The Hillsboro-Central Valley Burros and Beulah Miners have seen a lot of each other over the past two years.
In 2019, the Burros won the regular-season meeting in Beulah and beat the Miners 35-12 in the Class AA championship.
This year, Hillsboro-Central Valley won the regular-season game 23-14 from Central Valley High School and the second meeting comes in the North Dakota Class AA semifinals in Hillsboro.
Both teams hang their hats on a stout defense and the ability to grind out games on the ground.
Beulah (7-2 overall) is limiting the opposition to 153 yards per game and they’ve rushed for 343 yards per contest while HCV (8-2 overall) is only giving up 200 yards per game defensively and rushing for 136 yards per game.
This write-up features some players to watch out for, a question and answer section with both head coaches and Dakota Bowl/championship history of the programs.
Kickoff set for 3 p.m. on Saturday. Winner advances to the Dakota Bowl on Friday, November 13 against the winner of Bismarck St. Mary’s and Kindred.
Question & Answer with Hillsboro-Central Valley head coach Scott Olsen
Q: What do you attribute to your run to the semifinals this year?
A: Our culture. We just find ways to win. None of it is pretty this year, but we have a gritty bunch that does whatever it takes to come away with the win.
Q: Fourth time playing Beulah in two years and second straight in the playoffs, does it get any easier or harder playing a unique offense as the Miners have?
A: For sure harder. Coach Dooley comes up with new variations, new formations, and new alignments that you must be ready for. Then when you combine that with the talented kids they have, it’s a tough matchup for anyone. You try to get the kids to pinpoint their job and their key and go from there. Instead of watching the whole picture, isolate on the small part of it. If you watch the whole picture, you end up looking silly and chasing someone who doesn’t have the ball.
Q: What stood out/can you take away from your first meeting with Beulah back in September?
A: The kind of athletes they have is what really stood out. They are so well-coached as well. It will be two evenly matched teams playing for a chance to get to the Dome so we are excited about that.
Question & Answer with Beulah head coach Jim Dooley
Q: What do you attribute to your run to the semifinals this year?
A: We’ve been playing well for the last 3-4 weeks. It is always beneficial to be playing your best when postseason hits; so far, we have been doing that.
Q: What stood out in your first meeting with HCV back in September?
A: One thing we hopefully learned is to not turn the ball over five times, aside from that I think we learned a lot from that game, more in terms of preparation and focus. We came in having not been really tested in the first 3 games and we didn’t respond well to the challenge.
Q: What would back-to-back seasons earning a spot in the Dakota Bowl mean to the program?
A: It’s always good to play every game you can. Young guys get additional practices and it kind of builds on momentum from previous years. Playing in the Dakota Bowl is a great experience and opportunity; any year you can make it is a benefit to the program.
STAT STUFFERS
HCV: Junior running back Jace Leshuk is the leading rusher for the Burros with 520 yards and 4 touchdowns.
Senior quarterback Sam Preston has passed for 963 yards, 11 touchdowns and 9 interceptions with junior wide Gannon Limke hauling in a team-leading 19 receptions for 306 yards and 6 touchdowns.
Junior defensive lineman Barrett Willison leads the with 5.5 sacks and junior defensive back Parker Gallagher has a season-high 41.5 tackles and 7 interceptions for the Burros.
BHS: Junior quarterback Trey Brandt has passed for 547 yards, 5 touchdowns and 5 interceptions while adding 236 yards on the ground with 3 touchdowns.
Senior running back Nathan Battest is leading the Miners in rushing and receiving through 9 games. He’s rushed for 1,065 yards, 13 touchdowns and is averaging 9.34 yards per carry while hauling in 8 receptions for 297 yards and 3 touchdowns.
Junior linebacker Trapper Skalsky has 69 tackles with 2 interceptions while Battest has added 4 interceptions from the defensive back position.
CHAMPIONSHIP HISTORY
HCV: The Burros have three straight Dakota Bowl appearances and won the Class A championship 16-14 over Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich in 2017 and defeated Beulah 35-12 in the Class AA championship in 2019.
Langdon Area/Edmore/Munich beat HCV 20-18 in the 2018 Class A title game.
Hillsboro lost the 9-man championship in 1996 against New England/Regent 23-6 and defeated Williams County 46-8 in the 2008 9-man championship.
Central Valley won the 1999 9-man championship 40-24 over Linton.
BHS: The Miners have made the Dakota Bowl in two of the last five seasons, losing last year in the Class AA championship against HCV.
Beulah won the 2015 Class AA title 33-18 over Shanley and lost in the 2005 Class AA title 21-7 against Dickinson Trinity.
The Miners won the 1989 Class B championship 20-0 over Mayville-Portland capping a 12-0 season.
