November 6, 2026

GAME 10 AT A GLANCE

Date: Saturday, November 7 at Rocky Mountain (Mont.) Location: Herb Klindt Field / Billings, Mont.
Kick-off: 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time)

THIS WEEK
Dakota State (S.D.) (6-3 overall record, 2-2 Frontier East) begins their two-game road stretch in the Frontier East Division to conclude their 2026 regular season.  The Trojans make their first stop at Herb Klindt Field in Billings, Mont., as they take on Rocky Mountain (Mont.) (4-4 overall record, 3-1 Frontier East).  Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. (Central Time)/12 p.m. (Mountain Time).

SERIES NOTES
Series Overall: Dakota State leads all-time series 2-0.
Series Meeting Facts:  Dakota State (S.D.) and Rocky Mountain (Mont.) began their first all-time meeting for nearly 55 years ago.  Both teams met during the 1972 season with the Trojans winning by the score of 40-12.  Last season, DSU and RMC began their first Frontier East Division meeting at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field.  Despite a snowy morning, the Trojans racked up 28 straight points after a scoreless first quarter and cruised to a 38-7 victory.
Frontier East:  There are two weeks remaining on their regular season schedule in the Frontier East Division, including this Saturday's games and next Saturday's games.

2026 STATS COMPARISON
 

35.8	Scoring Offense	23.0
117.8	Rushing Offense	141.4
331.2	Passing Offense	151.0
449.0	Total Offense	292.4
23.1	Scoring Defense	31.5
132.3	Rushing Defense	138.3
197.7	Passing Defense	286.5
330.0	Total Defense	424.8
9	Interceptions	7
45/38.5	Punts/Avg.	41/38.0
15-81	Sacks-Yards Lost	16-109

SATURDAY'S FRONTIER DIVISIONAL SLATE
The battle in the Frontier West Division highlights the Frontier Conference football schedule on Saturday.  No. 2 ranked College of Idaho hosts No. 12 Carroll (Mont.) with a potential automatic bid for the NAIA FCS playoffs on the line. 

Other contests in the FC West Division includes Montana Western at Arizona Christian and Eastern Oregon at Simpson (Calif.). 

No. 5 ranked Montana Tech is seeking a possible at least a share of the FC East Division title and NAIA FCS playoffs automatic bid on Saturday as they host Dickinson State (N.D.).  

Other contests in the FC East Division includes MSU-Northern at Valley City State (N.D.) where they look for their first divisional win of the season and Dakota State (S.D.) at Rocky Mountain (Mont.).

Mayville State (N.D.) and Southern Oregon is idle this Saturday.

ABOUT ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Rocky Mountain (Mont.) enters Saturday's Frontier Conference East Division contest with a 4-4 overall record and a 3-1 mark in divisional play. The Battlin' Bears remain in the East Division race despite coming off a 41-0 road loss at No. 4 Montana Tech. Saturday's game will also serve as Rocky Mountain's Senior Day and regular-season home finale.

Randy Bandelow is in his first season as Rocky Mountain's head coach. Bandelow took over the program in January after spending the previous seven seasons at Carroll (Mont.), including four years as defensive coordinator. 

Rocky Mountain opened East Division play with a 31-24 victory over Valley City State (N.D.) and has also earned divisional wins over Dickinson State (N.D.) and MSU-Northern. The Battlin' Bears had won three straight divisional contests before last week's loss at Montana Tech, where they were held to 143 yards of total offense and 3-of-16 on third-down conversions. Ty Battle led Rocky with 68 rushing yards, while Jayson Cady recorded 11 tackles.

Dakota State won the first meeting in modern series history last season (first meeting in football since the 1972 season), defeating Rocky Mountain 38-7 in Madison. The Trojans held the Battlin' Bears to 161 total yards and 31 rushing yards while forcing five turnovers, including four interceptions. Saturday marks Dakota State's first trip to Billings to face Rocky Mountain.

TROJANS IN THE NAIA NATIONAL RANKS
Dakota State quarterback Tray Hettick continues to lead the NAIA in passing yards, tallying 2,884 yards and is ranked third in the NAIA with 28 passing touchdowns through nine games this year. He is averaging 320.4 passing yards per game.

Dakota State has totaled 2,981 passing yards, averaging 331.2 yards per game as a team. Maddox Kihne leads the Trojan receiving corps with 913 receiving yards on 49 receptions, averaging 18.6 yards per catch with seven touchdowns.   He is ninth in the NAIA in total receiving yards.

Linebacker Kaden Van Otterloo has recorded a team-high 71 tackles through eight games, averaging 8.9 tackles per contest. He ranks 12th in the NAIA in total tackles. Tamareon 'Frosty' Foster remains tied among the national leaders with four interceptions this season (tied 10th with four interceptions).  He also tied second in the NAIA in forced fumbles.

LAST TIME OUT
Dakota State closed its 2026 home schedule with a convincing 51-21 Frontier Conference East Division victory over Mayville State (N.D.) on Oct. 31 at Brian Kern Family Stadium. The Trojans erupted for 21 unanswered points in the second quarter and improved to 6-3 overall and 2-2 in divisional play. DSU also secured its third consecutive season with at least six victories and finished with a 4-2 home record.

Dakota State built a 10-7 lead after the opening quarter behind an 8-yard touchdown run from Preston Iverson and a 24-yard field goal from Malte Hamann. The Trojans then broke the game open in the second quarter. Tray Hettick scored on runs of 17 and 34 yards before connecting with Terik Streets for a 22-yard touchdown pass with 21 seconds remaining, giving DSU a 31-7 halftime advantage.

The Trojans continued to pull away after halftime when Hettick found Tim Halbur for an 18-yard touchdown. Mayville State answered with a 54-yard touchdown run, but Maddox Kihne immediately responded with an 88-yard kickoff return for a score. Trajan Davis capped the scoring with a 2-yard touchdown run in the fourth quarter to secure the 51-21 victory.

Hettick completed 16-of-27 passes for 260 yards and two touchdowns while adding 49 rushing yards and two scores. His performance increased his season passing total to 2,884 yards, moving him into second place on Dakota State's single-season list, while his 28 touchdown passes tied for second in program history. Kihne led the receiving corps with five catches for 95 yards and added the 88-yard kickoff return touchdown. Iverson rushed for 73 yards and a score, while Darryl Williams II led the defense with 11 tackles and three tackles for loss. Dakota State finished with 431 yards of total offense and held Mayville State to just 23 passing yards.

TROJANS IN THE RECORD BOOK
Tray Hettick is currently second in single season total passing yards in the DSU football school record book.  He surpassed Brandon Large for second most single-season with 2,883 passing yards in 2012.  Jacob Giles hold the single season school record of 3,133 yards during the 2017 season.

Prior to the game on Saturday, Hettick also tied for second single season touchdown passes with 28 touchdown pass with Giles in 2016.  Giles hold the single-season record of 39 touchdown passes during the 2017 season.

2026 DAKOTA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM LEADERS

• Rushing:  Trajan Davis - 83 rushes, 407 yards, 7 touchdowns
• Passing:  Tray Hettick - 184-of-304 (60.5 completion rate), 2,844 yards, 28 touchdowns
• Receiving:  Maddox Kihne - 49 catches, 913 yards, 7 touchdowns
• Scoring:  Malte Hamann - 56 points - 9 touchdown
• Punting:  Sam Marcus - 30 punts, 1,119 yards - 37.3 yards per punt
• Field Goals:  Malte Hamann - 38 PAT extra point kicks, 6 field goals
• Kick-offs:  Malte Hamann - 43 kickoffs, 2,261 yards - 52.6 yards per kickoff
• Returns:  Jovi Wolf - 23 returns, 284 yards
• Tackles:   Kaden Van Otterloo - 79 tackles (33 solos, 46 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), 5 pass break-ups