October 29, 2026
GAME 9 AT A GLANCE - RUSHIN' FOR A CURE GAME
Date: Saturday, October 31 vs. Mayville State (N.D.)
Location: Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field - Madison, S.D. |
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| Kick-off: 1 p.m |
THIS WEEK
Dakota State (S.D.) (5-3 overall record, 1-2 Frontier East) returns to action on Saturday after taking a bye week last week. The Trojans host Mayville State (N.D.) (6-3 overall record, 2-2 Frontier East) in the Rushin' for a Cure football game. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field.
Saturday's game marks the final home football game of the 2026 season for the Trojans.
SERIES NOTES
Series Overall: Dakota State leads all-time series 24-16.
Series Notes: Dakota State rolled past Mayville State (N.D.) 44-14 in last year's meeting held at Jerome Berg Field in Mayville, N.D. It marked the third win in the last four meetings with the Comets. The previous two meetings were held in Mayville while DSU hosted the Comets in back-to-back years in 2023 and 2024. The series began on Sept. 13, 1986, with the Comets winning the first nine meetings, followed by 11 consecutive wins by the Trojans.
Former Conferences: Dakota State and Mayville State were former members of the Dakota Athletic Conference, Association of Independent Institutions, and the North Star Athletic Association.
2026 STATS COMPARISON
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| 26.0 |
Scoring Offense |
33.9 |
| 253.7 |
Rushing Offense |
111.5 |
| 105.0 |
Passing Offense |
339.8 |
| 358.7 |
Total Offense |
451.3 |
| 23.4 |
Scoring Defense |
23.4 |
| 124.0 |
Rushing Defense |
119.0 |
| 167.7 |
Passing Defense |
219.5 |
| 291.7 |
Total Defense |
338.5 |
| 4 |
Interceptions |
8 |
| 26/32.5 |
Punts/Avg. |
31/38.0 |
| 19-96 |
Sacks-Yards Lost |
14-81 |
SATURDAY'S FRONTIER DIVISIONAL SLATE
The Frontier Conference football season continues Saturday, Oct. 31, with another slate of divisional contests as teams battle for positioning in the East and West Division standings.
With the regular season winding down, each conference matchup carries significant implications in the race for the two automatic berths to the NAIA Football Championship Series, which begins Nov. 21.
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) travels to No. 4 Montana Tech in the battle of Frontier East undefeated divisional teams. Mayville State (N.D.) heads to Dakota State (S.D.), while MSU-Northern welcomes Dickinson State (N.D.).
In the West Division, Montana Western travels to Eastern Oregon. No. 12 Carroll (Mont.) hosts Southern Oregon and closes the day with No. 2 College of Idaho traveling to Arizona Christian.
Valley City State (N.D.) and Simpson (Calif.) are on their bye week in divisional play.
ABOUT MAYVILLE STATE
Mayville State (N.D.) enters Saturday's Frontier Conference East Division contest with a 6-3 overall record and a 2-2 mark in divisional play. The Comets have already posted their most victories in a season since 2013 and opened the year 6-2, their best start since 1991.
Rocky Larson is in his seventh season as Mayville State's head coach. Larson took over the program in 2020 after serving as defensive coordinator and assistant head coach at NCAA Division III Wisconsin-River Falls. He also serves as Mayville State's athletic director. The Comets finished 5-6 last season before making another step forward during the 2026 campaign.
Mayville State opened the season with four wins in its first five games, including victories over Briar Cliff (Iowa), Minnesota Morris, Simpson (Calif.) and Arizona Christian. The Comets have earned East Division victories over Valley City State and MSU-Northern, defeating the Vikings 36-33 before rallying from a 10-0 deficit for a 13-10 road victory at Northern. Mayville State is coming off a 34-20 home loss to No. 5 Montana Tech last Saturday.
Dakota State earned a 44-14 road victory over Mayville State in last season's meeting. The Trojans have won three of the last four meetings in the series, including a 7-0 victory at Mayville State in 2024. Saturday marks Dakota State's final home game of the 2026 season.
TROJANS IN THE NAIA NATIONAL RANKS
Dakota State quarterback
Tray Hettick continues to lead the NAIA in passing yards, tallying 2,624 yards and is tied for second in the NAIA with 26 passing touchdowns through 8 games this year. He is averaging 328.0 passing yards per game.
Dakota State has totaled 2,718 passing yards, averaging 339.8 yards per game as a team.
Maddox Kihne leads the Trojan receiving corps with 818 receiving yards on 44 receptions, averaging 18.6 yards per catch with seven touchdowns. Kihne ranks ninth nationally in receiving yards.
Linebacker
Kaden Van Otterloo has recorded a team-high 71 tackles through eight games, averaging 8.9 tackles per contest. He ranks 13th in the NAIA in total tackles.
Tamareon 'Frosty' Foster remains tied among the national leaders with four interceptions this season (tied eighth with four interceptions). He also ranks second in forced fumbles.
LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State returned to the win column with a 42-21 road victory over Valley City State (N.D.) on Oct. 17 at Lokken Stadium. The Trojans never trailed, building a 28-14 halftime advantage before closing out their first Frontier Conference East Division victory of the season. DSU improved to 5-3 overall and 1-2 in divisional play while extending its winning streak over Valley City State to four games.
Dakota State opened the scoring on a 4-yard touchdown run by
Preston Iverson before Valley City State tied the game early in the second quarter. The Trojans answered with three touchdowns over the final 5:08 of the half.
Tray Hettick connected with
Maddox Kihne for touchdown passes of 9 and 5 yards and found
Tim Halbur for a 34-yard score as DSU took a 28-14 lead into halftime.
Valley City State cut the deficit to 28-21 early in the third quarter, but Dakota State responded with a 75-yard drive capped by Hettick's 24-yard touchdown pass to
Terik Streets.
Trajan Davis added a 1-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to secure the 42-21 victory. The Trojans held Valley City State scoreless over the final 26 minutes of the contest.
Hettick completed 27-of-32 passes for 351 yards and four touchdowns without an interception, earning Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week honors for the second time this season. Kihne recorded 11 receptions for 152 yards and two touchdowns, while Streets added six catches for 71 yards and a score. Dakota State finished with 473 yards of total offense and held the football for more than 36 minutes.
DSU IN FRONTIER EAST RANKS
Dakota State's
Josiah Perez leads Frontier East Division with 11 tackles-for-loss.
Tamareon 'Frosty' Foster leads the East Division with four forced fumbles and tied for first in interceptions with four.
Michael Foster ranks second in the East Division with seven pass break-ups.
Malte Hamann ranks second in East Division with 47 points scored in kicking.
Sam Marcus averages 37.3 yards per punt for the Trojans, which ranks third in the Frontier East Division.
2026 DAKOTA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM LEADERS
- Rushing: Trajan Davis - 75 rushes, 386 yards
- Passing: Tray Hettick - 168-of-277 (60.7 completion rate), 2,624 yards, 26 touchdowns
- Receiving: Maddox Kihne - 44 catches, 818 yards, 7 touchdowns
- Scoring: Melek Ford - 54 points - 9 touchdowns
- Punting: Sam Marcus - 30 punts, 1,119 yards - 37.3 yards per punt
- Field Goals: Malte Hamann - 5 field goals
- Kick-offs: Malte Hamann - 38 kickoffs, 1,998 yards - 52.3 yards per kickoff
- Returns: Jovi Wolf - 21 returns, 260 yards
- Tackles: Kaden Van Otterloo - 71 tackles (30 solos, 41 assists)
- Tackles-for-loss: Josiah Perez - 11.0 tackles-for-loss of 40 yards
- Sacks: Josiah Perez - 4.0 sacks, 25.0 yards loss
- Interceptions: Tamareon 'Frosty' Foster - 4 interceptions, 42 yards return, 1 pick six (return for touchdown), 4 pass break-ups
