As word gets out about how easy it is to find employment, there is concern in some communities as to whether or not existing educational facilities will be able to handle the growth. Fargo and Bismarck as well as Watford City, or McKenzie County, have already begun the process of easing that burden.
Fetsch said that Bismarck and Fargo are a year or two out from introducing new facilities, and that he's just starting to hear about Watford City.
"Otherwise," he said, "there hasn't been a lot of talk about new facilities to this point."
McGregor warned North Dakota prep football fans of becoming too enthusiastic should they spot an athlete that seems to fit the bill of top-tier football player. Some kids don't go out for football at all, or they end up moving back home.
Watford City coaching legend Fred Fridley will be pacing the Wolves sidelines for the 42nd-straight season as head coach this fall and he is all too familiar with the point McGregor made.
A year ago his starting fullback transferred in and this fall he is nowhere to be found. Trent Grinnes, a transfer from Clinton (Ark.), appeared to be his starter at quarterback this fall, but he has become a no-show at practices. Junior Bo Cook will replace Grinnes at quarterback for the first two games until returning starter Keegan Thompson returns in week 3.
Still, Fridley (315-99) had plenty of talent transfer in. After estimating he would suit up a handful of new Wolves on the opening day of fall camp, Fridley welcomed eight new football players, counting Grinnes.
"Some kids go out just to go out," Fridley said. "But these guys all have football backgrounds. They should all have a pretty good grasp of things, they're all 10th and 11th graders and they all played ninth grade football. If they don't play much this year, they will definitely help us somewhere down the line."
Some of the cities players are coming in from include: Post Falls, Idaho; Milaca, Minn.; Turtle Lake, N.D.; Clinton, Ark.; Tuskegee, Ala.; Lindale, Texas; Boise, Idaho
Comparing Fridley's newest Wolves football team to those of the 2006-2010 era would be a stretch, Fridley admits. Those Wolves squads compiled a 47-9 record and won Class AA state championships in 2006 and 2008.
"I think we could be close to playing at that level," Fridley said. "Surely, size-wise and physical-wise we will be pretty good. But at this time we don't have the backfield we had in those days. My guys still have to step up and show me something."
Having produced nine state championship football teams himself, Fridley knows a little about power football. The 42-year Woves coach does not see a power shift brewing. But he said the steady crop of transfers should keep Watford City in the AA ranks for some time.
"We played AA most of my coaching life," he said. "We used to bounce from class-to-class, but now, because of the oil boom we will go from being one of the smaller schools in AA to one of the larger schools."
McGregor predicts a lot of balance in his area this fall – which is typical. While the football programs in the Dickinson area have not received a high number of game-breaking athletes, the football teams there have improved.
"It's not like every family is staying home," he said. "Every football team is getting better."
