Wolves Football Team earns monumental win
Titus Stenberg
Farmer Sports Writer
Watford City traveled to Dickinson last Friday night for their first AA West Region game of 2025. The Wolves won the competitive contest 20-17.
“It’s an accomplishment, but really just another step,” said Watford City head coach, Jim Dooley. “Being 1-0 in the region is huge for where we want to be at the end of the year. Dickinson is a solid team and we had to overcome some adversity in that game - and we did, which is a good sign.”
Both defenses played well for most of the first half. Dickinson’s only score came on their first drive when Jackson Braun kicked a 21-yard field goal. It took a while, but Watford City responded with a three-yard touchdown run by Jayden Waggoner with just four seconds left in the second quarter.
“The success of the defense was based on three factors,” reflected Coach Dooley. Number one, we played our responsibilities well, number two, we were aggressive in going after the ball, and number three, our offense kept theirs off the field (we ran 69 plays to their 38). If you can limit opportunities for an offense it impacts them- not only do they have less chances but they know they have less and are more likely to press a little more, which I think they did.”
Dickinson scored first again in the third quarter on a five-yard touchdown run by Nate Stevenson to make it 10-7 Mavericks at the 4:29 mark. The longest play of the game came from Trysten DeVries as he scampered 74 yards down the sideline, outracing everyone to the end zone. Maxwell Thornock added his second extra point to put the Wolves ahead 14-10 with 3:31 left in the third. In the fourth quarter, Dickinson recorded their longest play of the game when Nate Stevenson connected with Ethan Luna for a 69-yard touchdown pass.
With Watford City trailing 17-14, the offense stepped up to the challenge with a lengthy drive. The offensive line wore down the Mavericks and the ball carriers continued to gain positive yards on every play as Dickinson had a hard time identifying who had the ball. DeVries scored his second rushing touchdown with 1:42 left from two yards out. That touchdown proved to be the game winner and was the fifth lead change of the game. The defense sealed the win when DeVries forced a fumble near the sideline and Birch Tschetter recovered it.
“Outside of not finishing some plays/drives, we felt like we were able to do what we wanted to do, for the most part,” said Coach Dooley. “Dickinson has a few defenders who are really solid players, but I think we neutralized them for the most part and while they made some plays, we were pretty consistent in getting positive plays all night.”
Those positive plays piled up as Watford City totaled 425 yards to Dickinson’s 276. The Wolves also won the turnover battle 3-0. Watford City now stands at 3-2 overall on the season after getting the school’s first win against Dickinson in five tries. The Wolves face another stiff challenge as the No. 1 team in the state, Minot North, visits Fridley Field for a 7 p.m. kickoff on Friday, Oct. 3.
1st 2nd 3rd 4th Final
WC 0 7 7 6 20
Dickinson 3 0 7 7 17
Watford City offense: Baylor Salas 2-of-3, 14 passing yards; Rhylie Ledahl-Berger 1 reception, 11 yards; Kade Singer 1 reception, 3 yards; Ledahl-Berger 34 carries, 194 yards; Trysten DeVries 14 carries, 163 yards, 2 TDs; Jayden Waggoner 9 carries, 45 yards, TD; Salas 5 carries, 9 yards
Watford City defense: Brandon Spacher 4 tackles, 1 TFL; Thaydan Arnold 4 tackles, 1 TFL; DeVries 3.5 tackles, 1 forced fumble; Konnor Winter 3 tackles, 1 interception; Carter Breitbach 2.5 tackles; Will Langford 2 tackles, 1 interception; Brogan Shannon 2 tackles; Birch Tschetter 1 tackle, 1 fumble recovery