It’s January, and if you’re standing outside anywhere near Minot or Grand Forks right now, you’re probably freezing. But honestly, the high school football talk hasn't cooled down one bit. We’ve spent the last few months obsessed with nd high school football scores, refreshing brackets on Friday nights until our thumbs went numb. Now that the dust has finally settled at the Fargodome, we can actually look at the carnage and realize just how wild the 2025 season was.
People think they know North Dakota football. They think it's just about big kids in the trenches and running the ball until the clock hits zero. That’s only half the story. This year, we saw high-flying offenses in Class 3A and absolute defensive masterclasses in the 9-man ranks. If you missed the Dakota Bowl XXXIII in November, you missed a legacy-defining weekend.
The Big Winners: Breaking Down the 2025 ND High School Football Scores
The 2025 season culminated in four major champions who absolutely earned their rings. We aren't just talking about lucky bounces. These were dominant runs.
In Class 3A, the Fargo Davies Eagles didn't just win; they made a statement. They faced off against the Bismarck Century Patriots and basically took control from the opening kickoff. The final score was 41-19. Century is a powerhouse, but Davies had an answer for every blitz and every adjustment the Patriots tried to make. It was the kind of performance that high school kids will be talking about at their ten-year reunions.
Then you have Class 2A. This was maybe the game of the year. The Devils Lake Firebirds took on the Minot North Sentinels. This wasn’t a blowout—it was a heavyweight fight. The lead swapped back and forth so many times the scoreboard operator was probably getting dizzy. In the end, Devils Lake pulled it out with a 39-34 victory. If you were looking for high-stakes nd high school football scores, that was the peak.
The Small Town Powerhouses
You can’t talk about North Dakota football without looking at Class A and the 9-man division. This is where the heart of the state lives.
- Class A Champion: Langdon Area-Munich Cardinals. They took down the Bottineau Braves with a 29-14 score. Langdon has been a force for years, and this championship just solidifies their "dynasty" status in the eyes of many.
- 9-Man Champion: New Rockford-Sheyenne-Maddock Rockets. They beat the LaMoure-Litchville-Marion Loboes 38-22.
The Rockets were an absolute juggernaut this year. They finished the season 12-0. Think about that for a second. Playing 12 games in the ND weather and never slipping up once is basically a miracle. Their semifinal win over Hankinson (72-50) was one of those nd high school football scores that looks more like a basketball game.
Why 9-Man Football is Secretly the Best Product in the State
A lot of people from out of state look at 9-man and think it’s "diet" football. They’re wrong. Honestly, it’s probably the most exciting version of the sport because of the space. You take two players off the field, and suddenly your star running back has lanes the size of I-94.
The Rockets' performance in the 2025 playoffs proved that. They were averaging nearly 60 points a game in the postseason. When you look at the nd high school football scores from the 9-man bracket, you see scores like 80-6 and 58-8. It’s explosive. It’s fast. And for the kids playing in towns like Maddock or New Rockford, it’s everything.
The Rankings That Kept Us Guessing
Throughout the season, the polls were a mess—in a good way. The On3 and MaxPreps rankings were constantly shifting. By the end of December 2025, the composite rankings had New Rockford-Sheyenne as the #1 team in the state regardless of class size based on their undefeated efficiency. Langdon Area followed closely at #2.
It's sorta funny looking back at the mid-September rankings now. Everyone was high on West Fargo and Bismarck High, but the playoffs have a way of humbling even the biggest programs. Bismarck High finished with a respectable 7-4 record, but they just couldn't find that extra gear when the November winds started blowing in Fargo.
2025 Final Top 5 Rankings (Composite)
- New Rockford-Sheyenne (12-0) - 9-Man Champs
- Langdon Area-Munich (13-0) - Class A Champs
- Fargo Davies (11-1) - Class 3A Champs
- Kindred (10-1) - A massive season that ended just short of a title.
- Devils Lake (10-2) - Class 2A Champs
Kindred is an interesting case. They’ve been making noise in AA lately, and even though they didn't walk away with a trophy this time, they are basically the "team to watch" for 2026. Their only loss was a heartbreaker, and most of their core roster is coming back.
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What Most People Get Wrong About ND Football
There’s this misconception that North Dakota high school football is "slow." If you actually watch the film from the Fargo Davies vs. Century game, the speed on the perimeter is legit. These aren't just farm kids running into each other. You have sophisticated spread offenses and defensive schemes that would make some college coaches sweat.
Another thing? The weather isn't always the "great equalizer" people think it is. Sure, it gets cold. But the top-tier teams like Langdon Area or Devils Lake have such disciplined coaching that they don't let a little snow or a 20-mph wind gust change their identity. They just execute better than the other guy.
The Road to the 2026 Season
We are currently in that weird "dead zone" where the pads are put away, and everyone is focused on basketball or wrestling. But if you're a coach, you're already looking at the 2026 schedule. The NDHSAA usually releases the new classifications and regions early in the year, and there’s always drama about who is moving up or down.
Minot North, for example, had an incredible run to the finals in their first real year as a major contender. They lost to Devils Lake 34-39, but they proved the "new kids on the block" are here to stay. Watching their nd high school football scores next year will be a priority for anyone following Class 2A.
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Real-World Action Steps for Fans and Athletes
If you're a player or a parent trying to make sense of the landscape before next August, don't just wait for the first practice.
- Check the NDHSAA website regularly: They post the official 2026 schedules and any rule changes (like potential tweaks to the mercy rule or playoff seeding) by late winter.
- Watch the Hudl film: If you want to know why Fargo Davies won 3A, go watch their defensive rotations. It wasn't just talent; it was a masterclass in gap discipline.
- Offseason Camps: Most of the big-time performers from the 2025 season were the kids hitting the camps at NDSU or UND in the summer.
- Track the 9-man shifts: Small school co-ops change every year. One year you're playing for one town, the next year you’ve merged with two others. Keep an eye on the "co-op" news to see who might be the next New Rockford-Sheyenne.
The 2025 season gave us some of the most memorable nd high school football scores in a decade. Whether it was the high-scoring shootouts in the 9-man division or the defensive slogs in Class A, the state proved once again that football is king in the Peace Garden State. We’ve got about seven months until the lights turn back on, but the conversations started the second the clock hit zero at the Fargodome.