Legacy looks to bring AAA championship back to the WDA

BISMARCK – The Class AAA state championship trophy will belong to either an East Region powerhouse looking to add another banner to its storied history or a West Region program breaking into uncharted territory.

When the Legacy Sabers and West Fargo Packers collide on the Fargodome turf at 6:40 p.m. (broadcast statewide on WDAY), it will cap the Dakota Bowl lineup with a matchup rich in contrasting storylines. The Sabers are making their first-ever Dakota Bowl appearance, carrying a program-record nine victories behind a punishing ground attack and opportunistic defense. The Packers, meanwhile, are returning to the state title stage for the eighth time in school history, seeking their sixth state crown and first since 2017.

To claim the hardware, West Fargo will have to reverse a trend against the only team that decisively controlled them during the regular season, while Legacy looks to cap a historic campaign by joining rare company in its first trip under the dome lights.

How They Got Here: The Road to the Fargodome

Both squads navigated grueling rematches and high-stakes postseason drama to book their passage to Fargo:

Legacy (WDA No. 2 Seed): The Sabers set a physical tone right out of the gate in the quarterfinals, dismantling Fargo Shanley 42-7. In the semifinals, Legacy locked into a defensive slugfest with cross-town rival Century, leaning on their ground game to grind out a 21-14 victory and punch their historic first ticket to the Dakota Bowl.

West Fargo (EDC No. 2 Seed): The Packers proved their resiliency in the opening round, erasing a deficit with a dominant second-half surge to top Mandan 38-26. They followed that up with an offensive showcase in the semifinals, trading blows with EDC rival Fargo Davies before pulling away for a 49-26 shootout victory. The Packers enter the state final riding a five-game winning streak.

The Week 2 Flashback: Turnovers and Ground Control

When the two squads met in Bismarck back in September, Legacy handed West Fargo a 46-19 defeat—a game that established the Sabers as legitimate title contenders.

West Fargo struck first, taking an early lead with the game's opening touchdown, but Legacy responded with 22 first-half points to take a 22-13 advantage into the locker room. The decisive swing came immediately out of halftime: the Sabers pounced for the first two touchdowns of the third quarter to blow the game open and seize complete control.

The defining storyline of the day was ball security. Legacy’s defense harassed the Packers into five turnovers, including four recovered fumbles, constantly giving their offense short fields. The Sabers held a potent Packer attack to 285 total yards and limited West Fargo to 19 points—which still stands as a season low for the Packers.

Legacy’s front seven bottled up Ashton Wigestrand, holding the standout back to 98 yards on the ground. On the other side, Legacy racked up 324 yards of offense behind their signature rushing attack. Beckham Presley-McKay led the charge with 110 yards and two scores on 24 carries, while quarterback Weston Kraft added a pair of touchdown runs of his own.

Two Months Later: How Both Teams Evolved

While the Week 2 film offers schematic clues, November football in the Fargodome is played by two dramatically different squads than the ones that met under the September sun.

West Fargo’s Midseason Metamorphosis:

The 46-19 loss in Bismarck was an early-season wake-up call for the Packers. Since that afternoon, West Fargo has cleaned up the self-inflicted wounds that doomed them early. The five turnovers that plagued them in Week 2 have given way to sharp, disciplined execution during their current five-game winning streak. More importantly, the offense found its true identity. Ryan Camarillo and Wyatt Knudsen blossomed into one of Class AAA's premier pass-catch duos, which in turn opened up cutback lanes for Ashton Wigestrand. The Packers are no longer one-dimensional; they enter the dome averaging nearly 400 yards per game and scoring in bunches (87 combined points over two playoff contests).

Legacy’s Championship Polish:

For the Sabers, Week 2 proved their physical blueprint worked against the East's best—and they spent the next two months refining it to near perfection. Legacy didn’t try to reinvent itself; it leaned even harder into its identity. The offensive line evolved into a punishing, cohesive unit that routinely wears down defensive fronts in the second half. Weston Kraft matured into one of the state's most composed game managers, pairing deadly red-zone efficiency (11 TDs to just 2 INTs) with back-breaking scrambles on third downs. Meanwhile, a defense that pounced on four fumbles in September proved in the playoffs that it can win in every style—dismantling Shanley in a blowout before suffocating a high-powered Century offense in a tense 21-14 semifinal grinder.

Impact Players to Watch

Legacy Sabers (9-2)

Legacy's identity is built in the trenches: establishing downhill rushing lanes, controlling the clock, and turning takeaways into points. The Sabers have amassed 3,740 yards of total offense (2,829 rushing, 911 passing) and boast a ball-hawking defense with 25 takeaways (15 interceptions, 10 fumble recoveries).

Beckham Presley-McKay, RB: The focal point of the Saber ground game. Presley-McKay has rushed for 1,248 yards and 18 touchdowns on 204 carries, setting a physical tone on every possession.

Weston Kraft, QB: An efficient operator who takes care of the football. Kraft has completed 73 of 104 passes for 911 yards and 11 touchdowns against just two interceptions, while churning out 677 rushing yards and 12 touchdowns on the ground.

Josh Link, WR: Legacy’s primary threat through the air. Link paces the receiving corps with 35 catches for 430 yards, serving as a reliable target on third down and in red-zone situations.

Blaze Miller, DB: The catalyst in the secondary. Miller leads the Sabers with 67 tackles and anchors a defensive backfield that thrives on jumping routes and forcing mistakes.

West Fargo Packers (8-3)

The Packers present one of the most balanced offenses in North Dakota, generating 4,280 total yards with an almost 50-50 split (2,175 rushing, 2,105 passing). While their defense has surrendered 3,472 yards (2,045 rushing), they make up for it with timely disruption, having forced 18 turnovers (9 interceptions, 9 fumble recoveries).

Ashton Wigestrand, RB: The postseason MVP for West Fargo. After surpassing 1,000 rushing yards in the regular season, Wigestrand has reached another gear in November. He enters the Dakota Bowl fresh off an eye-popping 223-yard, 5-touchdown masterclass against Davies in the semifinals.

Ryan Camarillo, QB: The steady triggerman of the Packer offense. Camarillo has connected on 125 of 213 passes for 2,080 yards, distributing the ball across the field to keep opposing front sevens from loading the box.

Wyatt Knudsen, WR/TE: Camarillo’s primary big-play target. Knudsen leads the team with 45 catches for 813 yards and 10 touchdowns, presenting a matchup problem on the boundary and down the seam.

Camden Moore, LB: The anchor in the middle of the Packer defense. Moore has tallied a team-best 90 tackles and will be central to West Fargo’s efforts to plug interior gaps against Legacy's run-heavy scheme.

Fries at the Bottom of the Bag

Broadcast & Kickoff: Kickoff is set for 6:40 p.m. at the Fargodome, capping Friday's championship slate. The game will be televised statewide on the WDAY broadcast network.

The Hidden Third Phase: In playoff football, field position and point-after consistency often tilt tight fourth quarters. Both squads enter the dome with strong, battle-tested kickers and reliable specialist units. In controlled indoor conditions with no wind or frozen turf to navigate, having dependable range on field goals and automatic extra points gives both coaching staffs confidence on borderline four-down territory.

The 2021 Rematch Echo: This marks the first time since 2021 that Legacy and West Fargo have squared off twice in the same season. That fall, the Packers swept both encounters, taking the regular-season clash before shutting out Legacy in the state quarterfinals on their way to a Dakota Bowl runner-up finish. Five years later, Legacy looks to turn the tables and complete a season sweep of their own.

Chasing 2014 Davies History: Making a Dakota Bowl debut is tough; winning it is even rarer. The last Class AAA team to win the state championship in its first-ever Dakota Bowl appearance was Fargo Davies in 2014, when the Eagles rolled past Minot High, 41-10. Legacy aims to become the first program in 12 years to capture the crown on its maiden trip.

Bringing the Hardware Back West: Legacy carries the banner for the WDA. The last time a West Region team captured the title was 2023, when Minot High topped Fargo Shanley 38-35 in a classic. The Sabers look to ensure the trophy heads back out west.

Record-Setting Sabers: Legacy’s nine victories are a single-season program high, eclipsing the school’s previous mark and cementing this 2026 squad as the winningest team in school history.

Series History: West Fargo holds an 8-4 advantage in the all-time series, but the Sabers have controlled the matchup lately, winning three straight against the Packers dating back to last fall.

Championship Pedigree vs. The Newcomer: This marks West Fargo’s eighth Dakota Bowl appearance, where the Packers hold a 5-2 mark in title games (State titles in 1993 Class A; 1998, 1999, 2002, 2003, and 2017 in Class AAA; runner-up in 2021). Legacy is looking to become the newest program to earn a title.

The 100-Yard Threshold: In Week 2, Legacy held Wigestrand to 98 rushing yards—his lowest output against a playoff squad this season. When Wigestrand clears the century mark, the Packers are undefeated on the year.

Ball Security Under the Roof: Legacy forced five turnovers in the September meeting (+4 turnover margin on the day). Under the bright lights and big stage that is the Fargodome, limiting unforced errors and winning field position will be critical for both sides.

 Legacy vs. West Fargo (Photo/Lyle Ripplinger)