September 17, 2026

GAME 4 AT A GLANCE
FRONTIER CONFERENCE CROSSOVER GAME
CHILDHOOD CANCER AWARENESS GAME (WEAR GOLD COLOR CLOTHING)
1980'S DAKOTA STATE FOOTBALL TEAMS REUNION

Date: Saturday, September 18 vs. Arizona Christian Location: Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field
Start Time: 1 p.m.
Tailgate Start Time:  11 a.m. (live music)

THIS WEEK
Dakota State (S.D.) (2-1 overall record, No. 23 in NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Coaches Regular-Season Poll) continues their home stand Saturday afternoon as they begin their two weeks of Frontier Conference Crossover action.  The Trojans carry their eight-game home field winning streak as they host Arizona Christian (0-1 overall record).  Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field, with the tailgate area opening at 11 a.m. with live music.  

Fans are encourage to wear gold color for the football game on Saturday to help raise Childhood Cancer Awareness.  The 1980's Dakota State football teams will also have their reunion on Saturday and will be recognized during halftime.

THE SERIES
Series Overall: Dakota State leads series 1-0
Series Notes: The two squads will meet for the second time overall on Saturday afternoon. The series opened last season in Glendale, Ariz., where DSU won 44-27.  The Trojans used a 24-0 second half scoring to erase a 27-20 halftime deficit.  
Frontier Conference Crossover:  Saturday is the start of the two-week Frontier Conference Crossover, where the teams from the East Division take on the teams from the West Division.  All 14 Frontier Conference football teams will be playing a home game for one week and an away game the following week, before the six-game divisional schedule begins on Saturday, Oct. 3.

2026 STATS COMPARISON
 

9.0	Scoring Offense	39.3
208.0	Rushing Offense	117.7
80.0	Passing Offense	440.0
288.0	Total Offense	551.7
27.0	Scoring Defense	23.7
51.0	Rushing Defense	119.3
167.0	Passing Defense	213.3
218.0	Total Defense	332.7
1	Interceptions	3
2/42.0	Punts/Avg.	9/40.8
1-9	Sacks-Yards Lost	8-49

SATURDAY'S FRONTIER CROSSOVER SCHEDULE
All 14 Frontier Conference football members will be in action Saturday as they kick off their two-week of crossover contests.  Seven teams from the East Division and seven teams from the West Division will face each other during their two-week span. 

Each team will host a game and play on the road for one contest during their two cross-over games.

Saturday's schedule includes Arizona Christian at No. 23 Dakota State (S.D.), No. 4 College of Idaho at MSU-Northern, Rocky Mountain (Mont.) at No. 21 Montana Western, Eastern Oregon at Valley City State (N.D.), Dickinson State (N.D.) at No. 15 Carroll (Mont.), Southern Oregon at No. 3 Montana Tech, and Simpson (Calif.) at Mayville State (N.D.).

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 went 1-5 in the Frontier Conference last season, with the lone win being a Senior Day victory over Simpson (Calif.).

The Firestorm finished the 2025 season with an overall record of 2-8, with wins over Mayville State (N.D.) and Simpson (Calif.). ACU is in the Frontier Conference West Division, which includes teams from Carroll, College of Idaho, Eastern Oregon, Montana Western, Simpson, and Southern Oregon.

The 2026 season will be the first for Head Coach Drew Maddox leading Arizona Christian University Football. Prior to ACU, Coach Maddox spent four seasons (2020-23) leading the football team at Louisiana Christian University. Before his arrival the LCU program had been without a winning season for five years.  HIs four-year tenure resulted in a record of 22-16.  

After a COVID-shortened 2-3 season, his team improved each year - from 4-7 in his first full season, to 7-4 and then 9-2 with a Sooner Athletic Conference championship and an NAIA playoff appearance.

Arizona Christian kicked off their season with a 27-9
road setback to Fort Lewis (Colo.) on Sept. 5.

LAST TIME OUT
DSU returned home at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field on Sept. 12, cruising to a 52-0 shutout victory over NCAA Division III Nebraska Wesleyan.  It was the first time DSU earned a shutout victory at the new stadium (previous shutout was 13-0 versus Waldorf, Iowa, in the last game at the old Trojan Field on Nov. 12, 2022).  

Tray Hettick continues his red-hot start to the season, recording almost 400 yards through the air and three touchdowns on only 13 completions in the first half.  Maddox Kihne had a career day, hauling in seven receptions for 220 yards and a touchdown. Melek Ford also continued his stellar play, bringing in three catches for 102 yards and two touchdowns.

Cole Ruesink had an efficient day on the ground, running for 105 yards and a touchdown on 10.5 yards per carry.  He also returned six punts for 56 yards.

Defensively, Elliot Devries and Gunnar Sarkela had standout days. Devries had 2.5 sacks and six total tackles and Sarkela with seven total tackles and 3.5 tackles for loss.

TROJANS HIT NEW SCHOOL RECORD
A team record 713 yards of total offense was recorded at the 11th Ag Bowl in 52-0 shutout victory over Nebraska Wesleyan on Sept. 12.  The Trojans broke the previous record of 642 that was set at the 2nd Ag Bowl in DSU's 56-39 win on Aug. 24, 2017, highlighted by Jacob Giles' 452 passing yards and Austin Opdahl's 333 receiving yards. 

DSU's 32 first downs tied for third-most in a single game with two other occurrences (at Dordt, Iowa, on Sept. 3, 2016, and versus Dakota Wesleyan on Aug. 24, 2017).  The school record is 35 first-downs versus St. Ambrose (Iowa) on Sept. 10, 2016. 

The defense allowed zero (0) rushing yards and 89 total offensive yards to the Prairie Wolves.

TROJANS IN THE NAIA AND FC EAST RANKS
According to the NAIA-PrestoStats as of Thursday, Dakota State quarterback Tray Hettick leads the NAIA in passing yards with 1,226 yards. He is also tied for second in the nation for passing touchdowns with 12. 

Melek Ford leads the NAIA in receiving yards (480), receiving touchdowns (8), ranks second in points scored (48), and is tied for third in receptions with 22.

Maddox Kihne ranks fifth in the NAIA in receiving yards with 338.

Dakota State leads the Frontier East Division in scoring with 39.3 points per game. The Trojans lead the division with 1,655 total offensive yards and 551.7 offensive yards per game.  

HOME, SWEET HOME!
The Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field made their debut in 2024.  Dakota State went 3-2 record in their first year, ending the home schedule with a 13-6 victory over Valley City State (N.D.) on Oct. 26, 2024.

The Trojans went through the 2025 schedule undefeated at home, winning all five games at Brian Kern Family Stadium.  Dakota State averaged 35.2 points per game and held their opponents to 6.8 points per game at home during the 2025 season.  

DSU extended their home field's winning streak to eight games after going 2-0 record at home this season after defeating Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) and Nebraska Wesleyan.  The Trojans are averaging 43.5 points per game at home this season.

DSU is 10-2 all-time record at Brian Kern Family Stadium on Blankley Field.

2026 DAKOTA STATE FOOTBALL TEAM LEADERS

• Rushing:  Trajan Davis - 25 rushes, 121 yards
• Passing:  Tray Hettick - 65-of-103 (63.1 completion rate), 1,226 yards, 12 touchdowns
• Receiving:  Melek Ford - 22 catches, 480 yards, 8 touchdowns
• Scoring:  Melek Ford - 48 points - 8 touchdowns
• Punting:  Sam Marcus - 9 punts, 367 yards - 40.8 yards per punt
• Field Goals:  Malte Hamann - 1 field goal
• Kick-offs:  Malte Hamann - 17 kickoffs, 943 yards - 55.5 yards per kickoff
• Returns:  Cole Ruesink - 7 returns, 86 yards
• Tackles:   Kaden Van Otterloo - 25 tackles (9 solos, 16 assists)
• Tackles-for-loss:  Elliot Devries - 4.0 tackles-for-loss, 23.0 yards loss
• Sacks:  Elliot Devries - 2.5 sacks, 20.0 yards loss
• Interceptions:  Tamareon 'Frosty' Foster - 1 interception, 7 yards return (4 pass break-ups), Michael Foster - 1 interception, 0 yards return, Aidan Jahns - 1 interception, -1 yard return