Where to start.

Minot High stretches a defense in so many ways. There's TysonSchatz, the West Region's leading rusher to contend with. Plus, the combination of quarterback Zac Elgie and wideout Carson Carr spells big-play trouble.

Then there's the addition of returning all-state Dan Hendrickson, a two-way starter at fullback and linebacker. Hendrickson returns this week after sitting out five games for a training rule violation.

Under normal circumstances, the Magicians would be enough to worry any defense. That's not the case for Bismarck High linebacker Brett Farstveet, who gets his first look at Minot in tonight's 7 p.m. matchup in the Magic City.

Farstveet said the Demons defense doesn't have to be perfect against Minot to win, just good.

"We have to come out like any other game and play the way we've been playing," said Farstveet, a 6-foot, 195-pound junior. "… Both teams have a lot of offensive weapons. … No matter if it's high-scoring or low-scoring it's going to be a close game."

Bismarck's agile and mobile defense hasn't had to be overpowering through the first month of the season. The Demon offense has scored a minimum of three touchdowns every time out and three times has put up five TDs.

There's definitely a prize awaiting tonight's winner. Both teams stand 3-0 in regional play and 4-1 overall. Both lost one-sided decisions to top-ranked Fargo South. BHSis ranked second in the state AAApoll with Minot third.

While BHSand Minot are vying for first place, Jamestown (1-2 West Region, 2-3 overall) visits St. Mary's (0-3, 1-4); Dickinson (1-2, 2-3) plays host to Century (1-2, 2-3), and Williston (1-2, 3-2) visits Mandan (2-1, 3-2).

While Bismarck has ridden its offense to three straight wins and Minot has milked its defense for four straight victories.

BHS is averaging 30.2 points per game, easily the best in the region and is second with an average of 291 yards total offense. Defensively, the Demons are fifth, surrendering 15.8 points an outing.

Bismarck runs the ball by committee. Fullback Mike Ingemansen and tailbacks Chris Faller and Jon Hausauer all have rushed for over 200 yards. Quarterback Jesse Schuchard is fifth in the West in passing offense and Jordan Wilhelm is the No. 6 receiver.

By West Region standards, Bismarck is undersized on both sides of the ball, averaging under 220 pounds in the offensive interior line and barely 205 on the three-man defensive front.

Farstveet shrugged off the size limitations. "I just think our team has a lot of heart. We have a lot of want … the will to succeed,"he noted.

Minot has allowed only three touchdowns over its last four games and stands first in the region in scoring defense (12.2). The Magicians are fourth in the region in yardage defense (219.8). On the attack, Minot is third in the West in scoring (19.6) and third in total offense (284.2).

Farstveet'solder brother, Nick, a 2005 BHSgraduate, was a two-way starter for the Demons, so Brett is well aware of the BHS-Minot rivalry.

"Minot is always a tough game and to go there is even tougher," Brett said. "…We're at the top of the conference and this game will decide a lot for both teams."

While they may have their hands full at Minot, Farstveet doesn't see the Demons as underdogs - ever. "We don't ever really consider ourselves underdogs. Ithink we're evenly matched and Ithink it's going to be a dogfight."

There may be a lot riding on the outcome, and it may be a close game, but Farstveet said he doesn't see it as a pressure-packed situation. "It's the type of game you dream of playing," he observed. "…You really want to come out ready to play and do well in games like this."

Like most of his teammates, Farstveet is a first-year starter. He got a limited amount of playing time toward the end of his sophomore season and found himself in the lineup this fall after a huge round of graduation losses.

"We were impressed with him at the end of last year and we were hoping he could step up for us," BHScoach Mark Gibson said. "… He's met our expectations."

While there were a myriad of questions to be answered when practice began in August, Farstveet said he never really doubted the Demons would be contenders. "I'm glad we're doing as well as we are, but Inever really doubted how we'd do," he noted.

3 NOTES:The status of Luke Senger, Bismarck's two-time all-state linebacker, was up in the air as of this morning. BHScoachMark Gibson said he would make a "game time decision" on Senger's status. Senger, a two-way starter, suffered a concussion in Bismarck's 36-16 victory at Williston last week and missed the second half. … Bismarck has won 25 West Region games in a row. The Demons were undefeated in the region 2003, 2004 and 2005. Their last regional loss was a 26-21 setback at Minot in 2002. … Minot opened the season with a 40-0 loss to top-ranked Fargo South in Minot. BHSlost 42-21 to South in the second week of the season in Fargo. … Bismarck closes with Mandan, St. Mary's and Dickinson. Minot has games with St. Mary's, Century and Williston remaining.

CLASSAAA FOOTBALL

WEST REGION

Region Overall

Team W L W L

Minot 3 0 4 1

Bismarck 3 0 4 1

Mandan 2 1 3 2

Williston 1 2 3 2

Century 1 2 2 3

Dickinson 1 2 2 3

Jamestown 1 2 2 3

St. Mary's 0 3 1 4

Last week: Bismarck 36, Williston 16. Mandan 18, Century 16. Dickinson 40, St. Mary's 25. Minot 29, Jamestown 0.

Friday's games: Bismarck at Minot, 7 p.m Century at Dickinson, 7 p.m. MDT. Jamestown at St. Mary's, Community Bowl, 7 p.m. Williston at Mandan, 7 p.m.

WESTREGIONSTATISTICS

TEAMOFFENSE

Team Pts. Rush Pass Total

Bismarck 30.2 186.6 104.4 291.0

Williston 22.0 192.6 140.0 332.6

Minot 19.6 176.2 108.0 284.2

Mandan 18.2 156.6 83.2 239.8

St. Mary's 17.4 140.0 105.0 245.0

Dickinson 16.4 142.0 115.4 257.4

Century 10.8 89.4 133.2 222.6

Jamestown 9.6 129.6 25.4 155.0

TEAMDEFENSE

Team Pts. Rush Pass Total

Minot 12.2 133.6 86.2 219.8

Century 12.4 105.2 84.4 189.6

Mandan 13.6 139.4 64.0 203.4

Williston 13.8 137.4 172.2 309.6

Bismarck 15.8 116.4 93.0 209.4

Dickinson 20.4 158.0 138.2 296.2

Jamestown 25.0 117.8 149.2 267.0

St. Mary's 30.2 239.6 115.6 355.2

3 Scoring, rushing, passing and total yardage calculated for West Region teams on a per-game basis.

INDIVIDUALOFFENSE

Rushing: 1. Tyson Schatz, Minot, 119-755. 2. Alex Mock, Williston, 85-498. 3. Rocky Bullinger, Mandan, 90-494. 4. Mitch Kudrna, Dickinson, 84-488. 5. Chris Faller, Bismarck, 50-297. 6. Mike Ingemansen,Bismarck, 45-264. 7. Adam Keller, St. Mary's, 64-259. 8. Shane Hendrickson, Jamestown, 50-243. 9. Jon Hausauer, Bismarck, 51-210. 10. Skyler Beaudoin, Dickinson, 43-204.

Passing: 1. Doug Richter, Williston, 32-68-6, 700 yards. 2. BenHerauf,Dickinson, 37-92-3, 577. 3. ZachWentz,Century, 38-95-5, 551. 4. Zac Elgie, Minot, 39-69-4, 540. 5. Jesse Schuchard,Bismarck, 24-55-1, 522. 6. Andy Yantes, St. Mary's, 39-84-6, 466. 7. AndyHoff,Mandan, 23-63-3, 394. 8. Tom Roemmich, Jamestown, 9-32-5, 127. 9. Wes Keller, Century, 8-18-0, 115. 10. Andrew Richter, St. Mary's, 3-6-1, 55.

Touchdown passes: 1. (tie) Doug Richter, Williston, and Zac Elgie, Minot, both 6. 3. (tie) Ben Herauf, Dickinson, and Jesse Schuchard, Bismarck, both 5. 5. AndyHoff, Mandan, 4. 6. Andy Yantes, St. Mary's, 2. 7. (tie) ZachWentz, Century, and Tom Roemmich, Jamestown, both 1.

Receiving: 1. BrianQvale,Williston, 17-323. 2. Justin Belohlavek, Mandan, 15-286. 3. CarsonCarr, Minot, 19-277. 4. WestonLeutz, Century, 11-258. 5. Josh Klabunde, St. Mary's, 22-231. 6. Jordan Wilhelm, Bismarck, 11-214. 7. Travis Tooley, Dickinson, 11-194. 8. Mike Ingemansen,Bismarck, 6-179. 9. NathanSchlosser, Century, 15-160. 10. Matt Weber, St. Mary's, 11-153.

Total offense: 1. Tyson Schatz,Minot, 755 yards. 2. Doug Richter, Williston, 719. 3. ZachWentz,Century, 661. 4. Zac Elgie, Minot, 580. 5. Jesse Schuchard,Bismarck, 564. 6. Ben Herauf,Dickinson, 515. 7. Alex Mock,Williston, 498. 8. RockyBullinger, Mandan, 494. 9. Mitch Kudrna, Dickinson, 488. 10. AndyYantes, St. Mary's, 483.

Scoring: 1. Tyson Schatz, Minot, 50 points. 2. Mitch Kudrna,Dickinson, 34. 3. (tie) RockyBullinger, Mandan, Jon Hausauer, Bismarck, Mike Ingemansen,Bismarck, and AlexMock,Williston, all 30. 7. Brian Qvale, Williston, 26. 8. (tie) JustinBelohlavek, Mandan, CarsonCarr, Minot, and Chris Faller, Bismarck, all 24.

Field goals: 1. Jordan Schaefer, Century, 2. 2. (tie) Zac Elgie, Minot, ZackReisenauer, St. Mary's, and Doug Richter, Williston, all 1.

EAST REGION

Region Overall

Team W L W L

Fargo South 3 0 5 0

West Fargo 3 0 4 1

Wahpeton 2 1 4 1

Fargo North 2 1 3 2

G.F.Central 2 1 2 3

G.F.Red River 0 3 2 3

Devils Lake 0 3 0 5

FargoShanley 0 3 0 5

Offense: Fargo South 230 points scored, Wahpeton 157, West Fargo 123, Fargo North 89, G.F. Central 85, G.F.Red River 81, Fargo Shanley 39, Devils Lake 33.

Defense: West Fargo 44, points surrendered, Fargo South 54, G.F.Red River 63, Fargo North 78, Wahpeton 110, G.F.Central 117, FargoShanley 143, Devils Lake 187.

Last week: Fargo North 7, Red River 0. FargoSouth 49, DevilsLake 7. West Fargo 44, Fargo Shanley 0. Wahpeton 35, G.F. Central 13.

Friday's games: Fargo North at Fargo Shanley. G.F.Central at Fargo South. West Fargo at Wahpeton. Devils Lake at Red River.

Saturday's game: Fargo South at Devils Lake.

- Compiled bySteve Thomas