In the former North Dakota Region 4 9-man alignment, which broke up after the 2004 season, Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter coach Dave Laber says that the competition was so strong that if you could get out of the region alive things got a lot easier.
"It's different down here," Laber said. "Once you're done beating on each other and you get out of the area, you usually do alright."
Two years ago, Region 4 9-man football, which was located in southcentral North Dakota, was dissolved due to state realignment. The region featured powerhouse programs such as Linton/Hazelton-Moffitt-Braddock, Edgeley-Kulm, Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter, Underwood, Turtle Lake-Mercer and Strasburg-Zeeland.
Those teams won five straight state 9-man titles from 2000 through 2004.
After the realignment, however, some of these teams didn't have to beat each other to get to the state title games. Most of the teams now are in Region 1 9-man, but Linton/HMB went to Region 1 Class A and Turtle Lake-Mercer to Region 6 9-man.
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Today in the Dakota Bowl, which features the state championships for each division of football, three teams from the former Region 4 9-man will play for state titles in Grand Forks' Alerus Center.
Turtle Lake-Mercer will face Napoleon/Gackle-Streeter in the 9-man title game, while Linton-H-M-B will play Velva in the Class A final.
In other games, Minot will meet Fargo South in the Class AAA title game and Dickinson Trinity will face Watford City in the Class AA final.
Other than Fargo South, the remaining seven teams are located in central or western North Dakota.
That doesn't surprise many teams familiar with the area.
"That was some awfully good football in the region (Region 4)," Linton/H-M-B coach Dan Imdieke said. "There's some good schools with a lot of nice tradition."
Turtle-Lake Mercer coach Keith Sundquist was in the region for about five years. He also was impressed with the competition.
Sundquist pointed to one connection most of those football teams had in common - strong wrestling programs.
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Napoleon/G-S, for example, is a wrestling power, winning five straight state titles.
"It's that mentality," Sundquist said. "They go hand in hand."
The Turtle Lake-Mercer coach likely doesn't mind to no longer be playing in that region.
"We were pretty successful until we started playing in that league," Sundquist said.
Reach Miller at 780-1120, (800) 477-6572 ext. 120 or tmiller@gfherald.com .
