Of the 69 players the West Fargo high school football team regularly practices with, coach Jay Gibson said he was missing about 20 each day this week due to the flu.
"We didn't know who would be here, and who wouldn't," Gibson said.
Packers senior quarterback Bryce Jorgenson definitely didn't appear to be one of those battling illness against Grand Forks Central on Friday.
Jorgenson passed for 294 yards, rushed for two touchdowns and passed for two more as West Fargo beat the Knights 28-0 at Cushman Field.
"Bryce has been real good this year," Gibson said. "Most of his throws are on the money. He was hitting guys in the hands all night."
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West Fargo, which was ranked fifth in the latest Class AAA state poll, improved to 5-3. The Knights dropped to 2-6.
Jorgenson finished 13-for-20 passing and didn't need to throw much in the second half with the Packers holding a comfortable lead.
"We had trouble with their passing," Central coach Bill Lorenz said. "We gave (Jorgenson) too much time. With that much time, it was too much to ask of our defensive backs to stick with their receivers."
The Packers were most impressive through the first quarter and a half, building a 21-0 lead with 8 minutes, 55 seconds left in the second quarter.
West Fargo marched down the field on its first drive capped by a Jorgenson 14-yard quarterback draw to make it 7-0.
Jorgenson made it 14-0 with a 5-yard touchdown run on the first play of the second quarter. On the Packers' next possession, Jorgenson hit Brady Schwartz down the middle of the field for an 82-yard touchdown connection and a 21-0 edge.
"(Jorgenson) really makes them go," Lorenz said. "If he's not under pressure, he doesn't force a throw. He does a nice job of hitting the open guy."
Jorgenson spread out the yards among his receivers. Schwartz led the Packers with four catches for 122 yards and two touchdowns, Zach Neer had four catches for 94 yards and Tyler Lehmann had one catch for 43 yards.
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Schwartz also caught an 8-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter for the final margin.
"Neer had a real nice night with yards after the catch," Gibson said. "And Brady had a big touchdown with Drew Lemke throwing a great block. Brady isn't the fastest guy. He was pretty tired after that one."
The Knights, meanwhile, were plagued by penalties and turnovers. Central had lost three fumbles and one interception.
"We shot ourselves in the foot," Lorenz said. "You can't do that, especially against a good team like West Fargo. But you can't really do that against anybody."
West Fargo 28,
GF Central 0
Key play: Brady Schwartz's 82-yard touchdown reception from Bryce Jorgenson for a 21-0 lead.
Key player: Jorgenson, 294 passing yards, 2 rush TDs, 2 pass TDs.
