November 25, 2024

MADISON, S.D. – Seventeen (17) Dakota State (S.D.) individuals were listed on the 2024 North Star Athletic Association All-Conference teams and postseason awards, announced Monday afternoon by the conference office.  The All-Conference teams and postseason awards were voted by the league head coaches.

DSU finished their 2024 season with an overall record of 6-4 and finished second in the NSAA football standings.  It was the third time in the past four seasons that the Trojans had posted a winning record season.

Dakota State landed five recipients on the First Team All-Conference – Tyce Ortman (running back), Tyler Kjetland (offensive lineman), Caleb Dwyer (defensive lineman), Taron Serr (linebacker), and Deveon Moses (defensive back). 

Ortman (punter), Uziel Ruiz (offensive lineman), Melek Ford (wide receiver), Austin Lake (wide receiver), Collin Brueggeman (linebacker), Jay Skogerboe (defensive back), and Carson Sauseda (kicker) were listed on the North Star Athletic Association Second Team All-Conference.

Chris Guipi-Bopala (linebacker), Brooks Jansen (defensive lineman), Kaden Eng (defensive back), and Joseph Taylor (offensive lineman) were selected to the 2024 NSAA Football All-Conference Honorable Mention.

Braxton Lacher was DSU's recipient to the North Star Athletic Association Football Champions of Character.  He was also selected for the NSAA Football Snapper of the Year for the second consecutive year, where he did not register any bad snaps during special teams plays.

Ortman was named to the NSAA All-Conference teams for the third straight year, his first time being First Team All-Conference.  Kjetland was named to the All-Conference teams for the second consecutive year.  Skogerboe also received the NSAA All-Conference Second Team accolades for the third time during his career at DSU.

DSU's defensive coordinator Anvil Sinsabaugh was voted as the North Star Athletic Association Football Assistant Coach of the Year.  He guided the Trojans to 15.8 points per game allowed this season, tying for the best scoring defense in the North Star Athletic Association.  He led DSU's defensive unit to 266.7 yards allowed and 158 total points allowed, which ranked the best in the league in both categories.

The Trojans' defense limited their opponents to single digits five times during the 2024 season.  DSU's defense also had the league leading 18 interceptions this season.

Below is the list of each Trojan football selection to the 2024 NSAA Football All-Conference teams:

(Name – First/Second/Honorable Mention – height – weight – class – position – hometown – major at Dakota State University)

Tyce Ortman – 1^st team offense and 2^nd team special teams' punter – 5'11" – 195 lbs. – senior – running back/punter – Canistota, S.D. – physical education – Ortman led the North Star Athletic Association in rushing yards per game for the Trojans. He averaged 86.1 rushing yards per game (861 total rushing yards) and rushed for a season-high 161 rushing yards in DSU's 19-8 victory at Valley City State (N.D.) on Sept. 21.  Ortman is second in the league in rushing touchdowns with 10.  He also had 13 catches for 116 yards with a touchdown this season.  Ortman also did punting duties for the Trojans' special teams.  He led the NSAA conference with 37.5 yards per punt (49 total punts), accumulating 1,836 yards.  Fifteen of his punts landed inside the 20-yard line during the season.  He recorded a season-long punt of 61 yards at home versus Valley City State on Oct. 26.  He is fourth in the DSU football single-game school record with 50.0 yards per punt versus Dickinson State (N.D.) on Oct. 12.

Tyler Kjetland – 1^st team offense – 6'5" – 305 lbs. – junior – offensive lineman – Emery, S.D. – business administration – Kjetland was named to the North Star Athletic Association All-Conference teams for the second straight year, being Second Team All-Conference in 2023.  He was a pivotal force of the Trojan balanced offensive line unit that produced 126.2 rushing yards and 158.8 passing yards per game (284.7 offensive yards per game).  Kjetland started at left tackle for the past two seasons for the Trojans.

Caleb Dwyer – 1^st team defense – 6'3" – 240 lbs. – junior – defensive end – Sioux Falls, S.D. – exercise science – Dwyer tallied 39 tackles (25 solo, 17 assist) during the 2024 season for Dakota State, averaging 4.9 tackles per game.  He also had seven quarterback sacks of 50 yards loss.  Dwyer recorded 11.5 tackles-for-loss of 79 yards.  He had racked up 107 tackles during his career at DSU.  He recorded a fumble recovery, a block, and three pass break-ups.  Dwyer produced a season high 11 tackles versus Mayville State (N.D.) on Oct. 5 and three sacks of 30 yards loss at Mayville State on Nov. 9.  He started in all 10 DSU football games at the defensive end position.

Taron Serr – 1^st team defense – 6'1" – 210 lbs. – junior – linebacker – Burke, S.D. – business management – Serr collected 58 tackles (28 solo, 28 assist) this season for the Trojans.  He averaged 5.6 tackles per game and produced 6.0 tackles-for-loss of 21 yards.  He also had an interception and two pass-breakups.  He posted a game-high nine tackles each at Jamestown (N.D.) on Oct. 19 and versus Valley City State (N.D.) on Oct. 26.  This is Serr's first NSAA Football All-Conference First Team recognition at Dakota State.

Deveon Moses – 1^st team defense – 6'0" – 180 lbs. – junior – defensive back – Houston, Texas – biology – Moses transferred to Dakota State from Kilgore Junior College (Texas), where he tied a the second best single-season school record of seven interceptions with three other athletes (Josh Button in 1993, Jeff Rensch in 1991, and Rick Tibbits in 1978).  He led the conference in most interceptions this season.  He was named the NSAA Football Defensive Player of the Week twice, as well as earning the NAIA Football Defensive Player-of-the-Week on Sept. 16 after catching two interceptions versus Jamestown (N.D.) on Sept. 14.  He returned a 'Pick Six' of 60 yards to secure the victory versus UJ.  Moses also had two interceptions at Mayville State on Nov. 9.  He finished the season with 31 tackles and eight break-ups.

Uziel Ruiz – 2^nd team offense – 6'4" – 330 lbs. – sophomore – offensive lineman – Loveland, Colo. – exercise science – Ruiz started at the right tackle position of the Trojans' offense until in all ten games this season.  It is first time being named to the North Star Athletic Association All-Conference Second Team.  He led the balanced DSU's offensive line where they averaged 284.7 offensive yards per game (126.2 rushing yards and 156.8 passing yards per game).

Melek Ford – 2^nd team offense – 6'4" – 170 lbs. – junior – wide receiver – Tampa, Fla. – general studies – After transferring to DSU from Florida Community Christian College and Louisville (Ky.), Ford tied the team-high of 27 receptions for 344 yards.  He averaged 34.4 receiving yards per game (12.7 yards per catch) and caught five touchdowns.  Ford posted a season-high five rebounds for 98 yards versus Dickinson State (N.D.) on Oct. 12.  He ranks sixth in the North Star Athletic Association in receiving yards per game for the Trojans.

Austin Lake – 2^nd team offense – 6'0" – 190 lbs. – senior – wide receiver – Tea, S.D. – business management – Lake caught 20 passes for a team-high of 346 yards with three touchdowns this season for Dakota State.  He averaged 38.4 receiving yards per game, the fifth best in the league.  He caught three touchdowns.  Lake produced a season-high 86 receiving yards at Nebraska Wesleyan on Sept. 7.  He had caught 91 passes for 1,145 yards during his career at DSU.

Collin Brueggeman – 2^nd team defense – 6'2" – 200 lbs. – senior – linebacker – Pierre, S.D. – cyber operations – Brueggeman led the team with 67 tackles (38 solo, 29 assist) during the 2024 season, averaging 6.7 tackles per game for the Trojans.  He also had two quarterback sacks of 15 yards loss and four tackles-for-loss- of 19 yards.  He is tied for third most tackles in the North Star Athletic Association.  Brueggeman racked up 153 career tackles at Dakota State (65 solo, 88 assist), 4.5 quarterback sacks of 29 yards loss, and 4.0 tackles-for-loss of 19 yards loss.

Jay Skogerboe – 2^nd team defense – 6'1" – 190 lbs. – senior – defensive back – New Prague, Minn. – business management – Skogerboe collected his third career NSAA All-Conference Second Team accolades at Dakota State.  He caught two interceptions and recorded 42 tackles (25 solo, 17 assist) this season.  Skogerboe accumulated 11 interceptions and returned them for 176 total yards.  He also had 164 career tackles at DSU (95 solo, 69 assist).

Carson Sauseda – 2^nd team special teams' kicker – 5'10" – 200 lbs. – junior – kicker – Georgetown, Texas – business – Sauseda led the North Star Athletic Association in field goals made with nine field goals this season for the Trojans.  He hit a season-best 52 yards during DSU's 34-3 home victory over rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Aug. 29.  He scored a total of 47 points on his kicking game, including converting 20-of-21 on PAT extra point kicks in 2024.  Sauseda was named to NSAA Football Special Teams Player-of-the-Week twice during the season.  He accumulated 41 kick-offs for 2,357 total yards for the Trojans.

Chris Guipi-Bopala – honorable mention defense – 6'0" – 215 lbs. – senior – linebacker – Wayne, Mich. – accounting/finance – Guipi-Bopala tallied 33 tackles (18 solo, 15 assist) for the Trojans in 2024, averaging 3.7 tackles per game.  He also collected four quarterback sacks of 10 yards loss.  Guipi-Bopala tallied 10.5 tackles-for-loss of 28 yards loss.  He added a forced fumble and a fumble recovery.    

Brooks Jansen – honorable mention defense – 6'3" – 260 lbs. – junior – defensive end – Emery, S.D. – computer science – Jansen recorded 35 tackles (16 solo, 19 assist) as the defensive end for the Trojans this season, averaging 3.5 tackles per game.  He also had 2.5 quarterback sacks of 10 yards loss and 7.5 tackles-for-loss of 16 yards.    

Kaden Eng – honorable mention defense – 6'1" – 200 lbs. – junior – full safety – Castlewood, S.D. – physical education – Eng tallied 34 tackles (25 solo, 9 assist) this season as a full safety for Dakota State's defensive unit.  He also had two interceptions and eight pass break-ups.  Eng was named the NSAA Football Special Teams Player-of-the-Week after returning a block PAT extra point of 97 yards for two points during DSU's 16-6 home victory over Jamestown (N.D.).  He also made a fumble recovery and returned for a touchdown of 10 yards in the same game.

Joseph Taylor – honorable mention offense – 6'1" – 285 lbs. – senior – offensive line – Sacramento, Calif. – cyber operations – Taylor led the balanced Dakota State's offensive line, starting at the left guard position in all ten games in 2024.  The Trojans averaged 284.7 offensive yards per game, with 158.5 passing yards per game and 126.2 rushing yards per game.