Devils Lake wide receiver Max Palmer (Photo by Cameron Carlson)
Devils Lake was ranked No. 4 in Division AA football for the third straight week in the NDAPSSA polls released Monday. It received 41 points — the most it’s had thus far after getting 33 last week.
The Firebirds are coming off a 41-27 win over Jamestown. They’ve now won four straight, three of which came on their home field.
It’s the first time since 2021 that the Devils Lake football team has won four in a row. One more win would give the Firebirds their first five-game winning streak since 2010, when they won six six straight.
Of the four wins, only one has come against a ranked team. That was the Week 2 victory over Central Cass, which the coach and players have largely credited with igniting their recent success. Central Cass was ranked No. 3 at the time and sits at No. 5 now.
After three straight home games, Devils Lake goes on the road to face unranked Bismarck St. Mary’s this Friday. It’s the second of five region contests. St. Mary’s is 1-4 overall and 0-1 in region play.
The following week, on Oct. 10, the Firebirds travel to face No. 1 Minot North. It’ll be a rematch of last year’s first-round playoff game. Minot North is 5-0. It’s the only AA team ranked above Kindred, which beat Devils Lake 42-12 in Week 1. Minot North is the heavy consensus No. 1, too, with 17 first-place votes compared to Kindred’s four.
The duel with Minot North is the biggest test left on Devils Lake’s regular-season schedule. The Firebirds will be the underdog there, while their ranking and record make them a favorite against St. Mary’s, Dickinson and Watford City.
In the West standings, Minot North, Devils Lake and Watford City are all 1-0. By overall record, Devils Lake sits in second place at 4-1. Watford City is 3-2, most recently scratching out a 20-17 win over Dickinson. The bottom three teams are all 1-4.
The Firebirds are making a strong bid to at least finish second in the region, in which case they’d host a playoff game.
In 2024, they squeaked into the playoffs as the fourth seed from the East. It was their first playoff appearance since making it five straight years from 2017-2021.
Division AA football
- Minot North (17) – 100 points (Previous: 1)
- Kindred (4) – 88 points (Previous: 2)
- Grand Forks Central – 57 points (Previous: 3)
- Devils Lake – 41 points (Previous: 4)
- Central Cass – 29 points (Previous: 5)
Received votes: None
