Transition game: Mott-Regent receiver Mosbrucker using Badlands Bowl to learn 11-man game

• Chad Mosbrucker

Press Photo by Dustin Monke Mott-Regent receiver Chad Mosbrucker catches a pass Monday during practice for the Badlands Bowl high school all-star football game at the Dickinson High School practice field. Mosbrucker, who will play for Dickinson State in the fall, is beginning his transition from 9-man to 11-man at the Badlands Bowl.

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What: Badlands Bowl, Montana vs. North Dakota All-Star high school football game

Gametime: 6 p.m. Saturday

Place: Badlands Activities Center

Tickets: $10 Adults, $5 Kids ages 12 and under

Tailgate Party: 3 p.m. at College Park, $6 per person

The game has changed, but storyline remains the same.

Chad Mosbrucker has taken the football field countless times.

However, the Mott-Regent wide receiver will be playing in his first 11-man football game when he suits up for Team North Dakota at 6 p.m. Saturday in Badlands Bowl all-star game against Team Montana at the Badlands Activities Center.

“I’m excited,” Mosbrucker said. “It’s a little different from 9-man and I’m a little nervous for the game. I’m going to be playing 11-man in college and this will be a good test for me.”

Mosbrucker torched almost every receiving record for the Wildfire. He holds the record for career receptions (133), touchdowns (27) and yards (2,133). His solid hands were also a defensive weapon, grabbing 16 interceptions during his high career.

Last year, Mosbrucker led Mott-Regent with 64 catches for 1,027 yards and 13 touchdowns.

“We liked his height initially,” team North Dakota head coach Rod Oksendahl said. “His 6-3 height was something that appealed to us right away. The more research we did on him, we found out he’s a good jumper. We felt that he would fit into what we do offensively really well.”

Oksendahl, the head coach at Fargo Shanley, said Mosbrucker is paired two talented wide receivers and though they don’t have much depth, the trio should provide some different options for the team’s starting quarterback Devin Coyle of Mandan.

“I think we’re going to have a situation there where we have balance and we can go anywhere with the ball,” Oksendahl said. “Mosbrucker, (Aaron) Janz and (Devin) Schirado are going to be very good. We’ve got a couple other kids, Jon Baune from Fargo South and Justin Arp from Sargent Central. We feel like we have four or five guys that we can go to.”

Janz, a 6-foot-2 receiver from Mandan and has signed to play baseball for North Dakota State, is rooming with Mosbrucker this week and said they’ve talked about the transition from 9-man to 11-man.

“I actually just talked with him about that today (Tuesday),” Janz said. “He’s used to just basic play calls, go run a fade, a post. The play calls have been different for him. It’s actually been an easy transition and he said he likes it.”

Mosbrucker is in for another transition this fall when he joins the Dickinson State football team, which means the Badlands Bowl couldn’t have come at a more perfect time. He said the game creates a stepping stone toward college.

“I think this game will prepare me well for college,” he said. “My mentality going in is that I’m going to be playing with and against some good athletes around the state of North Dakota and Montana. It’s going to be a good challenge.”

Mosbrucker has already taken the learning curve by the horns and his teammates and coaches have been assisting him throughout the process.

“He’s never ran plays like we are running now, so he isn’t used to that,” Bismarck High receiver Devin Schirado said. “It’s going to take some time to get used to it, but he’ll be ready by Saturday.”

“They’ve been helping me a lot,” Mosbrucker added. “It’s different from 9-man to 11-man and they’ve been real patient with me as I try to get a hold of things.”

Schirado said he’s looking forward to catching passes from Coyle, who is signed to play defensive back for University of North Dakota. Mosbrucker and Schirado were both named as selections to the Lions All-Star basketball series on Tuesday.

“I’ve always wanted Coyle to throw me the ball,” said Schirado, who will attend the University of Mary in the fall. “I’ve seen him play before and he always throws a perfect ball. It’s going to be fun to have him throwing the ball.”

The message that Mosbrucker, Schirado and Janz all portrayed is that they are ready to play this game.

“Three practices a day gets pretty long,” Janz said with a laugh. “We’re anxious and Saturday can come pretty quick for us. We’ve got a lot put offensive and defensive-wise it’s just perfecting it now.”

Team North Dakota Roster

Justin Arp, 6-6, 215, TE/DL, Sargent Central; Jon Baune, 6-2, 200, TE/FS, Fargo South; Devin Coyle, 6-0, 168, QB/DB, Mandan; Jeff Dennison, 5-9, 170, WR/DB, Grand Forks Red River; Joey Fuher, 6-0, 175, WR/DB; Bismarck Century; Tucker Fylling, 6-5, 260, TE/DL, Central McLean; Brett Gehring, 6-0, 235, OL/LB, Bismarck High; Josh Hansana, 6-2, 175, QB/DB, North Sargent; Alex Herold, 6-5, 260, OL/DL, Bismarck St. Mary’s; Aaron Janz, 6-2, 195, WR/DB, Mandan; Adam Jiskva, 6-1, 175, WR/DB, Grafton; Austin Knutson, 5-9, 265, OL/NG, Fargo South; Landon Lechler, 6-7, 240, OL/DL, Beach; Phaden Marcellais, 6-2, 238, OL/DL, Mandan; Dayton Marek, 6-0, 195, RB/LB, Grand Forks Red River; Zayne Medhaug, 6-1, 185, RB/DB, Wahpeton; Chad Mosbrucker, 6-3, 180, WR/DB, Mott-Regent; Brandon Nelson, 6-1, 200, WR/DB, Fargo Shanley; Jack Plankers, 6-7, 290, OL/DL, Kindred; Austin Raftevold, 6-1, 195, QB/SS, Fargo South; Colton Razo, 6-0, 295, C/DL, Minot; Zach Rhone, 6-2, 200, TE/LB, Bismarck Century; Tyler Rivard, 6-0, 175, RB/WR/LB, Fargo Shanley; Devin Shirado, 6-2, 165, WR/DB, Bismarck High; Conrad Schwarzkopf, 6-2, 280, OL/DL, Bismarck Century; Landon Smith, 6-2, 215, RB/LB, Stanley-Powers Lake; Chris Sommer, 6-1, 205, OL/LB, Devils Lake; Preston Tescher, 6-0, 185, QB/LB/S, Bismarck St. Mary’s; Jake Watson, 6-2, 195, TE/LB, Mandan; Seth Westby, 6-1, 195, RB/LB, Mandan; Porter Williams, 6-2, 216, OL/DE, Minot High.

Tags: high school football, chad mosbrucker, mott-regent wildfire, sports, preps, football