VELVA, N.D. — The Valley City Hi-Liners opened their season Friday with a 16-0 loss to defending state champion Velva-Drake/Anamoose-Garrison in a defensive slugfest.

Both defenses dominated the first half, though in different ways. Velva relied on size and athleticism up front to shut down Valley City’s rushing attack and prevent big plays on the outside. The Hi-Liners did not record a first down in the opening half. Valley City’s defense countered with a bend-but-don’t-break approach, turning back three Aggies drives inside their own territory with stops on fourth down.

The Hi-Liners opened the second half with momentum as Kaleb McClaflin provided a strong kick return and Corbyn Powell added a pair of receptions to advance the ball to the Velva 30-yard line. But an ill-timed penalty stalled the drive, and Valley City turned the ball over on downs.

Velva nearly gave the ball back when running back Logan Vincent appeared to fumble near midfield, but officials ruled his knee was down. The Aggies capitalized moments later as quarterback Cooper Kittleson evaded multiple sacks and found Mason Kraft wide open for the game’s first touchdown. A two-point conversion made it 8-0.

Velva extended its lead with another long drive in the fourth quarter. Kittleson kept the possession alive with another fourth-down scramble, then capped the series with a goal-line option keeper. After another two-point conversion, the Aggies led 16-0.

Valley City managed just 51 yards of total offense and was unable to rally in the closing minutes.

“We will continue to stress the fundamentals, and culture is not made overnight,” Hi-Liners head coach Chad Smith said. “We must keep building on our core values of passion, wisdom and loyalty. Tonight I felt we met two of those. Now, can we learn wisdom from our growth?”

Valley City (0-1) will host Langdon-Edmore-Munich in its home opener at 7 p.m. Friday, Aug. 29. The game will be broadcast on KOVC 1490 AM/96.3 FM, streamed on NewsDakota.com and available on the KOVC Live YouTube channel.