Harvey-Wells County upends defending champ Langdon Area-Munich for 1A state title

Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald By Maxwell Marko Today at 2:29 PM Listen Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? FARGO — Harvey-Wells County started the year with two consecutive setbacks. Losses to Ellendale-Edgeley-Kulm and Velva-Drake-Anamoose-Garrison put the team on its heels, needing a perfect stretch the rest of the way. A 44-20 win over Langdon Area-Munich on Friday morning at the Fargodome gave the Hornets a storybook North Dakota Division 1A state championship. ADVERTISEMENT A strong start followed by consistent aggression gave Harvey-Wells County its first Dakota Bowl title as a co-op and the first for Harvey since 2008. “We talk about family here, and you see a team like this bond and see how they become a family," Harvey-Wells County head coach Bret Dockter said. "It means so much. They won’t care about who got the touchdowns. They weren’t caring about stats; they were caring about their brothers." Dockter and his squad swept the awards table on Friday as the 13th-year head coach was named Division A Coach of the Year, while star tailback Christian Mertz was named Senior Athlete of the Year to go along with the team championship. Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald “All of our boys, our seniors, were lifting almost every day for the past four years," Mertz said. "We wanted this, I think, the most in the state and I’m glad we got it." Mertz and the Hornets were off to the races early and often. Multiple dashes for 20 or more yards and even a little help from some bounces through the air put defending champion Langdon Area-Munich in a tough spot. A hat trick of touchdowns and 187 yards from scrimmage for Mertz in the first half alone brought elation from the Harvey-Wells County sideline. It seemed with each offensive drive there was a guarantee of one big play to flip the field and set up a score. “It’s huge in a championship game," Dockter said. "If you can set the marker right away and get everybody to buy in right away, it makes it a lot easier than having to claw back. We felt we needed to get out in front. (Langdon) is an explosive team. We just thought if we could get out in front, it would take care of itself and it would be alright.” ADVERTISEMENT Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald Mertz’s final line ended with 281 rushing yards on 29 carries and four touchdowns. The constant barrage of the Hornets’ rushing attack started from the get-go. Easton Schuh took the first play from scrimmage for 55 yards. Three carries later, Mertz reached the end zone. A failed response from the Cardinals gave the ball back to Harvey-Wells County three minutes later. A contested deep shot from quarterback Kyson Zerr miraculously found the hands of Dylan Heitmann, who took the ball 76 yards for a touchdown. In just six offensive plays, the Hornets had a 14-0 lead. “It sets the tone of the game right away," Mertz said. "We were finding out what works and what we can run on them. It set the tone for how we were going to play the rest of the way." The game appeared to be getting out of hand in a hurry on the next drive when Mertz broke off for 46 yards, but a fumble at the end of the play gave the ball back to Langdon. However, a three-and-out dampened any momentum gained. Perhaps the most modest drive of the game for the Hornets carried into the second quarter as Mertz found small gaps. A five-minute drive ended in a 4-yard rush from Mertz and a 21-0 lead for Harvey-Wells County. On the final drive of the first half, Mertz found his third touchdown with two big runs: a 51-yard gain on a fourth-and-3 and a 31-yard run into the end zone. Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald Looking to stay aggressive, Langdon Area-Munich quarterback Eastyn Schaefer pushed the ball downfield through the air, but the Hornet secondary was up to the task. It wasn’t until the final drive of the first half that the passes started connecting. TJ Henderson and Austin Wenzel each hauled in catches for over 25 yards, which set up a 2-yard touchdown catch from Wenzel on third down. ADVERTISEMENT “You don’t want to give up explosive plays at the beginning of a football game like that, but credit to them," Langdon head coach Josh Krivarchka said. "They came out firing and really punched us in the teeth right away. We tried to recover but we just couldn’t quite get momentum.” The Cardinals recovered an onside kick after making the score 44-20, making things a bit interesting in the final quarter. They couldn’t capitalize, however, as the hope for a repeat as state champions was dashed. The Cardinals rushed for just 54 yards, but Schaefer went 9-for-24 for 213 yards passing. Langdon Area-Munich finishes the year 11-2. Kerr and Heitmann connected again in the third quarter, this time for a 43-yard touchdown. Kerr looked downfield throughout the second half, especially on third and fourth down, as Dockter was certain to keep the Cardinal offense off the field. The Hornets put up 585 total yards as Kerr threw for 200 yards on seven completions. “I didn’t want to give them the ball back to their offense," Dockter said. "I told the boys if we don’t get this, I’m probably going to have to move to Langdon. They came through, and they always do. You just have to trust your guys, and that’s what we did and they came through for us.” After losing those first two games of the year, the Hornets rattled off 11 wins in a row and had just one game where they scored less than 35 points. ADVERTISEMENT “When you get to that level, you can do anything," Dockter said. "That’s what our mentality was. We’re here and we can do this to anybody. I’m just so proud of them. The work they have put in is incredible and it has been a hell of a ride." 1 / 4: Langdon Area-Munich's Evan Ottem catches the ball in the second half against Harvey-Wells County in the ND Div. A football championship Friday at the Fargodome. Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald 2 / 4: Harvey-Wells County's Christian Mertz (20) dives into the endzone for a touchdown against Langdon Area-Munich for the ND Div. A championship Friday at the Fargodome. Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald 3 / 4: Langdon Area-Munich's TJ Henderson works for control as Harvey-Wells County's Dylan Heitmann defends in the second half of the ND Div. A championship Friday at the Fargodome. Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald 4 / 4: Langdon Area-Munich players react to their loss to Harvey-Wells County at the end of the ND Div. A football championship Friday at the Fargodome. Eric Hylden / Grand Forks Herald Comments Share Share this article News Reporting News Reporting Based on facts, either observed and verified firsthand by the reporter, or reported and verified from knowledgeable sources. The Trust Project What is this? Tags Tags North Dakota Class A Football LANGDON AREA-MUNICH CARDINALS FOOTBALL NDHSAA By Maxwell Marko Digital Content Producer and Sports Reporter at the Grand Forks Herald since December of 2020. Maxwell can be contacted at [email protected]. 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