For the first time in a decade and a half, Devils Lake football has won five straight games.

After three straight home wins, the Firebirds traveled to Bismarck on Friday to play the St. Mary’s Saints. No. 4-ranked Devils Lake (5-1, 2-0) kept rolling with a 55-14 win over St. Mary’s (1-5, 0-2).

“We had a game plan coming in. We stuck to it, and it worked out really well for us,” Devils Lake head coach Todd Lambrecht said on the PSP Network postgame show. “A lot of our guys were just in the right place at the right time. Started doing the little things right that we’ve been practicing on all week. And it showed.”

It’s the longest winning streak for the Firebirds’ football program since 2010, when it won six straight. Devils Lake hadn’t won four in a row since 2021.

“It’s always huge when you get that momentum going,” Lambrecht said. “The little things are clicking. And it’s something that you can keep thriving on and keep going for. But we always have to be humble in the fact that we make mistakes and we have to keep practicing to get better.”

Devils Lake’s offense has led it throughout this run — particularly in its depth and versatility. Running back Bryar Exner totaled 222 yards of offense unofficially, with three touchdown rushes. Quarterback Mason Palmer threw for 226 yards, with two touchdown passes and a touchdown rush of his own.

Weston Nelson and Max Palmer each had a touchdown reception, while Will Heilman had a pick-six.

“Having Mason and our wide receiver core makes it so much easier, because I can’t just fill the box,” Exner said on PSP Network. “That’s nice about our team, we’re so balanced everywhere.”

This was by far the Firebirds’ biggest margin of victory this season. In each of their four previous victories, they hadn’t won by more than 16 points.

They put up a 41-point gap on Friday — but it was still close for most of the first half.

St. Mary’s actually struck first with a 21-yard touchdown reception by Brady Ruggles. On the Firebirds’ second possession, they drove it 80 yards for a game-tying touchdown, fueled by a 44-yard pass to Nelson. Exner ran the final two yards.

Devils Lake forced a three-and-out, then took just one play to take the lead. Exner dashed 43 yards into the end zone to help put the Firebirds up 14-7 entering the second quarter.

St. Mary’s responded with a 56-yard touchdown run by Beckett Price to tie it back up.

At 14-14 with 11:06 left in the first half, it turned out that the Saints would never score again.

With Devils Lake inside its own 30-yard line, Fee caught a long pass from Palmer around midfield. Fee ran it all the way to the St. Mary’s five-yard line for a 79-yard reception. Exner ran the remaining five yards. The Firebirds had the lead back, 21-14.

St. Mary’s, on fourth and 10, faked a punt and ran it 24 yards to stay alive. But Jaxon Strong came up with a big sack to help force another fourth-down situation. Strong had three tackles for loss on the night, including two sacks.

On fourth and seven, Heilman grabbed his first of two touchdowns on the night. Heilman has now had multiple interceptions in back-to-back games.

It was still a one-score game with as few as 37.2 seconds left in the first half. But Devils Lake snuck one more touchdown in before halftime, with Nelson’s six-yard reception capping a 61-yard drive.

It was 28-14 at halftime. The Firebirds only continued to put the game away from there.

Coby Dronen Levitt snagged a pick, and Devils Lake drove it 65 yards for a score on its next possession. Exner ignited the drive with a 21-yard run, while also making an 18-yard reception later on. Palmer ran the final nine yards himself to help make it 35-14.

Another strong defensive series for Devils Lake forced the Saints to go three and out. A 46-yard rush by Exner fueled an 80-yard rive, with Palmer throwing a 14-yard touchdown pass to his twin brother, Max.

Heilman’s second interception came a drive later — this time for a pick-six. He ran it back 53 yards with about 10 seconds left in the third quarter. The point after was blocked, but Devils Lake still took a whopping 48-14 lead.

The Firebirds made some substitutions with a running clock in the fourth quarter. Sophomore running back Egan Laite got his chance to shine, running for 68 yards over nine plays. He finished the drive with an eight-yard touchdown run. Junior quarterback Talan Gregory also got in for the final few plays.

Devils Lake dominated on Friday. But it now faces its toughest test yet with undefeated No. 1 Minot North next Friday. Minot North eliminated Devils Lake in the first round of the playoffs last year. It seems to have only gotten better, with a 6-0 record so far.

“We’ve just got to prepare like we do for a normal game,” Lambrecht said. “It’s one of those things, we see what they have, we scheme it up and just go play some football. It’s gonna be exciting.”