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FORKS, N.D. (NewsDakota.com) For the second straight year, Bismarck St. Mary’s stands a top 2A football after holding off Fargo Shanley 21-7 in the state title game Friday night in Grand Forks.

St. Mary’s was the first to hit the scoreboard when running back Noah Krebs broke through the defensive line and doled out a 58 yard run with just 1:28 left in the opening quarter. The Saints would strike again with just 30 seconds remaining in the first half when quarterback Gus Smrekar found Dillon Reiner on a 15 yard pass to take a 14-0 lead.

As the seconds ticked a way on the second quarter it appeared that Fargo Shanley had pulled to with in 7 when Matt Burd hit Tre Fort on a 20 yard pass, however, the play was called back on a hold. With just four seconds remaining in the opening half the Deacons were unable to find their way back into the end zone and would go into the break with nothing to show on the score board.

The second half was all defense until the fourth quarter. That is when Zach Burd finally got the Deacons into the end zone on a powering one yard run. After cutting the score to seven, Shanley forced the Saints to punt the ball away on their next drive. Byrne Curl did just that trapping the Deacons on their own six yard line. After losing five yards on the first play, Matt Burd threw a pass over the middle looking for Kelvin Caga. Instead it found Bismarck St. Mary’s Jacob Huber who made his way into the end zone unscathed to give the Saints a 14 point advantage with just 50 seconds left. 

The interception would prove to be the games final score as the Saints picked up their second consecutive 2A title and finished the season a perfect 12-0. The Deacons end the year 10-2, both losses to Bismarck St. Mary’s.