WEST FARGO - Mandan was in a good spot in its Division AAA quarterfinal on the road at West Fargo on Oct. 30. The third-seeded Braves led No. 2 seeded West Fargo 26-24 with under five minutes to play.

And then West Fargo running back Ashton Wigestrand took over. The senior would take a pitch to the left side of the line and beat the defensive pursuit to the sidelines before turning up field and into the end zone. The Packers defense would force Mandan to turn the ball over on downs and soon after Wigestrand was back in the end zone. His 24-yard run would put the finishing touches on a 38-26 win. The reward for the victory is another home game for the Packers, which won their fourth game in a row. They will host rival Fargo Davies in the semifinals. The loss was Mandan's (5-5) fourth in a row in the quarterfinals. Oddly enough, its last postseason victory came against West Fargo (2022).

West Fargo's Joaquin Valdez would open the scoring with a 65-yard run in the first quarter. Mandan would answer on Brandon Baker's nine-yard run. The PAT kick was blocked, however, and WF led 7-6. Wigestrand would extend the lead with a 30-yard run. He found a bit of running room in between blockers to burst to the end zone. The Braves workhorse rusher Tate Sailer would cut the deficit with an eight-yard score. The Packers would get three points as time expired at the end of the half on Wyatt Dockter's 37-yard field goal. Mandan would put together a pair of scoring drives in the third quarter sandwiched around one for West Fargo. Mandan wideout Daniel Wentz would haul in 41-yard TD catch from Cole Carlson. Carlson had a strong performance, throwing for 238 yards on 23-33 passing. After the Packers scored on a pass of their own, Sailer rumbled in from five yards out to provide Mandan with its final lead of the contest. Sailer finished with 167 yards on 28 carries.