November 14, 2025
THE SERIES
Series Overall: 1st meeting all-time
Series Notes: Both teams play their first division game on Saturday, where Dakota State enters first year in Frontier Conference.
Head-to-Head Facts: Dakota State is second in the Frontier East Division in scoring with 276 total points this season. MSU-Northern is last in the Frontier East Division with 127 total points scored. The Trojans are currently on a four-game winning streak, while the Lights are on a five-game losing skid. The last time DSU earned eight victories in a single season was during the 2017 season where they finished the year with an overall record of 8-3.
2025 STATS COMPARISON
|
|
|
|
| 12.7 |
Scoring Offense |
30.7 |
| 79.9 |
Rushing Offense |
127.9 |
| 148.2 |
Passing Offense |
242.6 |
| 228.1 |
Total Offense |
370.4 |
| 30.5 |
Scoring Defense |
18.0 |
| 147.9 |
Rushing Defense |
102.6 |
| 236.8 |
Passing Defense |
164.3 |
| 384.7 |
Total Defense |
266.9 |
| 8 |
Interceptions |
12 |
| 68/34.4 |
Punts/Avg. |
45/34.1 |
| 19-94 |
Sacks-Yards Lost |
24-167 |
LAST GAME
After a scoreless first quarter, (RV) Dakota State (S.D.) erupted for 28 straight points and never trailed in the game to roll past Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 38-7 in the Frontier East Division contest at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field. It was the fourth straight win for the Trojans, their seventh win in the last eight games.
DSU jumped to a 14-0 halftime lead and extended their lead to 28-7 after three quarters. The Trojans added 10 points in the final quarter to secure the victory.
Tray Hettick threw for 197 yards and two touchdowns for DSU.
Preston Iverson added 83 rushing yards and 74 receiving yards with a touchdown.
Tamareon 'Frosty' Foster had a 65-yard 'Pick Six' interception return for touchdown for DSU.
Taron Serr had eight tackles and an interception.
Deveon Moses and
Michael Foster each added an interception.
ABOUT MONTANA STATE UNIVERSITY-NORTHERN
Montana State University-Northern, located in Havre, Mont., is 1-9 overall record and 0-5 record in the Frontier East Division this season. The Lights are on a four-game losing skid, since their lone winner of the season coming on Sept. 27 versus Eastern Oregon 23-7 in the Frontier Conference cross-over contest.
MSU-Northern kicked off their East Division contest with a 49-7 home setback to Montana Tech on Oct. 11. The Lights fell short for their first division win at Mayville State (N.D.) 21-17 on Oct. 18.
Montana State-Northern fell to Rocky Mountain (Mont.) 35-21 on Oct. 25, Dickinson State (N.D.) 37-20 on Nov. 1, and Valley City State (N.D.) 13-7 in their home finale on Nov. 8.
Jerome Souers is in his fourth season as the head coach at MSU-Northern. He returned to Montana after serving as the head football coach of Northern Arizona University of the Big Sky Conference for 21 years. He was named the Big Sky Conference Coach of the Year in 1999. In 2020, he took on the defensive coordinator position at Southern Oregon for two years and headed to MSU-Northern in 2022 to take the head coaching position.
MSU-Northern is 0-4 record on the road this season and 1-5 record at home.
TROJANS NEAR NAIA'S TOP 25 POLL; FIGHT FOR NAIA PLAYOFF SPOT
(RV) Dakota State was just one spot and one point shy of joining the NAIA's Football Coaches' Top 25 national poll, the national office announced the ninth installment of the football national poll on Nov. 10.
The Trojans tallied 77 points with a No. 26 ranking (trailing to Saint Xavier, Ill., at No. 25 ranking with an overall record of 7-3 and 78 points). Dakota State earned their seventh win in the last eight games. The Trojans are currently on a four-game winning streak before Saturday's game.
Four other Frontier Conference teams are listed in the NAIA's Top 25 national rankings, with Montana Tech at No. 4 (tied with Friends, Kan.) and College of Idaho at No. 13. Both teams secured a spot in the NAIA FCS Football playoffs after winning their respective divisions (MT in the East and CI in the West).
Carroll dropped six spots from No. 8 to No. 14 after their home loss to College of Idaho last Saturday. Montana Western climbed one spot from No. 20 to No. 19 after cruising past Arizona Christian 66-14 in their regular-season finale.
DSU is fighting for a potential spot to the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS). The Trojans are listed at No. 23 in the Football Performance Index (FPI) as of last Monday.
The NAIA will be holding their Selection Show on Sunday evening at 6 p.m.
FRONTIER CONFERENCE WEEK 7 SCHEDULE
The Frontier Conference football league is heading to their final regular season schedule on Saturday. Two Frontier teams secured a spot to the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS), which is scheduled to start on Nov. 22 with the Opening Round. The top 12 national seeds will have a bye in the first round.
There will be six games on schedule in the Frontier Conference regular season finale on Saturday afternoon. In the Frontier Conference East Division, (RV) Dakota State hosts MSU-Northern and Rocky Mountain (Mont.) welcomes Mayville State (N.D.). No. 4 ranked Montana Tech looks to close the regular season with the East Division title outright as they host Valley City State (N.D.).
No. 14 ranked Carroll (Mont.) is fighting for one of the final spots in the NAIA FCS Football Playoffs as they host Eastern Oregon in the Frontier West Division. Simpson (Calif.) travels to Arizona Christian, seeking for their first Frontier West Division victory this season. No. 13 College of Idaho looks to clinch the West Division title outright title as they host Southern Oregon.
Dickinson State (N.D.) has concluded their 2025 season after falling to Montana Tech 31-7 in the regular season finale. Montana Western, No. 19 ranked in the final poll, is also idle on Saturday and is hoping to secure one of the final spots in the NAIA football playoffs along with Dakota State (S.D.).
DSU IN FRONTIER CONFERENCE EAST RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Friday, Dakota State ranks second in the Frontier East Division with 30.7 points per game in scoring. The Trojans are also third in the East Division in scoring defense with 18.0 points per game allowed.
The Trojans average 370.4 yards per game this season, which is second best in East Division. DSU is second int he FC East Division with 266.9 total yards allowed.
Tray Hettick leads the Frontier East Division with 259.6 passing yards per game for the Trojans. He also ranks second with 16 passing touchdowns.
Preston Iverson is second with 65.2 rushing yards per game and tied for second most touchdown rushes.
Taron Serr ranks fifth with 6.7 tackles per game, while
Jordan Cooper leads the FC East with 7.0 quarterback sacks.
TROJANS AT BRIAN KERN FAMILY STADIUM
Dakota State is 7-2 all-time record at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field, which began their debut in 2024 (finished that year with 3-2 record).
Dakota State is 4-0 record this season, including victories over Nebraska Wesleyan in the season home opener, Southern Oregon in DSU's homecoming thriller, Valley City State (N.D.), and Rocky Mountain (Mont.)
DSU is averaging 31.5 points per game this season at home, while holding their opponents to 7.8 points per game.
2025 DAKOTA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM LEADERS
- Rushing: Preston Iverson - 119 rushes, 593 yards, 5 touchdowns
- Passing: Tray Hettick - 127-of-222 (57.2 completion rate), 1,817 yards, 16 touchdowns
- Receiving: Melek Ford - 38 catches, 586 yards, 3 touchdowns
- Scoring: Adrian Villanueva - 50 points, 7 field goals, 29 PAT extra point kicks
- Punting: Xander Sheehan - 43 punts, 1,469 yards, 34.2 yards per punt
- Field Goals: Adrian Villanueva - 7 field goals
- Kick-offs: Adrian Villanueva - 50 kick-offs, 2,422 yards (48.4 average)
- Returns: Jovi Wolf - 23 returns, 261 yards
- Tackles: Taron Serr - 58 tackles (20 solos, 39 assists)
- Tackles-for-loss: Jordan Cooper - 10.5 tackles-for-loss, 58.0 yards loss
- Sacks: Jordan Cooper - 7.0 sacks, 51.0 yards loss
- Interceptions: Deveon Moses - 3 interceptions, 6 yards return
