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Sixteen teams stand one win away from earning a trip to play in Dakota Bowl XXVII inside the Fargodome on November 15. After a quarterfinal round full of fantastic finishes, I expect the semifinal round to be full of great drama. The Class AAA semifinal games will take place on Friday with WDA foes Mandan and Bismarck Century squaring off in the capital city, while West Fargo and West Fargo Sheyenne play the biggest game in the history of the young rivalry.

On Saturday, the rest of the semifinal matchups take place featuring a trio of teams that played in the Dakota Bowl last season in defending Class A champ Langdon-E-M, Hillsboro-CV and Bismarck St. Mary’s. We continue our predictions segment this week with 103.9 The Truck’s Brad Anderson and 740 The Fan’s Chase Miller. Last week, we all were bit by the upset bug. Here’s a look at the updated standings after two weeks of playoff football:

• Jody Norstedt: 27-5
• Chase Miller: 27-5
• Brad Anderson: 24-8

Finley-Sharon/Hope-Page, Bishop Ryan and Mandan registered victories that none of us picked. So, you can call the Spartans, Lions and Braves the ultimate spoilers from the quarterfinal round.

As you’ll see below, the swing games will be the Valley City-Beulah showdown and the Bishop Ryan-Velva matchup. We all agree on the rest of the matchups. I’m looking forward to seeing who gets the job done on the field this weekend! Enjoy the games, everyone!

Class AAA Semifinal Predictions

Game: Mandan at Century

Picks:

• Brad: Century
• Chase: Century
• Jody: Century

Game: West Fargo at Sheyenne

Picks:

• Brad: Sheyenne
• Chase: Sheyenne
• Jody: Sheyenne

Class AA Semifinal Predictions

Game: Valley City at Beulah

Picks:

• Brad: Valley City
• Chase: Beulah
• Jody: Valley City

Game: St. Mary’s at Hillsboro-CV

Picks:

• Brad: Hillsboro-CV
• Chase: Hillsboro-CV
• Jody: Hillsboro-CV

Class A Semifinal Predictions

Game: Bishop Ryan at #1 Velva

Picks:

• Brad: Velva
• Chase: Velva
• Jody: Bishop Ryan

Game: #3 Lisbon at #2 Langdon-E-M

Picks:

• Brad: Langdon-E-M
• Chase: Langdon-E-M
• Jody: Langdon-E-M

9-Man Semifinal Predictions

Game: #4 Linton-HMB at #1 Cavalier

Picks:

• Brad: Cavalier
• Chase: Cavalier
• Jody: Cavalier

Game: Kidder County at #2 Finley-Sharon-Hope-Page

Picks:

• Brad: FSHP
• Chase: FSHP
• Jody: FSHP