Fargo South coach Kevin Feeney's gameplan, at least in the early going, was simple enough.

Catlin Solumn left. Catlin Solumn right. Catlin Solumn up the middle.

The trouble was, the West Fargo Packers couldn't stop it.

Solum's success atoned for his teammates' mistakes, staking Fargo South to an early lead with a 53-yard run around the right side of his offensive line, as the Bruin running back staked the No. 2 team in the state to a 7-0 lead in the final minutes of a tough opening quarter. It would be all the Bruin defense would need, as South pitched a 24-0 shutout at Lodoen Field, handing the Pack (5-3, 3-3 EDC) their third straight loss of the season.

";He's (Solum) just a great back,"; Jay Gibson, head coach of the Packers, said. ";He's like a sports car. He can do that zero to 60 thing in no time flat. So once he got around the edge, it was over."; Solum's run was the answer to a series of South struggles. He carrised the ball five straight times to start the game, but on third and long near midfield, Nate Lynnes intercepted South quarterback Brandon Larson's first pass attempt of the game, and turned the momentum to the home tame.

That was, until the Packer offense was swarmed by the South defense. Quarterback Tom Bishoff lost 11 yards on the first play from scrimmage, and West Fargo went three-downs and out on their first series.

But another Bruin turnover put the Packers, seemingly, in business. Bishoff's 42-yard punt was muffed by Bruin return man Tyler Glass, and Tyler Swanson recovered at the Bruin 17-yard line. The Packers were set up deep in Bruin territory.

Again, the South defense responded. Another sack, this time of Rob Gibson, moved the ball back to the 25. Swanson was stuffed on second down and long, and Gibson was sacked again on third down. A 42-yard field goal attempt by Bishoff went awry when Colin Gatz had trouble handling the snap, and the Packers turned the ball over on downs. Three plays later, Solum made his game-breaking run.

The two teams battled defensively, with a distinct advantage to South, for the next several series. West Fargo's offense started from their own 18, 22, and 16 after the touchdown, which led to the Bruins simply pinning their ears back and blitzing away at the Packer offense.

";They came at us hard,"; Gibson said. ";Look, they're a great team, probably the best in the state. They should have been up on us by sixty points by the end of the half if you look at it on paper. Our guys played with a lot of guts.";

The Packers stayed within the single score until late in the first half, when Solum made another play. Coming off the edge on a punt by Bishoff, Solumn blasted his way past the upman, Lynnes, and blocked the attempt. Lynnes recovered the ball in the endzone for a Bruin safety, preventing the touchdown, but the South lead was upped to 9-0.

On the ensuing free kick, South took over at its own 32. With a little more thanr a minute left in the half, Feeney went to his passing game. Larson completed a quick out to wide receiver Kevin Kramer for 12 yards. Then, Larson went deep, hitting all-state wideout Evan Savageau on a go-route for 42 yards, setting the Bruins up inside the Packer 20 with 22 seconds left. An interference call and a hold, both on the Packers, moved South inside the 5. And with 12 seconds on the clock, Larson tossed a fade in the corner to Savageau, which the officials ruled he came down with, and the Bruins followed with a 2-point conversion to make it 17-0 at the half.

";That's just a great receiver making a play,"; Gibson said. ";He kind of had it with one arm, and the replay shows that he really didn't make the catch, so that's a tough call. But it's a big play.";

Still, down1 17-0, the Packers kept scrapping. Led by their defense, which didn't allow a South first down in the third quarter, much less a score, the third-place team in the EDC hung around. And when Bishoff limped off with an injury, Colin Gatz infused some offense in the team for the first time since the early moments.

Gatz, taking over at quarterback from his own 9-yard line, ended a streak of five straight three-and-outs by the Packer offense on his first snap, completing a pass to Taylor Bertek for 11 yards and a first down. Rob Gibson was interfered with on the next attempt, moving West Fargo to the Packer 35. Gatz then scampered for an 8-yard keeper, moving the ball near midfield. On the next play, he hit Gibson for a 29-yard strike and move the ball in to Bruin territory for the first time since the fumbled punt.

";I just felt like it was my chance to contribute,"; Gatz, a senior quarterback who is third string on the chart, said. ";My line did a good job blocking and I had some chances.";

His next play looked like the biggest chance, as Gatz hit Gibson right in the hands at the 1-yard line near the west sideline. But Gibson, looking to stay inbounds with his feet, lost control of the ball, and it fell incomplete. On Gatz's next attempt, he found Cole Horsager over the middle, but the ball defeleted off the junior receiver's shoulder and into the hands of South defensive back Matt Wenell, killing the Packer drive.

After the turnover, Feeney kept it on the ground with junior back Billy Scholl. He picked up 57 yards on a five-play drive, the last carry a 32-yard touchdown run that created the final margin.

";You have to be proud of our defense,"; Gibson said. ";They're big and fast and really strong, and we fought as long as we could. I think we have a great team on defense and they did a wonderful job.";

South wound up with nearly 250 yards on the ground, but controlled the time of possession by a large margin in the first half. Larson had 101 yards passing, but the story of the day was not the Bruin offense.

The South defense, led in particular by linebacker Joey Dawson, held the Pack to minus-29 yards on the ground. That was helped by the absence of all-conference player Gavin Schmidt, who the Packers lost on the first play from scrimmage.

";He's so important in a game like this because he can make plays that no one else can,"; Gibson said. ";But we've got to play with the guys we have, so we'll work Tyler (Swanson) into the offense and come back (Wednesday night) against North.";

The Packers have a chance to sew up the No. 3 spot representing the East in the upcoming AAA playoffs with a win over the Spartans, who trail West Fargo by a game in the standings. North, meanwhile, could force West Fargo into a play-in game on Tuesday, Oct. 25, if they win on their home field.

Wednesday's game is at 7 p.m. at the Spartan Field in north Fargo.