Williston quarterback Alex Hanson runs with a fast crowd.

The junior signal caller's statistics put him in a class with such recent standouts as ZachWentz of Century and Zac Elgie of Minot.

Hanson has passed for 2,037 yards and 23 touchdowns to lead the Coyotes into the AAAplayoff semifinals. Along the way he's churned out 2,635 yards of total offense.

Yet Bismarck High defensive back AustinGunderson isn't giving Hanson and his talented array of receivers an inch.

"I'm excited to play against their team because of their offense," Gunderson said as he looked ahead to the semifinal matchup. "I take that as a challenge as a defensive player. I think it's going to be a fun game to play."

Bismarck faced the Coyotes on the road in the fourth week of the season, winning 55-26, the Demons' biggest offensive game of the year.

Williston jumped to a 14-7 lead in the early going, but BHStook command with a 27-point second quarter.

BHSdefensive coordinator Dale Colby said the Demons could easily have been down two touchdowns in the early going.

"It should have been 21-7," Colby said. "(Jeff)Skadeland had a touchdown called back.

"Williston is very explosive,"Colby added. "They have a good quarterback, good linemen and good receivers. That's a pretty good offense."

Skadeland, a 6-foot-4, 180-pound senior wideout, caught three TDpasses in the first encounter.

"Skadeland is the real deal,"Colby said.

Gunderson said he was impressed with the Coyote attack, which racked up 372 yards total offense.

"They're explosive on offense," said Gunderson, a 6-foot-2, 170-pound senior. "They have size and they have the ability to run the ball as well as throw. …Their running game has gotten a lot better since last time. Everyone has to do their job for our defense to shut them down."

Neither Gunderson nor Colby harbors any illusions of a shutout. Gunderson's goal is to win the time-of-possession battle.

"We want to have our offense on the field more than their offense," he said. "We want to make them punt."

Colby said he'd be happy to limit the Coyotes to four touchdowns again.

"Four would be very pleasing," he said. "They can put the points on the board."

Williston has won six straight games since the loss to BHS. The Demons have won eight in a row since losing 22-15 at West Fargo, their lone setback of the season.

Hanson, Skadeland and running back Luke Michaelson are Williston's high-profile players. Skadeland is second in the region in receiving yardage and Michaelson ranks fourth in rushing.

Up front the Coyotes are as big as anyone in the West with a line built around two-time all-stater Brent Qvale and all-region player Seth Jorgenson. The 317-pound Qvale, who is headed for the University of Nebraska, and the 230-pound Jorgenson are both seniors. They play on both sides of the ball.

While Gunderson said he and his pals in the BHSsecondary must be on their best behavior tonight, he isn't discounting what happens up front.

"Our offensive line has got to play a big game. (Williston)has got some big boys," he noted. "Hopefully, we'll all be on the top of our game. And our defensive line will have to keep pressure on their quarterback. The defensive line will be a major part of the battle."

Bismarck's offensive line did the job the first time around, carving out enough holes for tailback Jake Miller to run for 124 yards and TDs. Defensively, BHSlimited Williston to 98 yards on the ground in 23 attempts.

In keeping with a season-long trend, Bismarck had a 3-1 edge in takeaways. For the season, BHSboasts a 28-11 advantage in takeaways.

Having that victory on the books provides the Demons with one advantage, according to Gunderson. They know the game can be won without moving mountains.

"We have to play like we've played the last eight games," he said. "No one has to really do something outside their skill level. We just need to play within our skill level and do what we've been taught in practice."

To the winner of tonight's semifinal goes a berth in the state championship game against the winner of today's other semifinal - Century at Fargo South. Century and BHS are natural rivals, of course. South has won the last two AAAchampionships and three of the last four.

Looking ahead to that possibility, however, is to invite trouble, according to Gunderson.

"We're definitely thinking about this game before looking ahead to next week," he observed. "We've got to look at and treat this game as a championship game. … When you get to the playoffs it's a no-tomorrow situation.This might be our last chance to play football."

Gunderson has competed in golf and basketball over the years, but he said the emphasis has been on football. He's second on the team in unassisted tackles with 39 and has four of the team's 18 interceptions. Statistics aren't what motivate him, though.

"The goal for me is winning a state title. It's all about the championship,"he said.

WESTREGIONSTATISTICS

(11 Games)

TEAMOFFENSE

Team Pts. Rush Pass Total

Bismarck 39.2 240.0 115.3 355.2

Williston 33.8 148.0 216.7 364.7

Century 24.8 168.2 175.1 343.3

Jamestown 23.5 174.7 148.2 322.9

St. Mary's 23.1 158.3 156.2 314.6

Minot 22.0 234.6 65.7 300.4

Mandan 12.0 124.6 115.4 240.0

Dickinson 8.3 127.3 126.0 253.3

TEAMDEFENSE

Team Pts. Rush Pass Total

Century 12.0 151.5 90.2 241.7

Bismarck 12.2 112.7 133.4 246.1

Minot 21.3 175.3 123.9 299.2

Jamestown 24.6 184.7 129.7 314.4

Williston 27.2 159.4 154.0 313.4

Dickinson 29.3 194.1 156.8 350.9

Mandan 33.2 263.9 91.1 355.0

St. Mary's 34.4 221.7 175.7 397.3

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

INDIVIDUALOFFENSE

Rushing: 1. Jake Miller, Bismarck, 145-1,349. 2. Spencer Bickel, Minot, 204-1,232. 3. ZachEmil,Century, 138-750. 4. Luke Michaelson, Williston, 138-697. 5. Shelby Skytland, Mandan, 146-621. 6. Donte Smart, Minot, 62-599. 7. Alex Hanson,Williston, 118-598. 8. MichaelBangs,Jamestown, 130-505. 9. Andrew Carlson, St. Mary's, 102-484. 10. Kyle Walden, Jamestown, 81-471.

Passing yards: 1. Alex Hanson, Williston, 119-234-14, 2,037. 2. Hunter Johnson, Century, 107-190-6. 1,692. 3. Justin Klabunde, St. Mary's, 85-182-11, 1,406. 4. MichaelBangs,Jamestown, 86-161-14, 1,369. 5. Ross Kovacs,Dickinson, 93-193-10, 1,134. 6. Esley Thorton,Bismarck, 62-105-3, 1,024. 7. Sam Salveson, Mandan, 63-164-17, 964. 8. Derek Somerville,Minot, 56-128-8, 607. 9. Nick Jolliffe, Bismarck, 8-17-3, 116. 10. JordanLynch, Jamestown, 6-11-0, 113.

Touchdown passes: 1. Alex Hanson,Williston, 23. 2. (tie) Michael Bangs, Jamestown, and Hunter Johnson, Century, both 15. 4. Justin Klabunde, St. Mary's, 12. 5. (tie) Sam Salveson, Mandan, and Esley Thorton, Bismarck, both 7. 7. Derek Somerville,Minot, 6. 8. Ross Kovacs, Dickinson, 5. 9. (tie) JoshWeatherspoon, Minot, ShawnEgge, Williston; and JackSchauer, Williston, all 1.

Receiving yards:1. JordanPiatz, Jamestown, 45-887. 2. Jeff Skadeland, Williston, 48-861. 3. Garret Jacobs, Century, 36-720. 4. Ryan Huber, St. Mary's, 35-610. 5. Matt Chuppe,St. Mary's, 28-482. 6. Brett Sinner, Jamestown, 33-436. 7. Garret Kirchmeier, Mandan, 17-386. 8. JackBietz, Century, 33-384. 9. CalvinKrueger, Bismarck, 20-362. 10. Jake Miller, Bismarck, 19-327.

Total offense: 1. Alex Hanson,Williston, 2,635 yards. 2. Hunter Johnson,Century, 1,974. 3. MichaelBangs, Jamestown, 1,874. 4. Justin Klabunde, St. Mary's, 1,522. 5. Jake Miller, Bismarck, 1,349. 6. Esley Thorton, Bismarck, 1,273. 7. Spencer Bickel, Minot, 1,232. 8. Ross Kovacs, Dickinson, 1,134. 9. Sam Salveson, Mandan, 1,126. 10. Zach Emil,Century, 750.

Scoring: 1. Jake Miller, Bismarck, 120. 2. Esley Thorton, Bismarck, 92. 3. Jeff Skadeland,Williston, 88. 4. (tie) Jordan Piatz,Jamestown, and Spencer Bickel, Minot, both 76. 6. (tie) ZachEmil,Century, and Luke Michaelson,Williston, both 66. 8. Calvin Krueger, Bismarck, 65. 9. Michael Bangs, Jamestown, 58. 10. (tie) ZachReisenauer, St. Mary's, and Alex Hanson,Williston, both 51.

Field goals: 1. ZachReisenauer, St. Mary's, 5. 2. Zach Pulkinen, Minot. 2. 3. (tie) Hunter Johnson, Century, and Jacob Ralph, Williston, both 1.

EASTREGIONSTATISTICS

Offense: 1. Fargo South 33.3 points scored per game. 2. Wahpeton 24.7. 3. Grand Forks Central 23.4. 4. West Fargo 21.7. 5. Fargo North 19.2. 6. Grand Forks Red River 16.7. 7. Fargo Shanley 13.8.

Defense: 1. Fargo North 16.8 points allowed per game. 2. West Fargo 17.0. 3. Fargo South 17.3. 4. Wahpeton 21.7. 5. Grand Forks Red River 23.7. 6. FargoShanley 24.1. 7. Grand Forks Central 35.7.

-Compiled bySteve Thomas