Bismarck running back Jake Miller stole the spotlight Friday in what was supposed to be THE marquee matchup of the regular season when No. 2 Fargo South met the top-ranked Demons at the Community Bowl.

Miller rushed for 147 of his 257 yards and scored twice in the first half as the Demons took a three-touchdown lead and cruised to a 35-7 win over the Bruins.

Miller finished with three touchdowns and Bismarck quarterback Esley Thorton added two on short runs as Bismarck established itself as the team to beat in Class AAA.

It was the second straight regular season loss by the Bruins, something that hadn't happened to Fargo South since 2002. The last time the Bruins lost two consecutive games was the last game of 2003 and the first game in 2004.

Miller was one of many people surprised by the Demons' first half.

"I would say that," Miller said. "South's a great team. My line just opens holes. I give them the credit."

Not so fast, said Bismarck coach Mark Gibson, whose team ran for 301 yards.

"The bottom line is we've got a very special running back in Jake Miller," Gibson said. "If you give him a crease, he's going to go. A really good running back can make an offensive line look great."

Miller put the Demons on the board with a 40-yard touchdown run off the right side late in the opening quarter. After breaking a tackle, he ran away from the Bruins' defensive backs, and Calvin Krueger added the PAT for a 7-0 lead with 3:00 to play in the quarter.

Bismarck's next touchdown was set up by a Joe Jahner blocked punt, which was recovered by Krueger at the South 45-yard line.

Eight plays later, BHS quarterback Esley Thorton snuck in from the 1-yard line for a 14-0 lead.

Miller extended the lead on Bismarck's next possession when he dashed 65 yards, following two downfield blocks on the edge to make it 21-0 with 3:30 left in the first half.

Miller had all but six of Bismarck's rushing yards in the first half. South, meanwhile, was limited to 50 yards of total offense in the first two quarters, including minus-1 through the air.

"I never imagined that," Gibson said of the 21-0 lead. "We challenged our offensive line and they did a nice job."

South coach Kevin Feeney said he never expected such a poor start by the Bruins.

"It wasn't something we haven't seen Bismarck do the last six years. We just didn't come to play today," Feeney said. "I was disappointed by our effort and emotion in the first half. If you don't come out with effort and emotion, you're going to get run off the field when you play a team like Bismarck."

South was down but not out at the break. The Bruins had more first downs (5-4) and yards (91-50) on its first possession of the second half than it did in all of the first half. Brock Larson capped the drive with an 18-yard run with 5:08 showing.

But the Bruins were never able to follow up on that success. On their next possession, the Bruins marched from their own 11-yard line to the Demons' 15. The drive ended when Griffin Neal slipped on a rollout pass on fourth down.

Bismarck iced it with a 78-yard drive, capped by Thorton's second TD with 2:16 to play.

"We just came out and executed," Miller said. "I wouldn't say we were physically better. We just had great blocking."

Thorton was 5-for-10 for 60 yards through the air, while South quarterbacks Larson and Neal were 8-for-17 for 43 yards.

Adam Boe led the Bruins with 75 yards on 10 carries. He had 13 yards at halftime.

Fargo South 0 0 7 0 - 7

Bismarck 7 14 7 7 - 35

Individual Scoring

First Quarter

Bismarck: Jake Miller 40 run (Calvin Krueger kick), 3:00.

Second Quarter

Bismarck: Esley Thorton 1 run (Krueger kick), 7:20.

Bismarck: Miller 65 run (Krueger kick), 3:30.

Third Quarter

Bismarck: Miller 7 run (Krueger kick), 8:37.

South: Larson 18 run (Kyle Roesler kick), 5:08.

Fourth Quarter

Bismarck: Thorton 1 run (Krueger kick), 2:16.

Team Statistics

FS Bis

First downs 18 16

Rushes-yards 43-183 40-301

Yards passing 43 60

Passing 8-17-1 5-10-1

Fumbles-lost 1-0 0-0

Punts-average 5-38.0 2-40.5

Penalties-yards 5-45 5-50

Individual Statistics

Rushing: South - Brock Larson 10-28, Griffin Neal 8-13, Julius Midell 4-23, Adam Boe 10-75, Sam Callahan 6-19, Matt Achter 3-16, Pat Duncan 2-9. Bismarck - Jake Miller 22-257, Esley Thorton 8-15, Tyson Gibson 2-0, Carson Winkels 4-15, Alex Deyle 1-5, Channing Mann 3-9.

Passing: South - Larson 5-8-0, 21 yards; Neal 3-9-1, 22 yards. Bismarck - Thorton 5-10-1, 60 yards.

Receiving: South - Boe 1-(minus 1), Callahan 2-9, Matt Wawers 3-16, Achter 1-13, Josh Hooey 1-6. Bismarck - Nick Jolliffe 2-31, Calvin Krueger 3-29.

Records: Fargo South 1-2; Bismarck 3-0.