October 10, 2025

Game 7:  VALLEY CITY STATE (N.D.) (4-2, 1-1 FC EAST) at DAKOTA STATE (S.D.) (4-2, 1-1 FC EAST)
OCT. 18 I BRIAN KERN FAMILY STADIUM ON BLANKLEY FIELD I MADISON, S.D. I KICKOFF:  4 PM I TAILGATE:  1 PM
FRONTIER CONFERENCE EAST DIVISION GAME #3

THE SERIES
Series Overall: 38th meeting all-time (VCSU leads series 30-7)
Series Notes: Dakota State hosts Valley City State (N.D.) at Brian Kern Family Stadium for the second straight meet.  The Trojans swept the season series with the Vikings last season in the former North Star Athletic Association, earning 19-8 win in Valley City, N.D., and 13-6 in Madison, S.D.  DSU had won three  times in the last five meetings with VCSU.  The teams did not score more than 21 points in the last four meetings.      
Identical Records: Both Dakota State and Valley City State are 4-2 overall record and 1-1 record in the Frontier East Division.  Both teams also went 2-0 record in the Frontier East/West Division cross-over contests in late September. 
 

19.0	Scoring Offense	25.7
117.0	Rushing Offense	118.5
143.3	Passing Offense	258.8
260.3	Total Offense	377.3
13.7	Scoring Defense	22.3
118.0	Rushing Defense	91.7
128.7	Passing Defense	207.3
246.7	Total Defense	299.0
8	Interceptions	5
29/36.4	Punts/Avg.	29/35.7
8-57	Sacks-Yards Lost	14-106

LAST GAME
Dakota State (S.D.) notched their first ever Frontier Conference East Division victory, as well as their first ever win in Dickinson, N.D., on Oct. 11.  The Trojans held on to a thrilling 27-25 road victory over Dickinson State (N.D.), who has won the previous ten North Star Athletic Association football conference titles.

Dakota State led 17-13 by halftime, as their lead grew to 24-13 in the early fourth quarter.  The Trojans held on to the victory as Taron Serr's recovered DiSU's onside kick with nearly one minute left in the game.  

DSU's defense held the Blue Hawks' rushing offense to seven total yards in the game.  The Trojans outgained DiSU 400-358 in total offensive yards.

Tray Hettick threw for 299 yards with two touchdowns.  Preston Iverson added 73 rushing yards.  Melek Ford had career highs, 13 catches for 174 yards and two touchdowns.  Deveon Moses led the defense with nine tackles.  

ABOUT VALLEY CITY STATE (N.D.)
Valley City State (N.D.), located in Valley City, N.D,, fell in their season opener at then-No. 15 ranked Dickinson State (N.D.) 30-15 on Aug. 28.  The Vikings then won four times in the last five games.

VCSU posted two straight shutout victories over Augsburg (Minn.) on Sept 4 and 3-0 at Eastern Oregon on Sept. 20 in the Frontier Conference crossover opener.  The Vikings returned home in the previous three games and went 1-1 record.  Valley City State held to defeat Simpson (Calif.) 27-21 on Sept. 27.

The Vikings dropped their Frontier East Division opener versus Rocky Mountain (Mont.) on Oct. 4 by the score of 31-21.  VCSU earned their third shutout victory on Oct. 11, earning a 21-0 victory over Mayville State (N.D.).

Dennis McCulloch, the all-time wins leader in Valley City State's football history with 163 wins.  He led his squads to six conference championships and four NAIA playoff appearances.  He has been named conference Coach of the Year six times during his career.

Valley City State is 3-1 record at home and 1-1 record on the road.  The Vikings play three road games in their final four regular season contests, with stops at MSU-Northern on Nov. 8 and at No. 6 ranked Montana Tech on Nov. 15.

FRONTIER DIVISIONAL WEEK NO. 2 RECAP
The Frontier Conference East and West Divisional contests entered their second week.  

Montana Tech remained undefeated in the Frontier East Division play after rolling past MSU-Northern 49-7 in Havre, Mont.  The Orediggers stayed undefeated with 7-0 overall record and 2-0 FC East Division record.  The Lightsfell to 1-5 overall record and 0-1 record in the division.

Rocky Mountain was idle last week in the East Division, the first team to have bye week.  Mayville State (N.D.) (4-3, 1-1 FC East) was shut out by Valley City State (N.D.) 21-0 last Saturday.

Dakota State (S.D.) earned their first divisional win, defeating Dickinson State (N.D.) 27-25.  The Trojans, along with the Vikings, are 4-2 overall record and 1-1 FC East Division.  The Blue Hawks dropped their fourth straight game, falling to 2-4 overall record and 0-2 FC East Division.

Current No. 11 ranked Carroll (Mont.) highlighted the FC West Division with the NAIA Top 25 victory on the road over then No. 8 ranked Montana Western 42-34.  The Fighting Saints won their fourth straight game, raising their overall record to 5-1 and 2-0 record in the West Division.  UMW fell to 4-2 overall record and 1-1 FC West Division.

Eastern Oregon (2-3, 1-0 FC West) opened their Frontier West Division with a 26-6 home victory over Arizona Christian (1-4, 0-2 FC West).

Southern Oregon (2-4, 1-1 FC West) earned their first divisional win with a 48-17 victory at Simpson (Calif.) (0-6, 0-2 FC West).  It was SOU's second win this season over SU.

FRONTIER CONFERENCE WEEK 3 SCHEDULE
The Frontier Conference football league enters their third week of divisional play in the East and West divisions.

The West Division will feature another NAIA's Top 25 battle for the second straight week.  No. 20 ranked College of Idaho returns from their bye week as they host No. 15 ranked Montana Western in Caldwell, Idaho.

The West Division's schedule also includes Simpson (Calif.) at No. 11 Carroll (Mont.) and Eastern Oregon at Southern Oregon.  Arizona Christian plays a non-conference game at nationally-ranked Ottawa (Ariz.).

The Frontier East Division schedule includes MSU-Northern at Mayville State (N.D.), Dickinson State (N.D.) at Rocky Mountain (Mont.) and Valley City State (N.D.) at Dakota State (S.D.).

No. 6 ranked Montana Tech will take their bye this Saturday and return to action on Oct. 25 as they host Mayville State (N.D.).

DSU'S DEFENSE RANKS
Dakota State's rushing defense held Dickinson State (N.D.) to seven total yards in Trojans' 27-25 road victory on Oct. 11.  It was the lowest rushing yards allowed for DSU in the all-time series with Dickinson State (N.D.), which began in 2000 in the former Dakota Athletic Conference.

It was the second time this season that the Trojans held their opponent to single digit rushing yards.  DSU held Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) to minus two years in the season opener in Mitchell, S.D., on Aug. 30.

Dakota State leads the Frontier East Division in points allowed with 22.3 points per game. The Trojans are also second in the division in rushing yards allowed (91.7 yards per game), and total yards allowed with an average of 299.0 yards per game.  

TROJANS IN THE FC EAST CONFERENCE RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats website as of Thursday, Dakota State (S.D.) ranks second in the Frontier Conference East Division in scoring offense with 25.7 points.  The Trojans also lead the East Division in fourth down conversions with 83 percent successful rate (10-of-12 on fourth downs).

DSU ranks second the FC East Division in offensive yards per game with an average of 377.3 offensive yards.  

Tray Hettick leads the Frontier Conference East with 296.8 passing yards for the Trojans.  He is also third in the division with nine passing touchdowns.  Preston Iverson ranks third with 59.3 rushing yards per game.  Melek Ford averages 69.0 receiving yards per game, which is fourth in the FC East Division.

Taron Serr ranks eighth in tackles per game with an average of 6.8 tackles per game for DSU.  Deveon Moses also ranks 10th with 6.5 tackles per game.  Jordan Cooper ties for fifth most quarterback sacks in the East Division with 3.0 sacks.  


2025 DAKOTA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM LEADERS

• Rushing:  Preston Iverson - 75 rushes, 362 yards, 2 touchdowns
• Passing:  Tray Hettick - 83-of-139 (59.7 completion rate), 1,187 yards, 9 touchdowns
• Receiving:  Melek Ford - 27 catches, 415 yards, 3 touchdowns
• Scoring:  Adrian Villanueva - 30 points, 5 field goals, 15 PAT extra point kicks
• Punting:  Xander Sheehan - 27 punts, 969 yards, 35.9 yards per punt
• Field Goals:  Adrian Villanueva - 5 field goals
• Kick-offs:  Adrian Villanueva - 28 kick-offs, 1,380 yards (49.3 average)
• Returns:  Jovi Wolf - 12 returns, 109 yards
• Tackles:  Taron Serr - 40 tackles (16 solos, 24 assists)
• Tackles-for-loss:  Jordan Cooper - 5.5 tackles-for-loss, 30.0 yards loss
• Sacks:  Jordan Cooper - 3.0 sacks, 25.0 yards loss
• Interceptions:  Cole Paulson - 2 interceptions, 60 yards return, 1 touchdown