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With two defending state champions and a boatload of perennial powers in the new 11B division, this might end up being the most competitive of them all. Six teams in 11B have appeared in the Dakota Bowl in one of the last two seasons: Beulah twice, Langdon-Edmore-Munich twice, Hillsboro-Central Valley, Bishop Ryan, Lisbon and Linton-HMB.

Beulah and Hillsboro-CV instantly become contenders to win the state title considering they’ve been competing for state championships at the Class AA level the last few seasons. Meanwhile, Langdon-Edmore-Munich takes a 38-game win streak into the 2021 season fresh off a 3rd consecutive Class A state championship. Then there’s Linton-HMB who put together a tremendous postseason run to win the 9-man crown in 2020 but has since been reclassified to join the 11-man ranks. The championship pedigree is bountiful in Class 11B and I think it’ll create some outstanding football. 

There will be four regions at the level: South-East, North-East, North-West and South-West. Each team will play their region opponents once while sprinkling in a couple of non-region games to fill out the schedule.At the end of the season, the top four teams in each region as determined by region record will qualify for the playoffs. From there, a coach's vote will rank the four region champs and seed them one thru four. In my opinion, the North-East region will be the toughest with traditional powers like Langdon-Edmore-Munich, Hillsboro-Central Valley and Thompson in the fold.

There will be several meaningful matchups week after week in 11B and we’re excited to bring those highlights to you every week on Varsity Sports Live at 10:30 pm on Friday nights!

1. Beulah

A perennial power in North Dakota high school football, the Beulah Miners land #1 in my preseason rankings. It’s probably not too much of a surprise. After all, the Miners have played in back-to-back Dakota Bowls, settling for runner-up honors on both occasions. Jim Dooley’s club returns six starters on each side of the ball from a team that finished 8-3 a season ago. The Miners do have some rebuilding to do after graduating from a senior class that featured five all-state picks. Dooley says they’ll need to replace three of their five starters on the offensive line and half their secondary and linebacking corps. But the program received a bit of a boost by inheriting about nine players thru a co-op with Glen Ullin.

Depth is as good as gold in high school football and the Miners should have better numbers than most at the 11B level. Beulah outscored opponents by an average of 33-9 last season. Their unique offense always seems to give opponents trouble, but it’s their defense that has really been trending upwards over the past few seasons. 

Impact Players

Trapper Skalsky was a first-team all-state selection as a junior last season and the RB/LB is back again as a leader on both sides of the football. Skalsky rushed for 530 yards on 71 carries last season reaching the endzone four times. He’s also the team’s top returning tackler after finishing with 68.5 tackles, including 12 TFL in 2020. Skalsky is a flat-out gamer that’ll be making plays all over the field for the Miners this fall.

Senior QB Trey Brandt is coming off a junior campaign in which he passed for 639 yards, rushed for 280 yards and combined for 10 touchdowns. The Minot State basketball commit also added four interceptions on defense. He’s one of the top senior athletes in the state and his combination of athleticism and varsity experience will be a factor this fall. Amari Gilmore, Armani Smith and Zayne Phelps are also some names to keep an eye on as they hope to take advantage of increased playing time this fall.

2. Hillsboro-Central Valley

Scott Olsen’s first answer to me during an interview on the second day of practice for the Burros will make a lot of coaches across the state jealous. Hillsboro-Central Valley has a class of 22 seniors. That makes the head coach excited about the potential of his group. COVID threw curveballs at everyone last year and H-CV was no exception with players bobbing in and out of the lineup. The one positive as it pertains to this year is that a lot of players were able to get their feet wet at the varsity level.

Olsen told me that the Burros’ depth will be their biggest strength. He says they have a lot of athletes and linemen that can rotate in, which will create healthy competition for playing time. Last year’s finish to the season had to leave a sour taste in the mouths of H-CV. They lost on their home field to a Beulah team they had previously beaten earlier in the season. Maybe they’ll get their crack at revenge this November inside the Fargodome?

First things first though, they’ll have to compete in a formidable North-East region that includes 3-time defending Class A state champ Langdon-E-M, Thompson, Grafton and a Harvey-Wells County program on the rise.

Impact Players

Senior WR/DB Parker Gallagher returns after an all-state junior season. Olsen describes him as a smart cornerback and an explosive receiver. I expect Parker to get more involved in the offense this season. The man charged with getting him the ball will be Coach Olsen’s son, Riley Olsen. Riley made his presence felt last year at the cornerback spot as a hard hitter and sure tackler. I think he’ll be a dual-threat force under center for the Burros.

Barrett Willison returns for his senior season after being named all-state for his work on the offensive and defensive lines last year. Willison has a motor that never stops, and you can expect him to wreak havoc in the opposing backfield on Friday nights. Jack Paulsrud, Jace Leshuk, Cole Hebl and Gannon Limke are some other names you’ll be hearing from quite a bit on Friday nights.

3. Langdon-Edmore-Munich

The Cardinals have won 38 consecutive games and three consecutive state championships. It almost seems silly to have them at number three on this list, but I’m sure Head Coach Josh Krivarchka won’t mind the added motivation for a team entering a new era. The new era is a byproduct of graduating two of the most talented players in program history, twin brother Simon and Grant Romfo. Simon is spending fall camp at the University of North Dakota, while Grant is in Fargo trying to earn some early playing time with the NDSU Bison. While those two have moved on, their impact will be felt for years to come as the passion for football is at a fever pitch in the Langdon area.

Although the departures are significant, the Cardinals actually return seven starters on both sides of the ball. The offensive line should be solid, and coach Krivarchka is very confident in his skill guys. Those same-skill guys will lead a very athletic and quick defense, something that’s been a strength for the Cardinals for several years now.

Impact Players

Three years ago, Simon Romfo was a sophomore taking over the starting QB spot from first-team all-state pick Jacob Delvo. Romfo didn’t lose a game as the starter under center and the rest is history. This year, the Cardinals once again turn to a sophomore to replace an all-state senior.

Rayce Worley takes over the helm after seeing some spot duty at quarterback in blowouts the last few seasons. The 6’3” Worley is a much taller quarterback than Romfo who was 5’10”. Coach Krivarchka feels his strength will be downfield passing thanks to his strong arm. Worley is also deceptively fast and when he gets his long legs chugging, he can stride away from defenders in a hurry.

Speaking of running, junior Carter Tetrault will step into the primary running back spot after spelling Grant Romfo the last few seasons. Tetrault racked up 355 rush yards and 419 receiving yards last season while reaching the endzone 10 times. He’ll be a focal point of the offense along with receivers Markus Kingzett and Tucker Welsh. Kingzett finished with nearly 500 receiving yards and 9 scores as a sophomore. 

4. Harvey-Wells County

A lot of opposing coaches I’ve spoken with over the offseason have pointed to Harvey-Wells County as being a potential dark horse to compete for a state championship. Bret Dockter’s team may have finished 4-5 last season, but they also played all four region champions throughout the year including a hard-fought 38-24 loss to Lisbon in the opening round of the playoffs.

The Hornets return nine starters on offense and eight on defense, including some extremely talented players at the skill positions. They do have to replace a couple of starters on the offensive line, but some of the younger guys have developed well during the offseason according to Dockter. The Hornets can be tricky to defend because they have some special talents at the receiver position.

Their defense needs to improve, but I think the Hornets are going to be a handful this fall. The one question I have is will they be able to overcome another extremely difficult schedule. The Hornets play Shiloh Christian and Oakes in addition to their brutal slate of contests in region play.

Impact Players

It’s always a good sign when you can return a trio of all-state players to your roster. Madden Thorson is the most dangerous weapon in that group. The senior WR/DB combined for 1,062 yards and 11 touchdowns on offense, proving to be a versatile threat on the ground and through the air. He also added 48 tackles and two picks on defense. When you watch Thorson’s Hudl tape his hands and quickness really grab your attention. He does a lot of damage coming out of the slot and is a tough guy to tackle in the open field. The reason defenses can’t place all their attention on Thorson is because 6’4” Alex Erickson can hurt you in the passing game, too. Erickson earned 2nd team all-state honors as a junior by recording 41 receptions for 609 yards and six scores.

Isaac Friese is the senior QB that passed for over 1,500 yards and 20 TD in 2020. Friese is joined in the backfield by all-state RB/LB Carsen Mertz who gained 657 yards on the ground as a junior. Mertz was also a defensive machine recording 86 tackles. The stat lines from last year are impressive for the Hornets, but I’m betting any of these players would trade them in for more wins and that’ll be the hope in 2021.

5. Kindred

The Vikings endured some injury problems down the stretch last season but still managed a 6-2 record and a final four visits in Class AA. Matt Crane’s program always seems to have great participation and that’ll certainly be a strength once again as the Vikings pursue a deep playoff run. Kindred graduated five seniors from last year’s team and was able to work a lot of sophomores into action. The hope is that the experience gained last year will translate into success this fall.

Coach Crane is also excited about his linemen group. “This group has the potential to be one of the most physical lines to come through our program. The challenge will be to make sure that we are playing at a high level consistently” said Crane. One of the points of emphasis for the Vikings will be ball security after turnovers plagued them down the stretch last season. It was a tough decision to fill out the last spot in my top five, but the Vikings have a track record of success that’s tough to argue against.

Impact Players

The Vikings have some outstanding skill players returning led by all-state senior quarterback Max McQuillan. As a junior, McQuillan completed 54% of his passes for 1,289 yards and 17 TD. The 6’5” QB has no trouble seeing over his line when looking for his receivers. It’ll be interesting to see who steps up to be that top target following the graduation of current UND freshman Ethan McKenney.

Senior WR/CB Caleb Klabunde hauled in 14 passes for 246 yards and three touchdowns last season, while junior Charlie Biewer should be in the mix for more catches too.

Junior RB/LB Trey Heinrich returns after a solid sophomore campaign in which he converted 98 carries into 592 yards and seven touchdowns. The linebacking corps for the Vikings has to be one of the best in the state.

Seniors Chase Miller and Jacob Hiatt were both all-region picks in 2020 and will be joined by Biewer and Heinrich. I see Kindred as the favorite to win the South-West region, but rival Central Cass won’t make things easy.

The Bubble Teams

Central Cass

There’s a lot of excitement building around the Central Cass football program with the Squirrels returning eight starters on offense and seven on defense. The Squirrels may have finished 4-5 last year, but the record is a bit deceiving. They lost to Kindred by two points, took Hillsboro-Central Valley to overtime and dropped another close one to Valley City. Tommy Butler is hoping to reverse those fortunes this year. Senior LB Isaac Williams is back to anchor a defense that made significant strides from 2019 to 2020.

Senior quarterback Brendan Maasjo will have plenty of weapons at his disposal headlined by junior RB/DB Owen Wiersma and senior WR/DB Jake Deutsch. Butler tells me he’s proud of the strength work his players put in during the offseason, specifically his offensive line. “For the first time in 10 years, we will have five offensive linemen that weigh over 200 pounds.” 

Velva

The Aggies have been one win away from reaching the Dakota Bowl in back-to-back seasons. The question is if that window of opportunity has closed following the graduation of all-state picks Jersey Selzler and Gage Florence. I think the Aggies will still be able to compete at a high level this season. NDSU commit and senior lineman Kaden Chadwick returns to build off his impressive all-state campaign as a junior. There will be new names leading the way, but I think Velva will continue its winning ways.

Grafton

I feel as if Esgar Rios has been an all-state pick since I moved to North Dakota. He first earned all-state honors as a freshman for the Spoilers back in 2018 at the Class AA level. This season he’ll be trying to earn all-state accolades for a fourth consecutive season. I named him my preseason player of the year in 11B because he’s continued to produce on both sides of the ball year after year in addition to making game-changing plays on special teams.

The tough part for Rios and the Spoilers is that they lost a ton due to graduation last season. Just four starters return on both sides of the ball for Head Coach Dave Muhonen and their new region won’t do them any favors either. But I still feel the Spoilers are worth recognizing as a team that could be in the playoff mix if their youth steps up.

Class 11B Preseason Player of the Year

Esgar Rios, Grafton

10 Players to Watch in 11B

• Kaden Chadwick, Velva
• Parker Gallagher, Hillsboro-CV
• Max McQuillan, Kindred
• Caleb Rist, Des Lacs-Burlington
• Jack Romfo, Langdon-E-M
• Trapper Skalsky, Beulah
• Madden Thorson, Harvey-WC
• Dean Vetter, Linton-HMB
• Owen Wiersma, Central Cass
• Barrett Willison, Hillsboro-CV