Dakota Bowl

[rep]

No. 1 Velva (11-0) vs. No. 5 Linton-Hazelton-Moffit-Braddock (10-1)

should be a good one...two great coaches and two pretty solid teams. love what sandy does in velva with making sure that there are four or five guys you have to stop and i love how imdieke just wins at any level he is at.

[A - Football Fan]

I think if Linton wants to win this one they will have to go to the air and even that will be no guarantee. I had the pleasure of watching Velva play in the first round of the playoffs and their defense was in the backfield before the exchange was made on a lot of the plays. If Linton relys on the run I think Velva will just beat them back.

The key to victory for Linton will have to be big plays, if they don't break a big play or ten they will have a hard time with Velva.  

[playthegame]

I think if Linton wants to win this one they will have to go to the air and even that will be no guarantee. I had the pleasure of watching Velva play in the first round of the playoffs and their defense was in the backfield before the exchange was made on a lot of the plays. If Linton relys on the run I think Velva will just beat them back.

The key to victory for Linton will have to be big plays, if they don't break a big play or ten they will have a hard time with Velva.  

I think the key for Linton will have to be their offensive line play!  They are gonna have to be quick and get a good push downfield if Linton is going to have any chance in this game!  I think Velva's overall team speed and quickness is going to be a big issue for them to deal with!

[crete00]

[font=georgia]I agree that Linton's offensive line is going to play a big factor in the title game.  I saw the game on saturday and offensively they weren't very impressive but got some breaks with turnovers by Wyndmere-Lidgerwood.  I'm pretty sure they didn't throw the ball more than 8 times and didn't have overwhelming success running the ball.  The game sure felt a lot closer than 22-0.  Linton's defense stopped the Warriors twice inside the five and forced an interception on the Linton 11 on a third and short.  Linton's defense should keep them in the game no doubt.  Whoever wins on friday is going to have to capitalize on every opportunity offensively and protect the football.[/font]

[A - Football Fan]

I just think that the Velva defense, especially the run, is too good for a team that relys on the run. Linton will break some big yard plays but they will need them to make more than a first down if they want to win the game. Velva pursues the ball well. This was evident in their previous Dakota Bowl appearances and it has not changed this year from what I could see. It seems there is hardly ever a solo tackle on that defense.

The other thing I noticed when I watched Velva was the fact that I couldn't tell who had the ball until they were down field about 8 yards. They have a terrific motion backfield that gets the ball off quickly and continues to sell the misdirection. It really is something if you have never seen it before.

[TNT]

First of all if a team beats Velva it has to be in the air.  Velva's goal on D is to stop the running game and they are darn good at it.  Velva has a S in Justin Mack that allows the D to play aggressive because if the running back breaks through the line he will tackle it for a 10 yard gain never giving up the big play.  To attack Velva on D in the air i would not pass it to Henke's side.  Have to attack the other CB.  Hard to get time to pass because they get a good pass rush, looking at Brock Sandy after the game he felt the pressure he could hardly walk. 

To stop Velva's O you have to watch Henke.  Velva runs alot of stuff that he decoys and decoys and decoys and then hits the big play off of the decoys.  2 of the TD's vs Harvey were off fake bubble screens that were set up several times during the course of the game.  If Justin Mack passes like he did last week it is going to be very hard to beat Velva.  Also have to stop the quick FB trap because if Velva starts getting that play to work it makes it 100X harder to stop that team.  I have watched a ton of Velva games and if you do not stop the FB trap the D is in for a long long game because everything can be faked off the FB trap. 

2 great coaches and what ever team makes the best adjustment at half time will win.  I'm going to pick Velva to win just because those kids never get rattled and they do not hurt themselves with turnovers.  I hope someone can sum up what linton does because i have never seen them play in 11man. 

[crete00]

First of all if a team beats Velva it has to be in the air.  Velva's goal on D is to stop the running game and they are darn good at it.  Velva has a S in Justin Mack that allows the D to play aggressive because if the running back breaks through the line he will tackle it for a 10 yard gain never giving up the big play.  To attack Velva on D in the air i would not pass it to Henke's side.  Have to attack the other CB.  Hard to get time to pass because they get a good pass rush, looking at Brock Sandy after the game he felt the pressure he could hardly walk. 

To stop Velva's O you have to watch Henke.  Velva runs alot of stuff that he decoys and decoys and decoys and then hits the big play off of the decoys.  2 of the TD's vs Harvey were off fake bubble screens that were set up several times during the course of the game.  If Justin Mack passes like he did last week it is going to be very hard to beat Velva.  Also have to stop the quick FB trap because if Velva starts getting that play to work it makes it 100X harder to stop that team.  I have watched a ton of Velva games and if you do not stop the FB trap the D is in for a long long game because everything can be faked off the FB trap. 

2 great coaches and what ever team makes the best adjustment at half time will win.  I'm going to pick Velva to win just because those kids never get rattled and they do not hurt themselves with turnovers.  I hope someone can sum up what linton does because i have never seen them play in 11man. 

Run, Run, Run.  I saw Linton play twice this year and they are predominantly a running team.  In the two games against Wyndmere-Lidgerwood, I think they threw the ball only about 15 times but did so quite effectively.  They have the ability to run inside or outside and, depending on who is healthy, have 3-4 backs who can run well. 

Defensively they swarm very well and are good tacklers.  They are obviously coached very well.  Any trick plays (reverses, halfback-pass)  were covered well and one resulted in a turnover. 

I know little about Velva, but I do know that Linton's coaching staff will have their players prepared for Velva on both sides of the ball.  Should be a great game won by the team with the least turnovers.

[A - Football Fan]

9-Man Championship

Turtle Lake/ Mercer     20

Napoleon                    38

 

A Championship

Velva                          28

Linton HMB                   7

 

AA Championship

Dickinson Trinity         14

Watford City              20

 

AAA Championship

Fargo South              35

Minot                         12

These are my predictions for this weekends games. Anybody else want to give it a shot.

 

[bballer2]

Fargo south 1000000000

Minot 0

lol no i agree with ur prediction Minot has got much better and well south is just dominant so i hope to see minot put up a fight but i think south will pull away...

[pro341]

9-Man Championship

Turtle Lake/ Mercer     20

Napoleon                    38

 

A Championship

Velva                          28

Linton HMB                   7

 

AA Championship

Dickinson Trinity         24

Watford City              14

 

AAA Championship

Fargo South              35

Minot                         12

These are my predictions for this weekends games. Anybody else want to give it a shot.

 

You have got to be nuts A-football. Nobody is going to beat TLM by 18 points. The #1 and #3 teams couldn't hold them under 30. Napoleon may win, but no way by more than a touchdown.

[A - Football Fan]

Hey, I hope you're right. I would love to see Turtle Lake Mercer win it all. It is nice to see a school that doesn't get to the show that often win it all. Napoleon has plenty of success with their wrestling, whereas Turtle Lake's claim to fame is that they have a big turtle on the south side of town and every year they paint turtles on their main street that are sponsored by local businesses.

I will be rooting for the team on Friday morning!

[Coach]

It should be a better game than what people think. Everyone talks about Linton's offense not being able to score, but I haven't seen Velva scoring much either. "A fan" both teams have excellent defenses, with linton only giving up an average of 6 points per game on defense according to the paper, their linebackers are very good as well against the run, and it sounds like Linebacker Moch should be back for the state game, just to boost the run stop. After watching Velva's highlights, it looked as if both of their touchdown passes against Harvey came off of tipped passes. Otherwise not much offense either. Could it be one of those old 6-0 games???

[rep]

i pray for a close game...watching a chess match between sandy and imdieke would be a true treat.

[TNT]

Velva has played Stanley and Harvey.  No team in the past 8 years has put up serious points on either one of those teams. 

[playthegame]

It should be a better game than what people think. Everyone talks about Linton's offense not being able to score, but I haven't seen Velva scoring much either. "A fan" both teams have excellent defenses, with linton only giving up an average of 6 points per game on defense according to the paper, their linebackers are very good as well against the run, and it sounds like Linebacker Moch should be back for the state game, just to boost the run stop. After watching Velva's highlights, it looked as if both of their touchdown passes against Harvey came off of tipped passes. Otherwise not much offense either. Could it be one of those old 6-0 games???

Velva had three touchdown passes in that game one of them was a duck, not sure if it was tipped or not!  Harvey fans wanted an interference call on the play but it was a jump ball and Henke out jumped the defense for the Touchdown!  the other two passes were right on the money and Henke made a couple really nice catches, securing the ball and making sure he was inbounds!  That kid is small in stature but comes up with huge plays and he's not afraid to throw his body around on defense either!  I think most teams under estimate his abilities until he burns them!  You might have to look for more of the same against Linton because they've never seen him!  Still I look for a great game and a defensive battle I think it'll be low scoring and probably decided by seven points or fewer!

[the low down]

Agreed.  Two of the three Mack-to-Henke TD passes happened right in front of me and neither of those two passes were tipped.  They were outstanding catches but the passes were even better.  The other TD was not even close to being interference, so I'm not sure what the armchair refs saw on that one. 

As far as Velva/Linton. I will have to agree with everyone that it will be a good defensive struggle and should not be lopsided by any means.  Both teams have their eye on the prize and it will come down who will not make the mistakes.

[Pfenix]

About AFootball's 9-man prediction.  The score he predicted is possible.  Mott held them to 6 and beat them by 20.  It has happened before.  And you have realize that while DC and MR didn't hold them under 30 in the playoffs, TLM didn't really shut them down either.  both of those games were decided by a 6 points.  So if anything it could be a shoot out.  It's a toss up as far as I'm concerned.

[A - Football Fan]

Two games are now over, and I have got to say that my predictions have held up so far with, I might add, amazing accuracy. Napoleon did what I thought they might..... put a bunch of wrestlers on the field and tell them that they can't start wrestling practice unless they win the game. I hope McCleary's ankle isn't too serious.

 

Velva did their thing as well. Capitalize on big plays and held up with stingy defense. I think the streak will stop at four as I think that Harvey has the team to beat in 2007. Time will tell though because I didn't think that Velva would go this far this year.

[ndfan]

Gotta give Congrats to Velva on their 4th straight, score didn't surprise me at all.

[pro341]

As much as it pains me to say it, Velva has been the most impressive team today, including all world FS. Congrats

[smart source]

As much as it pains me to say it, Velva has been the most impressive team today, including all world FS. Congrats

i hope your not saying that velva is a better team than south...im pretty sure thats not what your saying by any means but i just want to clarify that

[A - Football Fan]

As much as it pains me to say it, Velva has been the most impressive team today, including all world FS. Congrats

i hope your not saying that velva is a better team than south...im pretty sure thats not what your saying by any means but i just want to clarify that

  Wow! I can't believe that you would even need clarification on that. Of course he is saying that Velva could beat Fargo South. Heck, looking at this whole past weekend I think Velva could beat the Vikings.....

Now, back to reality. I don't think that he is saying that Velva could beat Fargo South. All he is saying is that in each of their respective divisions Velva had the most impressive appearance in the Dakota Bowl. I can say this though. In 1997 the Dickinson coach (AAA Champions) said that their team would not have beaten the Velva Aggies that year. In that same year Velva had blanked the AA Champs (Minot Ryan) by a score of 21-0. So to say that a 1A team could not compete on the AAA level is flat wrong. I think Fargo South is just too good this year though.  

[ndfootball]

To put it into perspective,  Velva barly beat Minot Ryan this year.  And Minot High absolutly pounded Minot Ryan in a scrimage earlier in the year.

[A - Football Fan]

Velva 21 Ryan 6. I don't know what the score of the Minot High vs. Minot Ryan game was. I have looked at both schools websitwes and have found nothing about the scrimmage game.... which is to be expected. I would love to know what the score was in that game.

 

  I would however, like to see a game between the A and AA champs each year to see who the champs of the "old" Class B division would be.

[playthegame]

To put it into perspective,  Velva barly beat Minot Ryan this year.  And Minot High absolutly pounded Minot Ryan in a scrimage earlier in the year.

Velva actually handled Minot Ryan fairly easy this year but I disagree with afootball, I don't think a class A team could compete with a AAA team at least not one of the better teams!  I do think Velva could've handled their own but AAA is a step up with the number of athletes competing for playing time!