1. Can New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock Make History?
The Rockets are attempting to do something that has only been done once in 9-man football history: win a third straight state championship.
We discussed the champions of the ’90s last fall and highlighted the New England teams of 1995, 1996 and 1997 that accomplished the feat. A few others have gotten close, but only one has pulled it off.
Linton won back-to-back titles in 2002 and 2003. They also won it in 2000, meaning they were one championship away from winning four straight. Cavalier captured back-to-back titles in 2013 and 2014. Now the 2024 and 2025 Rockets are next in line to take their shot at the three-peat.
Most of us realize that small-town football comes with peaks and valleys. Without the sheer number of kids that bigger schools have to choose from, you’re relying on those special groups of athletes who come through together and give you a tight two or three-year window to make a run.
Usually by that third year, the law of averages starts collecting its debts. A few more seniors have graduated. Maybe the 220-pound lineman who anchored everything for three years isn’t walking through the door anymore. The next class might be good, but it isn’t that class. That’s just life in 9-man football.
Replacing Easton Simon
There is also the small matter of replacing Easton Simon.
Simon saved one of his best performances for his final high school game. He completed 32 of 43 passes for 405 yards and four touchdowns in the 2025 Dakota Bowl, setting championship-game records for passing yards, completions and attempts in the process.
That’s not exactly the kind of production you replace by handing the next guy the keys and telling him not to scratch anything.
Simon earned first-team All-State honors at quarterback and was at the controls for both years of this championship run. Now somebody else gets the job of running an offense that has spent the last two Novembers playing for a state championship.
The good news for whoever wins that job is that the cupboard isn’t empty. Thomas Allmaras returns after earning first-team All-State honors as a junior, giving the new quarterback one of the better returning players in 9-man football to work with.
That’s what makes this three-peat attempt different. This isn’t simply bringing the same group back for one more run. One of the most important pieces of the last two championship teams is gone, and now we find out whether New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock has reached the point where the program can reload instead of rebuild.
New England survived graduation long enough to win three straight in the ’90s. Linton and Cavalier got to two before their runs ended.
Now it’s the Rockets’ turn.
Can they do it? We’ll find out soon enough.
2. LaMoure-Litchville/Marion: Are We Really Doing This Again?
I have to imagine there are plenty of people in the LaMoure-Litchville/Marion area who are sick of New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock.
The Loboes have made it to back-to-back Dakota Bowls, which would normally be a pretty enjoyable sentence to write. Unfortunately, New Rockford was waiting for them both times. The Rockets beat LLM 62-26 in the 2024 championship and did it again, 38-22, last November.
The worst part? This thing actually goes back another year. New Rockford knocked LaMoure out in the quarterfinals in 2023, meaning the last three LLM football seasons have all ended at the hands of the same team.
The Loboes are no strangers to post-season success in the FargoDome, either. They won the championship in 2021 42-14 over Cavalier. They have been there and done that, but unfortunately for them, they’ve ran into the same team three years in a row and come up short.
Can the Loboes Get Back Again?
Lost in all the New Rockford talk is the fact that LaMoure has been on a great run themselves. You don’t accidentally make two straight state championship games. Preston Arndt is back after making first-team All-State on the defensive line as a junior last season.
Now they get another shot at it. Maybe the Loboes get back to Fargo. Very possible that New Rockford does too. Maybe somebody else saves LLM the trouble and knocks the Rockets out before they ever see them.
It certainly seems like the NDAPSSA feels like we are in for round three if you take a look at the first poll of the season. (We will be getting to that at the end of this list.)
3. Where have all the quarterbacks gone?
The entire first-team all-state QB group from 2025 graduated: RaeShaun Earl, Berkley Frantz, Easton Simon and Drayson Johnson.
There are still some returning second-team all-state selections coming into the season with high expectations. A few to keep your eyes on:
Kaden Moore, Sr. (North Border) The senior had more than 2,000 combined rushing and passing yards with 29 total touchdowns as a junior. He can get it done with his arm or his legs, topping 1,000 yards in both categories.
Westin Enger, Sr. (Hatton-Northwood) Enger had a big year through the air with 1,664 passing yards, 26 touchdowns and just six interceptions. A different type of quarterback than Moore, he’ll look to take another step into first-team all-state territory this fall.
Kelton Friesz, Sr. (Grant County-Flasher) Another returning second-team all-state player, Friesz is entering year three under center. In 2025, he had the unfortunate luck of running into New Rockford-Sheyenne/Maddock in the playoff quarterfinals. The Friesz family is pretty used to watching one of their own play quarterback, as Kelton took over the job from his brother Javin in 2024.
Other names to watch: Jonathan Mears (North Prairie), Dayson Dubois (Four Winds), Rylen Anderson (North Star)
*Week 1 match-up of North Border vs. North Prairie features Moore vs Mears will be a good one to pay attention to.*
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