“Sometimes it gets troubling watching him, because I always forget what I’m supposed to do,” Tardif said with a smile. Tardif is no slouch himself. His blazing speed is the perfect complement to Fernandez’s dazzling skill. Together the senior strikers have combined for 37 goals and 19 assists, powering the state’s highest-scoring offense (4.0 goals per game). “Playing with (Tardif) is great,” Fernandez said. “He’s so fast and so technical, it’s so easy to play with him.” Fernandez and Tardif will be crucial to Bismarck’s title hopes as the state tournament gets underway today in Mandan. The Demons open against Fargo South. “As a coach you just smile, because you know no matter what the score is, you know you can get a goal at a moment’s touch,” Bismarck coach Tim Green said. Fernandez and Tardif have been two of the West Region’s top forwards since they were freshmen in 2008. But they haven’t always been teammates. Fernandez, who moved to Bismarck in 2007, began his high school career at St. Mary’s recording nine goals and four assists as a freshman. But after his first year there, he thought he would feel more comfortable at a bigger school. “I spent my life living in big cities – Washington D.C., San Diego, Mexico City, Toronto,” Fernandez said. “… It was about school, not soccer.” Which is a good thing. Because Fernandez waited so long to transfer, NDHSAA rules prevented him from playing on the BHS varsity as a sophomore, and he spent the season on the Demons JV. Fernandez kept a positive attitude and was ready to make an impact as a junior, contributing 10 goals and six assists. But this season Fernandez has truly broken out. He is tied with Minot’s P.K. Annan for the West Region lead in goals with 21 and is by far the top point-getter with 53. “Patrick may be the most dynamic player I’ve ever coached,” Green said. “He’s that special. Technically on the ball, he’s unbelievable – I think he surprises himself sometimes.” Tardif was a well-established scoring threat before Fernandez arrived at BHS. As a freshman, he led the Demons in scoring with a dozen goals, then tacked on 10 more as a sophomore. Last season Tardif was again Bismarck’s top point-producer with 13 goals and 10 assists. This season he enters state with 16 and seven. A top track athlete, Tardif says he is even faster than last year. Training for the national meet last summer – where he helped his 400 relay team place seventh – has paid dividends in soccer. “His speed is an uncoachable factor – he’s that fast, that dangerous,” Green said. ” … The two of them feed off each other.” Tardif also has the ability to shine at critical moments. In 10 state tournament games he has scored nine goals. Last week he had both Bismarck’s tallies in its 3-2 loss to Century in the West Region title game. “I just like dealing with pressure,” Tardif said. “Pressure is what makes soccer fun. … And there’s the urgency of knowing this is my last year of high school soccer.” Bismarck isn’t the only local team with title aspirations. After getting off to a 3-3-0 start, Century has reeled off nine straight wins and won the West Region tournament. The Patriots are a confident bunch heading into their quarterfinal matchup with Fargo Davies. Century has been an outstanding tournament team since Joel Jahnke became head coach in 2007. The Patriots have played in all five West Region tournament finals, winning the last three. They have also advanced to the state title game three times in four years, winning in 2007. Century has many key players back from last year’s team – including leading scorer T.J. Gunsch, goalkeeper Mason Buchholz, Alec Rauhauser, Jeff Gendreau – and will have a big edge in experience over Davies. “You’d like to think that would help, but players get nervous,” Jahnke said. “We have confidence after beating Bismarck, but there is pressure on both teams.” St. Mary’s has a tough draw in defending state champion West Fargo, the second seed from the East. The Saints beat the Packers 2-0 last month. “I always say that doesn’t mean a whole lot,” St. Mary’s coach Brandon Keller said. “West Fargo’s an athletic team. They play very, very hard. … That was four weeks ago. Teams can change, players can change, formations can change.” With the likes of Ben Weisbeck (16 goals), the Saints have plenty of offense. But midfielder Kevin Keller, one of St. Mary’s top players, has been battling a deep bruise in his knee. He is expected to play. The Packer offense is led by Lucas Miller (7-13-27), Sam Saville (5-7-17) and Kory Wolden (9-1-19). West Fargo has a trio of all-region performers – Brandon Beyer, Paul Lanctot and Brady Rotert – in its backfield. Fargo Shanley, the top seed from the East, has scored more goals (67) and allowed fewer (eight) than any team in the state. The Deacons hold wins over every other team in the tournament except St. Mary’s. Six Deacons made all-region, led by senior Cam Hager. Minot is led by P.K. Annan (21 goals) and Ekow Annan (13).

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