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First Impressions

After the first Friday in high school football I was left with some first impressions of these teams that we’ll get to know better and better as the season matures. As you know first impressions are powerful but sometimes can be deceiving.

NORTH DAKOTA
Impressed by Fargo Davies. Just a year after starting varsity football they made huge strides by losing 16-10 to Fargo Shanley. Last season Davies was buried early by Shanley. This year Davies returned all their starters and hung with Shanley. It won’t be long until Coach Thielges gets this school their first victory.

Impressed by Devils Lake. After making the move into Class AAA they made quite an impression on Jamestown winning 49-8. It’s not easy moving up a class but Devils Lake is off to a good start. Nathan Mertens looked good accounting for 2 rushing TDs and 3 more passing.

Impressed by Mandan. The Braves put up 61, yeah I know they played Grand Forks Central, but 61? Good job by this offense that is going to be tough to stop this year. All-Stater Aaron Janz caught 4 passes in the first half and took two to the house.

SOUTH DAKOTA
Impressed by Spearfish. Spearfish caught my eye by playing toe to toe with St. Thomas More. Many figured it would be the same old story even though they moved down to 11A. But Spearfish played a good game and should expect to have a good year.

Impressed by Canistota. The Hawks can’t be as good as last year can they? Well they got off to a great start by pasting 9AA power Howard. This Hawk team can throw the ball as proved by two first half touchdowns to Trevor Schroeder. They’ll be tested playing top 9-man teams for the next month but if this game is any indication, the Hawks are back.

Impressed by West Central. The Trojans are actually getting overlooked maybe even underrated in Class 11A. They made a statement by going on the road and shutting down the Tanagers in the Dakota Dome 41-0. If I know the Trojans they feed off the fuel of motivation and everyone talking about Dell Rapids is feeding that fire. Dalton Kuehl led the way.

Impressed with Tea. The Titans didn't even play their star senior quarterback Corbin Lawler who was out due to injury and they still took it to Bon Homme 37-9. Watch out for Coach Clayberg's Titans who have showed vast improvement over recent years. Sophomore Taylor Roeman did damage to the Cavs through the air with 3 passing TDs.

Look for top performances of the week in Monday’s blog. As always you can follow me on twitter @AnderaMidcoSN or email me jason.andera@midcosn.com