This is only a test, a test to measure the playoff desires of a certain West End team.

Coach Bart Haflich and his Noxon Red Devils have passed a lot of gridiron tests so far this season, many of them in the friendly confines of the West End of Sanders County.

Trekking to Park County this week, the Devils will go down to Gardiner Saturday for an important afternoon game with the Elijah Bird-led Bruins. Both teams will enter the battle with 1-1 records in Western 6-Man conference, and both are 3-2 overall.

Gardiner is fresh off a 69-30 win over Valley Christian while the Red Devils fell 67-18 to the No. 3 ranked Hot Springs Savage Heat on the road last week.

One thing Haflich knows for sure heading into Gardiner is that the Devils must contain the dynamic Elijah Bird. Bird ran all over Valley last week, ringing up 285 yards on 22 carries and adding 50 more yards on pass receptions. He scored six touchdowns on the day.

"He is a one-man wrecking ball, a very athletic player that can hurt you in a lot of ways," Haflich said. "We will need to keep eyes on him all the time and contain him the best that we can."

With their playoff hopes very much still alive, the Devils were surprised by how efficient league-leading Hot Springs (2-0, 6-0) was against them last Friday.

"I was impressed, they have improved a lot from what I saw on the film I was watching earlier this season," Haflich said. "Their team speed was a real problem for us, they tackle and block well. They are just a very solid team with a lot of post-season potential if they can keep playing like they did against us."

The teams traded scores early before Hot Springs took control, building a 61-22 lead by halftime.

After Hot Springs scored a touchdown and added the two-point kick for an 8-0 lead, the Devils answered with Rylan Weltz barging in from one yard out for a Noxon TD, and Derreck Christensen's successful two-point boot tied things up at 8-8.

After the Savage Heat scored three straight touchdowns on passes from Brandon Knudsen to Kyle Lawson, Weltz found the end zone again on a 35-yard scoring run. Josh Baldwin bolted 60 yards for Noxon's final touchdown of the first half, and Christensen connected for another two-point kick following Baldwin's score.

Jared Webley scored Noxon's final touchdown of the evening on a five-yard run in the fourth quarter.

For detail on Hot Springs' efforts in the game please see other story.