State and Regional Playoffs Begin With Fargo Schools in the Mix

North Dakota and Minnesota high school football playoffs commenced on Friday and Saturday. Several Fargo and surrounding area teams advanced to the first round of the postseason. The North Dakota Division 3A bracket features West Fargo Horace, West Fargo, Bismarck, Bismarck Legacy, and Shanley. West Fargo Horace sits at the top of the Division 3A poll with a 7-2 record and 54 points. West Fargo follows in the tied fourth place with a 6-3 record and 24 points.

In Division 2A, Grand Forks Central appears in the poll as a team receiving votes. The Eagles hold a 6-3 record. The top seed in Division 2A is Kindred, which is 9-0. The top seed in Division 3A is West Fargo Horace, which leads the state in that division.

Minnesota Section 8 football playoffs began with first-round games on Tuesday. Park Rapids plays East Grand Forks at 6 p.m. in the Section 8AAA quarterfinals. Bagley faces Polk County West at 6 p.m. at Cushman in the Section 8A quarterfinals. These games determine which teams advance to the semifinals scheduled for Saturday, October 31. The Section 8A and 8AAA championships are set for Thursday, November 5, at the Fargodome. The Section 8AA and 8AAA titles will be decided on Friday, November 6, also at the Fargodome.

Prep volleyball competitions continued with Monday results. Thompson defeated Hillsboro-Central Valley in three sets with scores of 25-22, 25-16, and 25-14. Dunseith beat Four Winds in five sets. St. John defeated Minnewaukan-Warwick in three straight sets. In the Minnesota Section 8A tournament, Stephen-Argyle played a play-in game against Mahnomen-Waubun. Stephen-Argyle won the match 25-17, 25-10, and 25-22. Key contributors for Stephen-Argyle included Ayla Woinarowicz with 10 kills and Annika Adolphson with 18 assists.

The next round of volleyball action is scheduled for Wednesday. Stephen-Argyle travels to East Grand Forks Sacred Heart for a 7 p.m. match. Other first-round games in the Section 8A tournament include Win-E-Mac at Lake of the Woods and Ada-Borup-West at Climax-Fisher. All first-round games start at 7 p.m. Quarterfinals will take place on Friday at the high seed locations. Semifinals and the championship are scheduled for November 2 and November 6, respectively, at Minnesota-Crookston.

College sports rankings were released alongside the high school scores. The Stats Perform FCS Top 25 lists the University of North Dakota at number nine. The Fighting Hawks are 6-3. In college hockey, the USA Hockey Top 20 ranks the University of North Dakota at number eight. The team has a 4-2-0 record. Minnesota Duluth ranks seventh in the same list with a 5-1-2 record.

The Fargo area hosts several championship games later in the month. The Fargodome will hold the Minnesota Section 8A and 8AAA football titles on November 5. The Section 8AA and 8AAA titles follow on November 6. Local volleyball teams will travel to Minnesota-Crookston for their state tournament events. The North Dakota volleyball district tournaments begin on Thursday at Larimore and Lakota. Quarterfinals start at 3 p.m. at those locations.

The schedule for the upcoming week includes regular season games and playoff qualifiers. West Fargo hosts GF Red River for volleyball at 7 p.m. Fargo South plays GF Central at 7 p.m. The University of North Dakota golf team competes in the ODU/OBX Intercollegiate in Powells Point, North Carolina. These events continue the late-season push for regional and state recognition.