Photo by Cameron Carlson
DEVILS LAKE — A highly-anticipated matchup in the Division AA football quarterfinals turned into a laugher by halftime.
Devils Lake (8-2), hosting a playoff football game for the first time since 2017, routed Grand Forks Central (7-3) by a bludgeoning of 42-7 at Roller Field on Friday. It was 35-0 at the half. The Firebirds won their eighth game in a season for the first time since 2010.
“It came down to our front line just maintaining their blocks,” Devils Lake head coach Todd Lambrecht said. “We really challenged the O-line just to maintain their blocks longer and stick with them, so that way the holes stay open longer. And for the most part, we did that.”
In the regular season, Central held opponents to under 200 yards per game. Devils Lake quarterback Mason Palmer threw for 191 yards alone on Friday, while Bryar Exner added 127 yards on the ground.
“Our linemen really stepped it up all game,” senior two-way starter Kade Fee said. “They established the front, and we did everything through them. They started the game; they finished the game. It was all on them, and we had a great running back, Bryar — he was pounding the ball. … He’s a beast. He can run. It’s hard to stop him.”
Devils Lake had five full possessions in the first half and scored on all five.
Early in the game, the Firebirds leaned on Exner. They went to Exner on their first five plays of the game. Exner had five carries and two receptions on a 71-yard drive to open the contest, capping it with a three-yard touchdown rush.
“When you’re able to run the ball and you can mix in the throw here and there, it’s hard. It puts a lot of pressure on their defensive coordinator and what he can call, what he can do,” Lambrecht said. “We like to run the ball, and if we need to mix it up, we can.”
Devils Lake’s second score was slightly more efficient. On the second play of the drive, Palmer completed a pass to Fee, who burst down the right sideline.
And he couldn’t be stopped.
“That was insane,” Lambrecht said. “I was like, ‘Okay, he’s got a first down.’ He just kept going, kept going. So kudos to Kade. I think he just felt it and kept going with it. If they’re not gonna tackle you, you’ve just got to keep going. That was amazing to watch.”
It was a 46-yard touchdown reception for Fee, who’s also one of the leading tacklers for this team on defense.
“Our linemen gave Mason lots of time to pass,” Fee said. “And I caught that ball; Mason gave me a perfect ball, and I saw some green in front of me, and I just gave it my best and I guess I got in. Stumbled in.”
After forcing a three-and-out, the Firebirds put together a 63-yard touchdown drive that extended into the second quarter.
Palmer executed another screen pass to Exner to get it to the seven-yard line. Exner added 50 receiving yards on the night.
“He’s a beast. He can do it all,” Palmer said of Exner. “He can run. He can catch it. He can get yards after the catch, that’s for sure. I really rely on him for doing that, too.”
After back-to-back carries by Exner, Palmer ran in the final two yards himself. It was a whopping 21-0 just a couple minutes into the second quarter.
On a critical drive for Central to stay in the game, its next possession went disastrously. Quarterback Brody Leddige slipped in the backfield, with a sack for a loss of nine yards credited to Grady Quam. On the next play, Devils Lake lineman Isaac Woodhull tipped a pass and managed to snatch it for an interception.
Lambrecht said Woodhull has done that many times in practice, but this was the first time it’s showed up in a game.
“He sniffed it out today,” Lambrecht said. “And that was an awesome pick. I don’t know. I just sat there and watched him like, ‘Oh my God.’ And he grabbed it. So that was great.”
Devils Lake then did its thing, driving the ball 75 yards for another score. Exner made a seven-yard reception, then carried the ball four plays in a row.
On fourth and three, Palmer completed a six-yard touchdown pass to his twin brother, Max.
Central picked up a first down on its next drive, but had to punt after an intentional grounding call. An 80-yard touchdown drive to cap the first half’s scoring was once again led by Exner. After two carries, he caught a pass and ran down the right sideline for a 22-yard reception.
Exner broke for big carries of 11 and 35 yards. He was taken down a yard short of the goal line, but Palmer made a one-yard pass to Coby Dronen Levitt in the end zone.
It was 35-0 with 2:22 left in the half. The Firebirds played one of their most complete halves of the season, carving up an accomplished Central defense and hardly allowing anything on the other side of the ball.
Central got on the board early in the second half after a Devils Lake fumble. Naz Fisher had a two-yard touchdown run.
But the Firebirds scored after an onside kick that gave them the ball back on their own 40. Devils Lake overcame two penalties on the drive. Weston Nelson did the grunt work, with a catch for 17 yards and a 36-yard touchdown reception.
Central couldn’t score in the third quarter as its quarterback slipped again in the backfield, fumbling it over to Devils Lake. With Exner having done his damage, Devils Lake gave Egan Laite some work at running back in the fourth quarter.
Fee dotted the exclamation point on the Firebirds’ win, slamming a sack to force a turnover on downs. He stood tall and motioned to the crowd.
“Our nose guard, D’Angelo Matheny, he took the center away from me, so I had a clean shot at the quarterback,” Fee said. “It was great. Our D-linemen, they stepped up all game, and they just gave me a free shot at him.”
Devils Lake, after cruising to a first-round victory, now heads on the road for a rematch with undefeated Kindred. The Firebirds have a taller task ahead of them — but they’re going to prepare like they would for any other game.
It’s gotten them this far.
“We’ve just got to come out and play,” Lambrecht said. “We have to do our jobs and be more consistent with it, and take advantage of the situations that are there.”
Kindred hosts Devils Lake in the state semifinals at 6 p.m. Friday.
“Bring our best,” Exner said. “I mean, we know what we can do. Our offense is great. We come out hard, and come out swinging, no one’s gonna stop us.”
