Probe deeply inside West Fargo football coach Jay Gibson, and you're likely to find the soul of a riverboat gambler.

No close-to-the-vest bean counter is he. Gibson would rather roll the dice in quest of the big play than grind things out.

And the Packers delivered two big plays to jumpstart their 28-6 victory over Mandan on Friday at Faris Field.

A fumble recovery and blocked punt led to two first-quarter scores as West Fargo took charge early.

West Fargo defensive end Jacob Bucholz recovered a fumble at the Mandan 40 to give the Packers a short field with 10:30 to play in the first quarter.

The Packers didn't waste the opportunity, quarterback Alan Neer slipping through the left side a couple of minutes later for a 7-yard touchdown run. Neer ran for the conversion, and West Fargo was up 8-0 with 3:58 elapsed.

Fewer than five minutes later, Scott Schiller snuffed a punt by Mandan's Kale Peterson, picked up the loose ball and scored to make it 14-0 with 3:23 left in the half.

Schiller said he tore in unblocked on Peterson, who took the snap at the Mandan 17.

"Nobody was there," said Schiller, a 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior. "Imoved up to the line … and the (Mandan)guys just kind of parted, and I scooted right through."

Mandan coach Pat O'Brien said those two scores put Mandan in a big hole, just the kind of start the Braves, coming off a winless season, didn't need.

"That's huge. You've got to get out on the right foot. … That takes the wind out of your sails," O'Brien said.

West Fargo put together its longest drive of the night to pick up its third score early in the fourth quarter. The Packers moved 73 yards in eight plays to make it 22-0. Bryce Jorgenson, who alternated at quarterback with Neer, darted 13 yards to finish the drive.

A short punt enabled the Packers to score their final touchdown on a short field.

West Fargo needed just two plays to score from the Mandan 34.

Jorgenson threw 14 yards to wideout BrandonKunze on the first play. On the next play, running back David Schmidt got loose on the right side for a 20-yard scoring run with 8:26 to play.

West Fargo lost its shutout on the final play of the game. Mandan quarterback SamSalveson took the snap with 2.8 seconds to play and found wide receiver Garret Kirchmeier open deep to the left at the Packer 22.

Kirchmeier made the grab for a 49-yard scoring strike with no time remaining.

Schiller was not amused.

"We wanted (the shutout)bad," Schiller said.

O'Brien said the Braves, who had just 164 yards total offense, struggled. But he also gave West Fargo a tip of the hat.

"Do we need to improve offensively?Yes," O'Brien said. "But give credit where credit is due. West Fargo stuck it in our grille."

But O'Brien said there's plenty of time to improve.

"Our kids have got to realize if we're going to make a commitment to moving up they've got to play 48 minutes," he said.

West Fargo 14 0 8 6 - 28

Mandan 0 0 0 6 - 6

First Quarter

WF-Alan Neer 7 run (Neer run), 8:02

WF-Scott Schiller 3 blocked punt return (pass failed), 3:23.

Third Quarter

WF-Bryce Jorgenson 13 run (David Schmidt run), 2:07.

Fourth Quarter

WF-Schmidt 20 run (pass failed), 8:26.

M-Garret Kirchmeier 49 pass from Sam Salveson (pass failed), 0:00.

Team Statistics

WF M

First downs 15 7

Rushes-yards 40-219 31-67

Passing yards 68 97

Comp-Att-Int 6-20-1 7-20-1

Punts-average 3-35 8-26

Fumbles-lost 1-1 3-1

Penalties-yards 8=67 5-25

Individual Statistics

Rushing: WF-David Schmidt 14-100, AlanNeer 14-79, Jacob Kiefer 5-24, Bryce Jorgenson 7-16. M -Sam Salveson 10-35, Shelby Skytland 9-21, Chris Junker 2-3, Tyler Jessen 1-11, Sam Arneson 9-minus 3.

Passing: WF-Jorgenson 4-7-1, 37 yards; Neer 2-13-0, 31. M- Salveson 7-20-1, 97.

Receiving:WF-Luke Solum 3-40, Brandon Kunze 2-20, Alex Pribula 1-8. M-Garret Kirchmeier 3-67, Taylor Volk 1-17, Kale Peterson 1-8, Arneson 1-4, Chris Nuss 1-1.

Records:West Fargo 1-0, Mandan 0-1.