September 19, 2025
Game 3: DAKOTA STATE (S.D.) (1-1, 0-0 FC EAST) at ARIZONA CHRISTIAN (0-1, 0-0 FC WEST)
SEPT. 20 I ACU FOOTBALL FIELD (1 CARDINAL WAY) I GLENDALE, ARIZ. I KICKOFF: 9 PM (CENTRAL TIME)/7 PM (ARIZONA TIME)
THE SERIES
Series Overall: First all-time series meeting
Series Notes: Saturday's game will be the first all-time series meeting between Dakota State (S.D.) and Arizona Christian. ACU joined the Frontier Conference as an associate member in football since 2023. DSU joined the Frontier Conference as a full membership in 2025-26.
Frontier Cross-over: The Frontier Conference football schedule is on their cross-over schedule this Saturday and next Saturday, where the East Division teams takes on the West Division teams. DSU visits Arizona Christian Saturday and hosts Southern Oregon on Sept. 27. ACU travels to Mayville State (N.D.) on Sept. 27.
2025 STATS COMPARISON
|
|
|
|
| 25.5 |
Scoring Offense |
10.0 |
| 157.5 |
Rushing Offense |
153.0 |
| 183.0 |
Passing Offense |
67.0 |
| 340.5 |
Total Offense |
382.0 |
| 11.5 |
Scoring Defense |
58.0 |
| 87.0 |
Rushing Defense |
179.0 |
| 104.5 |
Passing Defense |
203.0 |
| 148.0 |
Total Defense |
382.0 |
| 1 |
Interceptions |
0 |
| 9/35.0 |
Punts/Avg. |
2/34.5 |
| 5-38 |
Sacks-Yards Lost |
0-0 |
LAST GAME
Dakota State (S.D.) hosted NCAA Division III Nebraska in the 10th annual Ag Bowl Game and home football opener at Brian Kern Family Stadium. The Trojans opened with a lead by the end of the first quarter and never looked back for a 37-7 victory over the Prairie Wolves.
Raesean Eaton rushed for a 7-yard touchdown followed by
Adrian Villanueva's PAT extra point kick for 7-0 Trojans lead by the end of the first quarter.
Cole Paulson followed up with a 60-yard Pick Six interception return for a touchdown to balloon DSU's lead.
DSU led 37-0 near the end of the quarter, until NWU scored the game's final points by the end of the game.
Dakota State outgained Nebraska Wesleyan 338-226 in total yards. The Trojans were 6-of-14 on third downs situations and held NWU to 1-of-13 third-downs.
ABOUT ARIZONA CHRISTIAN
Arizona Christian, located in Glendale, Ariz., joined the Frontier Conference as an associate member in the sport of football since 2023. The Firestorm was 1-7 in the Frontier Conference in the past two seasons, with each of the conference victory coming on the hand of MSU-Northern.
Prior joining to the Frontier Conference, Arizona Chrisitan was in the Sooner Athletic Conference. Their final year of the SAC Conference was in 2022 where they finished with an overall record of 8-3 and 7-2 record in the league, advancing to the NAIA national playoffs where they fell to No. 1 Morningside (Iowa) 35-18.
The Firestorm finished the 2024 season with an overall record of 2-8, with wins over MSU-Northern and Simpson (Calif.). ACU is in the Frontier Conference West Division this season, which includes teams from Carroll, College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Montana Western, Simpson, and Southern Oregon.
Arizona Christian kicked off their season with a 58-10 home setback to Fort Lewis College (Colo.) on Sept. 6.
Jeff Bowen enters his 10th season as the head coach at Arizona Christian. The weather forecast in Glendale Saturday is expected to be in the 90's for the highs and eventually drops in the lower 80's.
FRONTIER CONFERENCE CROSSOVER
The Frontier Conference football is in their cross-over contests for the next two Saturdays. The cross-over contests include teams from the East Division facing the West Divisions.
This Saturday's schedule includes MSU-Northern at (RV) College of Idaho, #9 Montana Western at Rocky Mountain (Mont.), #25 Carroll (Mont.) at #11 Dickinson State (N.D.), Valley City State (N.D.) at Eastern Oregon, #5 Montana Tech at #24 Southern Oregon, Dakota State (S.D.) at Arizona Christian, and Mayville State (N.D.) at Simpson (Calif.).
Next Saturday (Sept. 27), the schedule includes (RV) College of Idaho at #5 Montana Tech, Eastern Oregon at MSU-Northern, #11 Dickinson State at #9 Montana Western, #24 Southern Oregon at Dakota State, Arizona Christian at Mayville State, Simpson at Valley City State, and Rocky Mountain at #25 Carroll.
The Frontier Conference divisional games are scheduled to start on Oct. 4.
Dakota State opens their Frontier Conference East Division on the road against the top two preseason favorites. The Trojans visit No. 5 ranked Montana Tech on Oct. 4 and continue their road action on Oct. 11 at No. 11 ranked Dickinson State.
The Trojans return home on Oct. 18 versus Valley City State in the Rushin' for a Cure football game, followed by a bye on Oct. 25. DSU plays at Mayville State on Nov. 1 before returning home on Nov. 8 (RMC) and Nov. 15 (MSU-N).
TROJANS IN THE NAIA & FC EAST RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Friday, Dakota State leads the Frontier Conference in defense scoring. The Trojans allowed 11.5 points per game this season, which is also tied for eighth best defense scoring in the NAIA with Cumberlands (Ky.).
Dakota State leads the NAIA and Frontier Conference in total yards allowed, limiting their opponents to 148.0 yards per game. The Trojans held their rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) nearly 70 yards of total offense in the season opener.
The Trojans are third in the NAIA in rushing yards allowed with 87.0 yards per game and fourth in passing yards defense with 104.5 yards per game allowed.
Raesean Eaton ties for third most passing touchdowns with three in the Frontier Conference East Division. He is also third in the East Division with 183 passing yards and 69.5 rushing yards per game for Dakota State.
Melek Ford ranks fourth with 68.0 receiving yards per game.
Taron Serr ties for eighth in the FC East Division with 7.5 tackles per game with Trey Smith from Rocky Mountain (Mont.).
DSU FOOTBALL NAMED TO NAIA SCHOLAR TEAM
All twelve (12) NAIA's sponsored sports programs at Dakota State (S.D.), including the football, were named to the NAIA Scholar Team. DSU set an athletics program record with 12 sports programs (2022-23 academic year).
It was the first time in DSU Athletics program history that all NAIA sponsored teams were named to the NAIA Scholar Team award.
For the NAIA Scholar Team award, a team must have a minimum grade point average of 3.0 on a 4.0 scale as defined by the institution. The team grade point average includes all eligible student-athletes certified on the eligibility sheet.
Dakota State set the program record 14 NAIA Scholar Athletes last fall. The Trojans also had 35 athletes that were named to the final North Star Athletic Association Fall Sports Scholar Athlete.
DSU TO HONOR SENIORS ON HOMECOMING DAY
The Dakota State University Trojan football team welcomes No. 24 ranked Southern Oregon in the annual Trojan Day homecoming game. Kick-off is set for 2 p.m. at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field on Saturday, Sept. 27.
Dakota State will be honoring more than 20 seniors during their Seniors Day at approximately 1:25 p.m.
The homecoming parade starts at 9:30 a.m. with a different route than the traditional Egan Ave., due to construction. The parade will start near the Dakota Prairie Playhouse and travel south past Residence Village, Heston Hall, Trojan Center, Beacom Institution of Technology before finishing in the neighborhood just south of campus. Tailgate starts at 11 a.m on the east side of the parking lot at Brian Kern Family Stadium.
2025 DAKOTA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM LEADERS
- Rushing: Raesean Eaton - 33 rushes, 141 yards, 3 touchdowns
- Passing: Raesean Eaton - 21-of-36, 365 yards, 3 touchdowns
- Receiving: Melek Ford - 7 catches, 137 yards
- Scoring: Raesean Eaton - 18 points, 3 touchdowns
- Punting: Xander Sheehan - 7 punts, 250 yards, 35.7 yards per punt
- Field Goals: Adrian Villanueva - 1 field goal
- Kick-offs: Adrian Villanueva - 7 kick-offs, 398 yards (56.9 average)
- Returns: Jovi Wolf - 6 returns, 47 yards
- Tackles: Taron Serr - 14 tackles (6 solo, 8 assists)
- Tackles-for-loss: Brooks Jansen - 2 tackles-for-loss, 16.0 yards loss
- Sacks: Brooks Jansen - 1.5 sacks, 10.0 yards loss
- Interceptions: Cole Paulson - 1 interception, 60 yards return, 1 touchdown
