Horace Hawks win first football state championship in program history

FARGO (KVRR) – It was a moment none of them will forget, the Horace Hawks are the Class AAA North Dakota state football champions after beating Grand Forks Red River 14-8. In a game where the defense played a major role for the Hawks, they had three big interceptions for the program that only started playing football in 2022.

“What you love about Horace. It’s not just one person. It’s not just one coach. It’s not just one player, it’s a community. Everybody won that wore the black and gold tonight.” said Harvey McMahon, Head Coach of Horace.

The Hawks lost in the state semifinals last year, and this squad had one thing on their mind. And that was to erase that pain and win it all. Plays like the pick-six by Israel Bauer helped solidify that mentality.

“Just the work we’ve put in. Ever since the day after we lost to North we were grinding. We didn’t want to feel like the heartbreak of a loss again. We’ve just been putting in so much work that we have the confidence coming here. We knew how much we went through.” said Bauer.

Bauer mentioned after the game that this team has plans to repeat.