November 7, 2025
Game 9: ROCKY MOUNTAIN (MONT.) (3-5, 3-1 FC EAST at (RV) DAKOTA STATE (S.D.) (6-2, 3-1 FC EAST)
NOV. 8 I BRIAN KERN FAMILY STADIUM ON BLANKLEY FIELD I MADISON, S.D. I KICKOFF: 12 PM (CENTRAL TIME)
FRONTIER CONFERENCE EAST DIVISION GAME #5
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.
Both teams 3-1 in FC East: Both DSU and RMC are 3-1 record in the FC East Division, despite losing to NAIA's nationally-ranked Montana Tech. The Trojans lost to the Orediggers in the East Division season opener 49-21 on Oct. 4, while the Battlin' Bears saw their FC East Division three-game winning streak come to an end on Nov. 1 by the score of 42-13. DSU defeated Dickinson State (N.D.), Valley City State (N.D.), and Mayville State (N.D.) in FC East Division play. RMC earned wins over VCSU, DiSU, and Montana State-Northern.
2025 STATS COMPARISON
|
|
|
|
| 23.0 |
Scoring Offense |
29.8 |
| 85.5 |
Rushing Offense |
129.6 |
| 267.9 |
Passing Offense |
248.3 |
| 382.4 |
Total Offense |
377.9 |
| 29.8 |
Scoring Defense |
19.4 |
| 132.0 |
Rushing Defense |
111.5 |
| 250.4 |
Passing Defense |
168.6 |
| 382.4 |
Total Defense |
280.1 |
| 6 |
Interceptions |
8 |
| 31/39.3 |
Punts/Avg. |
37/34.9 |
| 17-98 |
Sacks-Yards Lost |
21147 |
LAST GAME
(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) controlled the line of scrimmage and executed a balanced offensive attack to roll past Mayville State (N.D.) 44-14 to close their road schedule at Jerome Berg Field in Mayville, N.D. The Trojans earned their sixth win in the last seven games.
The highlight of the game was when DSU's defense held the Comets to zero passing yards, setting a new single game team record for passing yards which was held for 51 years (versus Sioux Falls College in 1974).
Tray Hettick finished the game with 250 passing yards and three touchdowns.
Preston Iverson added eight rushes for 54 yards and a touchdown.
Maddox Kihne,
Samuel Livingston, and
Raesean Eaton each had a touchdown.
Caleb Dwyer led the Trojans' defense with 11 tackles, while
Brooks Jansen added 10 tackles.
Deveon Moses had an interception.
Elliott Devries and Kacey Casey each had a sack.
ABOUT ROCKY MOUNTAIN (MONT.)
Rocky Mountain (Mont.), located in Billings, Mont., suffered their first Frontier Conference East Division setback on Nov. 1. The Battlin' Bears fell to NAIA's nationally ranked No. 5 and East Division leader Montana Tech 42-13 at Herb Klindt Field in Billings.
Rocky Mountain kicked off their 2025 season by facing four teams that are either ranked inside the NAIA's Top 25 or in the receiving votes section. The Battlin' Bears began their season with a 37-20 setback to (RV) College of Idaho), followed by a 34-23 non-conference game defeat to No. 11 Montana Tech on Sept. 13.
The Battlin' Bears dropped a pair of games in the Frontier East-West cross-over contests, falling to No. 9 Montana Tech 35-21 on Sept. 20 and No. 18 Carroll (Mont.) on Sept. 27. RMC began their Frontier East Division action by winning three straight games, defeating Valley City State (N.D.) 31-21 on Oct. 4, Dickinson State (N.D.) 28-21 on Oct. 18, and MSU-Northern 35-21 on Oct. 25 before suffering their first division setback to Montana Tech on Nov. 1.
Chris Stutzriem has been the head coach at Rocky Mountain since the 2019 season. He holds 18-17 all-tme record at RMC prior to the 2025 season. He is the 18th head football coach in Rocky Mountain's football program history. He was named the Frontier Conference Coach of the Year in 2021 after guiding the Battlin' Bears to the conference title.
Rocky Mountain is 2-2 record on the road this season, while 1-3 record on their home field. The Battlin' Bears are 3-5 overall record and 3-1 record in the Frontier East Division, tied for second place in the East Division with Dakota State.
TROJANS GAIN MORE POINTS IN THE NAIA POLL
(RV) Dakota State (S.D.) gained more points in the latest 2025 Netting Professional NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 national poll, the eighth edition of the national poll was announced Nov. 3.
The Trojans collected 16 more points from the previous poll after earning their sixth win in the previous seven games on Nov. 1, defeating Mayville State (N.D.) 44-14 on the road at Jerome Berg Field.
DSU is ranked at No. 31 in the NAIA national poll, listing in the receiving votes section for the third straight national poll.
The top 15 teams remained unchanged in the first November edition of the national poll, highlighted by Frontier East Division's leader Montana Tech at No. 5. Carroll (Mont.) stays at No. 8 after escaping a 41-40 road victory at Southern Oregon.
The Frontier Conference West Division will most likely be decided between Carroll and No. 15 ranked College of Idaho on Saturday. Montana Western moved one spot higher from No. 20 to No. 19.
FRONTIER CONFERENCE WEEK 6 SCHEDULE
The Frontier Conference football league has two weeks left in the regular season, with the NAIA Football Championship Series (FCS) Opening Round starting on Nov. 22. The FC Division is entering their sixth week of contests.
There will be six games on schedule in the Frontier Conference Saturday afternoon. The Frontier West Division title could be decided on Saturday between a pair of 4-0 record teams from No. 8 Carroll (Mont.) and No. 15 College of Idaho in Helena, Mont. Also in the West Division action, Arizona Christian travels to Montana Western and Eastern Oregon hosts Simpson (Calif.).
No. 5 ranked Montana Tech looks to clinch at least a share of the Frontier East title as they visit Dickinson State (N.D.) on Saturday. Also in the FC East Division, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) visits Dakota State (S.D.) and Valley City State (N.D.) travels to MSU-Northern.
Mayville State (N.D.) and Southern Oregon takes a week bye this Saturday and play their final regular season contest on Saturday, Nov. 15.
DSU IN FRONTIER CONFERENCE EAST RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Friday, Dakota State ranks second in the Frontier East Division in scoring offense with an average of 29.8 points per game. The Trojans also average 377.9 offensive yards per game, which is second in the East Division.
Tray Hettick leads the FC East with 270.0 passing yards per game DSU. He is third with 14 passing touchdowns.
Preston Iverson ranks second in the division with 63.0 rushing yards per game, as well as tied for second most rushing touchdowns with five.
Melek Ford is fifth in the division with 65.4 receiving yards per game for the Trojans.
DSU is third in the Frontier East in scoring defense with 19.4 points per game allowed. The Trojans lead the division in total defense allowed with 280.1 yards per game.
Jordan Cooper leads the Frontier East Division with 6.0 quarterback sacks this season for Dakota State.
Taron Serr leads DSU with 6.5 tackles per game, which is fifth best tackles average in the Frontier East.
TROJANS AT BRIAN KERN FAMILY STADIUM
Dakota State is 6-2 all-time record at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field, which began their debut in 2024. The Trojans play their final two home contests this season, including Saturday and next Saturday against a pair of Montana teams.
Dakota State is 3-0 record this season, including victories over Nebraska Wesleyan in the season home opener, Southern Oregon in DSU's homecoming thriller, and Valley City State (N.D.) in the annual Rushin' For a Cure football game.
DSU is averaging 29.3 points per game this season at home.
2025 DAKOTA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM LEADERS
- Rushing: Preston Iverson - 102 rushes, 504 yards, 5 touchdowns
- Passing: Tray Hettick - 117-of-194 (60.3 completion rate), 1,620 yards, 14 touchdowns
- Receiving: Melek Ford - 35 catches, 523 yards, 3 touchdowns
- Scoring: Adrian Villanueva - 42 points, 6 field goals, 24 PAT extra point kicks / Preston Iverson - 42 points - 5 rushing touchdowns, 2 receiving touchdowns
- Punting: Xander Sheehan - 37 punts, 1,292 yards, 34.9 yards per punt
- Field Goals: Adrian Villanueva - 6 field goals
- Kick-offs: Adrian Villanueva - 43 kick-offs, 2,118 yards (49.3 average)
- Returns: Jovi Wolf - 18 returns, 212 yards
- Tackles: Taron Serr - 51 tackles (18 solos, 33 assists)
- Tackles-for-loss: Jordan Cooper - 9.5 tackles-for-loss, 50.0 yards loss
- Sacks: Jordan Cooper - 6.0 sacks, 48.0 yards loss
- Interceptions: Cole Paulson - 2 interceptions, 60 yards return, 1 touchdown / Deveon Moses - 2 interceptions, 6 yards return
