BISMARCK — The first legal forward pass in football happened in 1906.
Since then, the game has seen numerous changes with a number of teams going with spread formations, putting the emphasis on quarterbacks and receivers.
But on Saturday afternoon at Peyton-Moss Field in Bismarck, the game of football might go back to its old-school style when the Seneca Fighting Irish featuring a straight-t formation takes on the Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin Blue Devils featuring the wing-t.
“It’s going to be a battle of the brutes,’’ said Bis-Henn/Ross-Al senior lineman Ethan Hall. “This game is going to be won upfront … it’s who can be tougher in the end, honestly. That’s who is going to win this one.
“It’s going to take a lot of grit, determination and we are going to have to be tough for the whole game.’’
According to Bis-Henn/Ross-Al coach Mark Dodd, this type of game just solidifies his top goal of blocking and tackling.
“We are looking forward for a good hard-fought, physical game. Our kids know that and want that,’’ Dodd said. “That’s something a year ago at this time, we couldn’t win that type of game. We just couldn’t. This year, we have a different and more physical type team.
“We are not very big, but we are definitely stronger and more physical than we’ve been in the last couple of years.’’
The Blue Devils (10-0) passed a very physical test in the first week of the playoffs. Erie-Prophetstown gave Bis-Henn/Ross-Al a tremendous battle and the Panthers size was a lot for the Blue Devils.
“We’ve been able to get by without being very big for nine weeks, but last week was the first time that size really mattered,’’ he said. “Erie’s front was just ginormous and it bothered us.
“Seneca is a little bigger than us but they are not that size. We are back to our comfort zone.’’
Even without multiple 250-pound linemen, the Fighting Irish (9-1) are still averaging 312.7 rushing yards per game as senior running back Brody Rademacher averages 158.3 yards per game and 16.4 yards per carry.
“They run a real tricky offense,’’ said Bis-Henn/Ross-Al senior Evan Parish, who averages 11.5 tackles per game. “It’s hurt a lot of teams but we have a really good game plan going into this.’’
So, what makes this offense so tricky?
“There is a lot of deception and a lot of fakes,’’ Parish added. “We are going to have to trust our eyes. We have been given a lot of keys to help us.
“We just need everyone to do their own job, no one has to be bigger than the job they have been assigned.’’
Sometimes that easier said than done.
“When we went in on Sunday to watch film, I thought ‘what a nightmare trying to stop this’,” Dodd said. “But as the week has gone on, I’ve felt a little better and a little better. It’s still going to be a very big task, but our coaches and players have done a really nice job and we are getting more comfortable and more comfortable with each practice.
“It’s just very hard to see because they make the ball disappear. You have to be disciplined with your eyes and perfect with your technique.’’
And putting things into perspective, Seneca has only attempted 24 passes this season, completing 13 for 238 yards and five scores.
On the other hand, the Blue Devils are still alive in the playoffs thanks to three receptions for 132 yards last week by senior wide receiver Chaz Dubois, including the game-winning 55-yarder with 38 seconds left in the contest.
BHRA needed those passing yards because its run game managed just 64 yards on 23 carries.
“We have to run the ball better than we did last week,’’ Parish said. “(Erie-Prophetstown) game planned pretty well for our running game. This week, we need to execute better and spread the ball around.
“We just made some assignment mistakes that I think we have gotten cleaned up this week.’’
Hall said the Blue Devils will need to adjust and adapt to how Seneca lines up defensively.
“We are going to have to be better and more physical,’’ he said. “We have to win it upfront, in the trenches.’’
Dodd agrees, but also admits that having the ability to throw is also important.
“I think we can be tough to prepare for like a lot of other teams,’’ he said. “They have to prepare for three different types of offense, we have the ability to run between the tackles, we have the ability to run outside and we have the ability to throw it.’’
Seneca was a member of the Vermilion Valley Football Conference in 2021 and 22 and part of scheduling agreement in 2018 and 2019 — those were the only previous meetings with Bismarck-Henning/Rossville-Alvin. The Blue Devils won both contests, 54-28 in 2018 and 28-0 in 2019.
Now, the Fighting Irish are champions of the Chicagoland Prairie Conference, which includes Dwight, Ottawa Marquette, Peru St. Bede and Walther Christian from Melrose Park.
Today’s game is set for a 2 p.m. kickoff and the game can be heard locally on WRHK-FM 94.9.