Bismarck Century Holds Horace Out of the End Zone Twice, Wins 28-14

Bismarck Century's defense kept Horace's offense out of the end zone twice in the final minutes.

The Patriots beat West Fargo Horace 28-14 in the North Dakota Division 3A quarterfinals at Horace High School on Friday night. Century rushed for 349 yards, with senior Carter Wylde carrying 23 times for 130 yards. Senior quarterback Kaden Welstad added 106 rushing yards, junior Knoxx Wedelstedt 99, and sophomore Bayze Helgeson 14. Welstad completed 4 of 8 passes for 39 yards.

Century entered the game 3-6 in the regular season, with its six losses coming by a combined 23 points and none by more than a touchdown. The Patriots improved to 4-6 with the win. Horace, the East Region No. 1 seed, finished 7-3.

With Century leading 21-14 late in the third quarter, Horace's Reid Foell carried to the Patriots' 2-yard line to set up first-and-goal with 2:36 left. Backup quarterback Colton Fosher took three direct snaps and was stopped on each attempt, forcing a turnover on downs at the 1. Century answered with a 99-yard drive, capped by Wedelstedt's 15-yard run to make it 28-14 with 5:52 remaining.

Horace got another chance at the goal line with 3:30 to play. Facing fourth-and-goal from the 4, Matthew Dick tried a quarterback keeper and was stopped short, with Wedelstedt making the tackle. Century head coach Ron Wingenbach said: "Today, inside the 5-yard line twice, and we held them both times. That was just huge."

Wingenbach said the Patriots chose to lean on the run to control time of possession against a Horace team that averaged more than 30 points per game. "We have capabilities of throwing the ball, I just felt (tonight) we were in a mode where we just didn't need to," he said.

Aiden Green scored both Horace touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving. The Western Michigan commit caught 10 passes for 87 yards; Dick went 16 of 28 for 128 yards and a touchdown. Horace head coach Harvey McMahon said: "They had as good of a shot as winning it as anybody.. Ultimately, it was two good teams and they got the better of us (tonight)."

Wedelstedt rushed for three touchdowns. "Everybody thought we wouldn't be here and we made it," he said. "All of the hard work, all of the challenges we overcame and the bond that our team has made throughout this entire season, it's unworldly."

As the West No. 4 seed, Century advances to face West No. 2 Bismarck Legacy (8-2) in the semifinals Friday, Nov. 6, at the Bismarck Community Bowl. Kickoff time has not been set.