North Dakota Preps

Any thoughts on this upcoming match up?

I think it will be easier to speculate after this week once we know the extent of injuries, some other unknowns, etc.

PRFL's running back will be playing his first game of the season this week. Also saw a glimpse of PRFL's sophomore QB during the Milnor game. It might be a different game for the Aggies if they put Hankey in the back field. It seems like teams are able to key in on Hankey easier when he's at QB. I'm not surprised to see the Aggies at 2-0, but I still think the Aggies have yet to play their best game.

Rivershark wrote:PRFL's running back will be playing his first game of the season this week. Also saw a glimpse of PRFL's sophomore QB during the Milnor game. It might be a different game for the Aggies if they put Hankey in the back field. It seems like teams are able to key in on Hankey easier when he's at QB. I'm not surprised to see the Aggies at 2-0, but I still think the Aggies have yet to play their best game.

Us PRFL fans are so used to offense just being a given. Now that they've got a lot of young kids in there learning the varsity game, it's the defense that has me paying attention. They've pretty much held good teams to 6 points in their first two weeks (I know Grafton had 2 offensive TDs but the one came after a punt return inside, what, the 10 yard line?). I haven't been able to attend a game yet, and I really don't know when I'll get a chance to, but I look forward to finding out how the offense develops over these next two weeks with two matchups against teams playing really well right now.

I'm thinking Larimore wins the first game. Playoffs are a different story. PRFL isn't the healthiest group right now. Oak Grove is going to test PRFL's depth tomorrow, (another tough game for PRFL) Region 2 has to be the toughest region this year. Dog fight every week.

Like was stated earlier, I think PRFL is still trying to figure out where players are going to play, what people's roles are, and trying to get healthy. They are pretty banged up right now especially at running back. I would guess what we are seeing now will be night and day from the end of the season.

defensewinsgames wrote:Like was stated earlier, I think PRFL is still trying to figure out where players are going to play, what people's roles are, and trying to get healthy. They are pretty banged up right now especially at running back. I would guess what we are seeing now will be night and day from the end of the season.

I agree.

I think this is going to be one of the games of the year. It is a rivalry game, both teams are coming off of big wins. Larimore is very senior dominated and pretty large across the board. They will be looking to knock off the defending state champs on their home field and wreck their homecoming so motivation should be no issue. As far as I know they are fairly healthy (which is something Park River is not). Park River is coming off a huge win against a good team. They seem to have figured things out offensively and their defense has been really good all season. They have one of the best players in the state in any division in Hankey. They always play well at home and will be excited to play a rival for homecoming. They are nothing that even resembles healthy however, especially at running back. I expect this game to be a close, physical game. I think a close game favors Park River this year as they have been tested early with 2 really close games. I will take Park River-FL to win if they can get a little healthier this week. Either way will be a great game to watch. I expect it to be a warm up game for late in the playoffs when these two teams see each other again.

I have no idea what to make of this game. Larimore has had a better start to the season, but I heard that their numbers are down (which is really surprising). The kids they have are clearly doing well and I think Friday's game should be a barn burner. It's going to be really strange to see a PRFL/Larimore game that might involve more passing than running.

The more I think about this game, the more I think it boils down to how healthy Park River is and then what happens up front after that. With all of these injuries at some point Park River is going to have to shuffle around players to new positions, how they respond to that could be the difference. The line play was much improved against Oak Grove and was the reason (in my opinion) for the result of that game. If Park River looks like the team that played Oak Grove it will be a great game. If they look like the team from the first two weeks (although against pretty good teams) it could be ugly.

Can someone confirm if Larimore will be short a couple players? (violations...)

Game will be on 1310 AM KNOX. Pregame at 6:30

Rivershark wrote:Can someone confirm if Larimore will be short a couple players? (violations...)

Larimore lost 3 players due to 'violations', one of those players is back already another has a couple weeks left the other is out the whole year. Altho they aren't huge losses that will affect the teams play. They seem tough to beat after the first 3 weeks

sportsman21 wrote:

Rivershark wrote:Can someone confirm if Larimore will be short a couple players? (violations...)

Larimore lost 3 players due to 'violations', one of those players is back already another has a couple weeks left the other is out the whole year. Altho they aren't huge losses that will affect the teams play. They seem tough to beat after the first 3 weeks

So it's not a new loss of players for this week but is people who have been out since the beginning?

defensewinsgames wrote:

sportsman21 wrote:

Rivershark wrote:Can someone confirm if Larimore will be short a couple players? (violations...)

Larimore lost 3 players due to 'violations', one of those players is back already another has a couple weeks left the other is out the whole year. Altho they aren't huge losses that will affect the teams play. They seem tough to beat after the first 3 weeks

So it's not a new loss of players for this week but is people who have been out since the beginning?

They got one player back from the suspension. I dont think he is a starter but does get playing time.

Looks like the weather might change this game a bit. In perfect conditions I'd expect more passing than usually seen in this rivalry. With the rain, I'm interested to see how the teams adjust. Should still be a great game.

Polar Bears 40 Aggies 0

Larimore dominated the run game. Didn't pass to often or as what we would have expected due to the wet conditions. Park River seemed to be beat up. They didn't get a first down till the 2nd quarter i believe. Overall Larimore dominated the whole game and turnover hurt Park River.

Larimore played a good game against a really beaten up Park River team. Larimore deserves the #1 ranking. Don't know how far this will drop PR in the rankings. I believe the Aggies are down to their 3rd string running back. Lost their all-state lineman on the 1st series. If they can get a win against Langdon next week, heal up, and get into the play-offs, I would expect a different game against Larimore. On the flip side, how do you beat a team where half of the team is seniors.

Rivershark wrote:Larimore played a good game against a really beaten up Park River team. Larimore deserves the #1 ranking. Don't know how far this will drop PR in the rankings. I believe the Aggies are down to their 3rd string running back. Lost their all-state lineman on the 1st series. If they can get a win against Langdon next week, heal up, and get into the play-offs, I would expect a different game against Larimore. On the flip side, how do you beat a team where half of the team is seniors.

How do you beat a team where half of the team in seniors ?

packers21 wrote:

Rivershark wrote:Larimore played a good game against a really beaten up Park River team. Larimore deserves the #1 ranking. Don't know how far this will drop PR in the rankings. I believe the Aggies are down to their 3rd string running back. Lost their all-state lineman on the 1st series. If they can get a win against Langdon next week, heal up, and get into the play-offs, I would expect a different game against Larimore. On the flip side, how do you beat a team where half of the team is seniors.

How do you beat a team where half of the team in seniors ?

Same way you beat a team full of Freshman, Sophomores, Juniors and Senior....Play better than them. This is one of the silliest things I have heard. Every year there are senior dominated teams that don't necessarily go on to win titles. That's why you they play the games, to prove who's better. It's like saying how do you beat a team with a big offensive line, or speed, or height....age has little to do with it. Talent, hard work and dedication any day, all day.

Larimore reminded me of PRFL last year. But their passing game isn't as strong as PRFLs was last year. Their run game was impressive. If they improve on their passing they won't be beat IMO. PRFL needs to go back to the drawing board. Langdon is going to be tough, especially if the two main linemen that got injured against Larimore aren't able to play.

Park River Looked soft and flat. Other than Hankey no one stood out. Larimore dominated and if they had a QB that could throw the ball they would have won by 70. Park River dearly misses the energy that kids like Flaten and Zimmerman brought to the field.

hook wrote:Park River Looked soft and flat. Other than Hankey no one stood out. Larimore dominated and if they had a QB that could throw the ball they would have won by 70. Park River dearly misses the energy that kids like Flaten and Zimmerman brought to the field.

First of all, this is absurd. It's not like it was 40-0 after the first half. Second, if you don't think Larimore's QB can throw the ball pretty well, then you don't have realistic expectations of a quarterback at this level of play. He hit some spots in tight coverage on Friday that are almost guaranteed interceptions for a lot of high school quarterbacks. Give the kid some credit.

If the Aggies can grind out some wins while they get healthy, there's a good chance these two teams see each other again, and it'll be a different game. Larimore is further along right now--that much is obvious, but if PRFL can get healthy and their kids can settle in to their positions, they'll be a much better team by the end of the year.