touchdown run, squeezing through a sea of Blue Jays.
He simply refused to go down.
“Will blocked the guy to the inside, and then Max had the block to the outside, so there was a perfect gap for me,” Exner said. “Everyone blocked perfectly, and it just helped me get up to speed. And I’m a big guy, so it’s tough to tackle.”
Down 35-21 with about seven minutes left, Jamestown got one touchdown back on a 59-yard rush by Frey. The Blue Jays’ run game kept finding holes through the Devils Lake defense.
“We just weren’t tackling very well,” Lambrecht said. “We made a few adjustments, and it helped — not well enough. … So it’s one of those things to where we need to sit down and watch film, and our guys need to watch themselves, and we need to analyze what we need to work on getting better at.”
Heilman, who did a little bit of everything, blocked the extra point to keep the score at 35-27. He also returned the following kickoff to about midfield.
“He’s kind of, I guess what I would call a gamer,” Lambrecht said. “He gets himself in good positions and just works hard.”
Exner carried the ball 50 yards over three plays, and Fee ran for a five-yard touchdown to make it 41-27.
Heilman’s second interception eliminated any of Jamestown’s desperate final hopes.
The Firebirds now look to keep their winning streak alive on the road. After three straight home games, they’ll travel to Bismarck St. Mary’s next Friday.
“I feel like we’re finally becoming our team,” Exner said. “We’re putting up big numbers. Once our defense gets it together, we’re gonna be a good team come playoff time. So we’ve got to lock in for Bismarck St. Mary’s, but just keep building off this.”
Four victories is tied for Devils Lake’s longest winning streak since 2021. One more consecutive win would give the Firebirds their longest streak since 2010.
“It’s our offense playing well; our defense can make some stops. And just playing together as a whole,” Lambrecht said. “And like I’ve said before, it starts with this practice, and our guys that help run the team’s offense and defense, and them getting us prepared. And us understanding where we’ve got to be. And the guys being coachable and working on it.”
