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Aug. 6—GRAND FORKS — The start of high school football in North Dakota is approaching rapidly.
Grand Forks Red River and Grand Forks Central both took the first major step toward Week 1 Thursday morning.
The Knights and Roughriders each held their first full preseason practice on a breezy, sunny day in Grand Forks. Red River practiced next to Cushman Field, while Central worked through drills at the practice field next to Purpur Arena.
"You go through so much in the offseason that when Day 1 finally rolls around, you're wondering, 'Did we do this, this and this?'" Knights head coach Jake Schauer said. "But it's just great to be back out here with the guys, a good crew that really knows how to work. We're excited for the season."
Both Grand Forks teams made the North Dakota Division AA playoffs in 2025 and lost in the quarterfinals. The Riders (4-6) suffered a 20-6 defeat to Minot North, while the Knights (7-3) were beaten 42-7 by the eventual state champion, Devils Lake.
The Riders and Knights will each have to reload at key positions to make another postseason appearance.
Red River graduated three All-Eastern Dakota Conference players, including starting quarterback Matt Dosch.
The Riders, however, will have Reese Walters back for his senior year. Walters was Red River's starting quarterback last year until he suffered an injury against Kindred roughly a month into the season.
"I think it's pretty clear who the No. 1 is," Riders head coach Vyrn Muir said. "We have four kids trying to play the quarterback position. Two of them are sophomores in the developmental stage, coming up from freshman ball. Reese is the clear No. 1, and (junior Joe Motherwell) has got to find a way to be the guy that's ready if we need to call upon him."
Red River returns a handful of seniors at skill positions, including running back Cam Irion and wide receivers Caden Tostenson and Max Mannausau.
The Riders will spend the next few weeks sorting out the offensive and defensive lines. Dominic Leech and Zander Waind, two All-EDC offensive/defensive linemen, both graduated.
"We only have one lineman returning, and he didn't start playing until about halfway through the year," Muir said. "Our skill guys are the guys with all the experience. They went through the battles, so they're the ones that are going to have to help us set the tone."
Central also faces turnover at key positions. Wide receiver/defensive back Brooklan Bruce, running back/linebacker Naz Fisher and tight end/linebacker Eli Thompson were the three All-EDC players the Knights lost in the offseason.
"There are definitely some huge shoes to fill," Schauer said. "But we've got enough pieces back that are exciting and have the playing time to help those guys along. I'm excited for the guys who get to fill those shoes."
Central does return experience at quarterback, though.
Brody Leddige became the starter as a sophomore last season after splitting snaps with Noah Lease through most of the year. His best performance came in a 44-20 victory over Red River in which he finished with 281 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.
Leddige won't enter his junior season unchallenged, though.
Asher Fischer, who won the state championship in the North Dakota Class A javelin throw as a freshman last season, is already a standout as a sophomore. Jackson Bossert, a three-sport athlete, is another option heading into his junior year.
"There's always competition," Schauer said. "We've got three really good older quarterbacks who have all put in a ton of work, and it's really fun to watch them complement each other. ... We have three kids who are great leaders, and they can play both sides of the ball a little bit. This is the most comfortable I've ever felt at the quarterback position because of that depth."
The Knights open the season Aug. 28 against Bismarck St. Mary's in a 7 p.m. road game.
"We take it one day at a time," Schauer said. "I'm going to focus on today and then focus on tomorrow. I really like where we're at right now. You can tell these guys have put in the work in the summer — we have sophomores who already know a lot of our playbook."
Red River opens on the same day with a 6:30 p.m. road game at West Fargo Horace.
"We try to throw as much as we can at our kids the first five days (of practice)," Muir said. "We review everything as much as we can after that, and then we get ready to play a game. So we'll have some guys who will probably feel a little overwhelmed mentally here the first few days, but after our scrimmage next week, everything's review. Hopefully by the time we get to game week, our guys that are going to play for us will be somewhat comfortable in what they're going to be doing."
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Grand Forks Red River and Grand Forks Central both took the first major step toward Week 1 Thursday morning.
The Knights and Roughriders each held their first full preseason practice on a breezy, sunny day in Grand Forks. Red River practiced next to Cushman Field, while Central worked through drills at the practice field next to Purpur Arena.
"You go through so much in the offseason that when Day 1 finally rolls around, you're wondering, 'Did we do this, this and this?'" Knights head coach Jake Schauer said. "But it's just great to be back out here with the guys, a good crew that really knows how to work. We're excited for the season."
Both Grand Forks teams made the North Dakota Division AA playoffs in 2025 and lost in the quarterfinals. The Riders (4-6) suffered a 20-6 defeat to Minot North, while the Knights (7-3) were beaten 42-7 by the eventual state champion, Devils Lake.
The Riders and Knights will each have to reload at key positions to make another postseason appearance.
Red River graduated three All-Eastern Dakota Conference players, including starting quarterback Matt Dosch.
The Riders, however, will have Reese Walters back for his senior year. Walters was Red River's starting quarterback last year until he suffered an injury against Kindred roughly a month into the season.
"I think it's pretty clear who the No. 1 is," Riders head coach Vyrn Muir said. "We have four kids trying to play the quarterback position. Two of them are sophomores in the developmental stage, coming up from freshman ball. Reese is the clear No. 1, and (junior Joe Motherwell) has got to find a way to be the guy that's ready if we need to call upon him."
Red River returns a handful of seniors at skill positions, including running back Cam Irion and wide receivers Caden Tostenson and Max Mannausau.
The Riders will spend the next few weeks sorting out the offensive and defensive lines. Dominic Leech and Zander Waind, two All-EDC offensive/defensive linemen, both graduated.
"We only have one lineman returning, and he didn't start playing until about halfway through the year," Muir said. "Our skill guys are the guys with all the experience. They went through the battles, so they're the ones that are going to have to help us set the tone."
Central also faces turnover at key positions. Wide receiver/defensive back Brooklan Bruce, running back/linebacker Naz Fisher and tight end/linebacker Eli Thompson were the three All-EDC players the Knights lost in the offseason.
"There are definitely some huge shoes to fill," Schauer said. "But we've got enough pieces back that are exciting and have the playing time to help those guys along. I'm excited for the guys who get to fill those shoes."
Central does return experience at quarterback, though.
Brody Leddige became the starter as a sophomore last season after splitting snaps with Noah Lease through most of the year. His best performance came in a 44-20 victory over Red River in which he finished with 281 passing yards, three passing touchdowns and a rushing touchdown.
Leddige won't enter his junior season unchallenged, though.
Asher Fischer, who won the state championship in the North Dakota Class A javelin throw as a freshman last season, is already a standout as a sophomore. Jackson Bossert, a three-sport athlete, is another option heading into his junior year.
"There's always competition," Schauer said. "We've got three really good older quarterbacks who have all put in a ton of work, and it's really fun to watch them complement each other. ... We have three kids who are great leaders, and they can play both sides of the ball a little bit. This is the most comfortable I've ever felt at the quarterback position because of that depth."
The Knights open the season Aug. 28 against Bismarck St. Mary's in a 7 p.m. road game.
"We take it one day at a time," Schauer said. "I'm going to focus on today and then focus on tomorrow. I really like where we're at right now. You can tell these guys have put in the work in the summer — we have sophomores who already know a lot of our playbook."
Red River opens on the same day with a 6:30 p.m. road game at West Fargo Horace.
"We try to throw as much as we can at our kids the first five days (of practice)," Muir said. "We review everything as much as we can after that, and then we get ready to play a game. So we'll have some guys who will probably feel a little overwhelmed mentally here the first few days, but after our scrimmage next week, everything's review. Hopefully by the time we get to game week, our guys that are going to play for us will be somewhat comfortable in what they're going to be doing."
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