North Dakota High School Football Playoffs Enter Quarterfinal Stage
Quarterfinal matchups are set for Saturday, October 31, following decisive first-round results on October 24.
By Yara Nasser ·
The North Dakota Division A and 9-man high school football playoffs moved to their next stage on Saturday, October 31, after the first round concluded on Saturday, October 24. Teams across the state competed in a series of games that determined the quarterfinal pairings for the upcoming week.
In the Division A bracket, No. 2 Harvey-Wells County posted the largest victory of the round, defeating Lisbon 71-12. The team will host No. 7 Southern McLean at 1 p.m. on Saturday. No. 1 Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm advanced with a 16-6 win over Grafton and will face Ray-Powers Lake, which defeated No. 8 Bowman County 20-6, at 1 p.m.
No. 4 Langdon Area-Munich defeated Oakes 21-6 and will host No. 5 Velva-Drake-Anamoose-Garrison at 2 p.m. The Velva team secured its spot by beating Dickinson Trinity 30-14. In the evening slot, No. 6 Northern Cass will play No. 3 Bishop Ryan-Our Redeemer's at 7 p.m. Northern Cass defeated Rugby 32-18, while Bishop Ryan-Our Redeemer's beat Central McClean 41-14.
The 9-man bracket saw similarly lopsided results in the first round. No. 1 New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock shut out Hatton-Northwood 55-0. That team will host No. 8 Lewis & Clark at 1 p.m. on Saturday. Lewis & Clark advanced after a 48-12 victory over Kidder County.
No. 4 Napoleon-GS defeated TGU 66-12 and will face No. 5 Alexander at 2 p.m. Alexander beat Beach 38-16 to earn the match. The remaining two quarterfinals start at 2 p.m. as well. North Prairie, which defeated No. 7 Hankinson 54-31, will play No. 2 LaMoure-Litchville-Marion. LaMoure-Litchville-Marion won its first-round game against Four Winds 72-12.
No. 6 Cavalier will host No. 3 Linton-HMB at 2 p.m. Cavalier defeated Griggs-Midkota 62-6, while Linton-HMB shut out Mohall-Lansford-Sherwood 64-0.
College football action in the region is also scheduled for Saturday. UTEP travels to North Dakota State for a 2:30 p.m. kickoff. In the Missouri Valley Football Conference, South Dakota plays South Dakota State at 3 p.m. Northern Iowa hosts Indiana State at 1 p.m., and Illinois State hosts Murray State at 1 p.m. North Dakota hosts Youngstown State at 11 a.m.
In the North Star Intercollegiate Conference, Minnesota State visits Southwest Minnesota State at noon. MSU Moorhead plays Bemidji State at 1 p.m., and Jamestown visits Minnesota Duluth at noon. Concordia-St. Paul faces Wayne State at 1 p.m., while Sioux Falls plays Winona State at 1 p.m. UMary faces Minot State at 2 p.m., and Augustana plays Northern State at 6 p.m.
Minnesota high school playoffs also feature quarterfinal games on Saturday. In Section 6, 9-player football, Clearbrook-Gonvick visits Fosston at 2 p.m. Fertile-Beltrami travels to Blackduck at 2 p.m. In Section 8, Win-E-Mac visits Kittson Co. Central at 2 p.m., and Badger-Greenbush-Middle River plays Goodridge-Grygla at 2 p.m.
Volleyball quarterfinals are also on the schedule. In Minnesota Section 6A, Henning visits Park Christian at 7 p.m. on Friday, October 30. In Section 8-2A, Dilworth-Glyndon-Felton plays Perham at 7 p.m. on Friday. Section 8-4A quarterfinals begin on Thursday, October 29, with St. Michael-Albertville visiting Moorhead at 7 p.m.
