Sep 4, 2021

Winning the West

While still being a fairly young rivalry, tonight marked the football finale of the single-game Battle for West Fargo.

The original high school dominated the series early, Sheyenne had gotten the upper hand in recent seasons but now the Green & White have the most sought-after player in the state. Would he be enough?

Sheyenne started the game with the ball and set the tone early. Josh Henricks blasted them into the red zone and then mr. reliable Grant Warkenthien finished off with a scamper into the end zone.

West Fargo overcame a sack by Karter Menz & a false start to get to mid-field only to be stymied into a punt before the quarter change. Sheyenne couldn't make it two in a row and quickly had to punt as well. The defense quickly came to the rescue with an interception on the far-side that was returned for a touchdown. The roster says #9 is 6'9" Nicholas Renner, but the player who scored did not look anywhere close to that tall, so there's another discrepancy.

In any case, that put Sheyenne up 14-0 & the defense kept it going with another punt by the Bulls.

With time winding down in the half the Mustangs got close to going up 21-0 but with seconds remaining opted for a field goal attempt instead. Then came a bit of a spark for WF as the kick was blocked & nearly returned for a score. The score remained unchanged but it was a bit of life for the home team.

The momentum was taken back early in the second half when the ball was loose on the turf & picked up by Sheyenne. The opportunity wasn't squandered as they went back to what worked the first time, Henricks setting up a scoring chance & Warkenthien closing with a run to make it 20-0.

The one big hook-up that Peyton Janzi managed with Carson Hegerle put West Fargo in the red zone & a play later Parker Nelson took a swing pass in to make it 20-7 with 5:08 left in the third quarter.

To try & build on the glimmer of hope that created, Hegerle was not in for the next defensive possession. To save his legs it's a decision that makes sense, but the West Fargo defense couldn't manage the necessary stop to keep things moving in their favor.

Once again it was the Sheyenne duo who made many of the plays, this time ending with Henricks beyond the 1-yard line with most of the final quarter left. The time proved irrelevant as each team picked up yards but didn't add any more points the rest of the way.