BISMARCK - Possessions in the red zone are valuable in the postseason. Bismarck High found that out the hard way on Oct. 30 at the MDU Resources Community Bowl. Trailing Fargo Davies 21-14 with just under three minutes to play, the Demons had a first down and goal from the three-yard line. Two run plays, an incomplete pass and a quarterback sack, the ball was turned over on downs. And the Eagles never gave it back.

Defending champion Davies (6-4), which needed a win in its last regular season game to qualify for the playoffs, defeated the West's top seed to earn a spot in the semifinals next week against West Fargo. For the Demons (7-3), it was second consecutive season-ending loss to Davies.

Senior Gabe Melland's 58-yard scamper in the third quarter was the game-winning score. The run came a play after the Eagles converted on a fourth down in its own territory. The teams would trade a handful of possessions in the final quarter and a half. Davies' junior quarterback Tucker Kosen took a big hit while attempting a rare pass attempt and did not return until the final drive.

After Bismarck was forced to punt on its opening possession, the Eagles put together an 11-play drive that ended on Melland's 39-yard TD run. The Demons had a quick answer, however. Senior wideout Najeh Boyd took a shovel pass from quarterback Kaden Molenda and shed a tackle; and then turned up the sidelines and turned on the afterburners to race 73-yards to the end zone. Davies would regain its lead when Kosen would squeeze between his offensive linemen and into the end zone from two yards out at the 9:32 mark of the second quarter. Braxton Dutchuk got BHS back to even on his 44-yard run

The Eagles run-dominated scheme posed a lot of challenges for the Demons, which were better suited to take on pass friendly offense. The squad was able to use its deception in handing the ball off to a variety of carriers to keep the Demons a bit off balanced. BHS' defense did a better job of finding the ball carrier and limiting runs to just a few yards as the game went along. However, when the defense needed one more stop, the Eagles won the battle at the line of scrimmage on third down to pick up the game-winning first down.