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DSU Football takes on No. 21 Doane (Neb.) Saturday night
September 5, 2012
GAME NOTES (PDF)
THIS WEEK: Dakota State (0-2 overall record) is seeking for their first football win this season on Saturday night as they travel to Crete, Neb. The Trojans visit nationally-ranked Doane (Neb.) (1-0) at the Simon Field. Both teams are meeting for the second-time ever in series history, where they met at the Trojan Field last season for their first meeting. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m.
THE SERIES: Doane won the first-ever meeting with Dakota State last season on Sept. 10, 2011 at the Trojan Field. The Tigers put together two consecutive 21-point quarters to earn a 42-0 halftime lead and defeated DSU by the score of 52-13.
LAST TIME OUT: Dakota State played their 65th meeting with their long-time rival Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) on Sept. 8 in Mitchell, S.D. The Trojans quickly scored twice in the first two minutes of the game (Carl Curtis' 81-yard touchdown pass to Zach Ely and Brandon Large's 82-yard touchdown pass to Stacey Berg), gaining a 14-7 lead. The Tigers scored 33 unanswered points to defeat Dakota State 40-14. Doane, No. 21 in the NAIA Football Preseason National Coaches' Top 25 national poll, opened their Great Plains Athletic Conference (GPAC) conference play with a 41-28 victory over Briar Cliff (Iowa). The Tigers scored the first 28 points of the game and earned a 28-7 halftime lead.
FOOTBALL FORECAST: As of Wednesday, the weather forecast for Saturday calls for sunny skies with a high temperature of 77 degrees. The forecast wind comes from the north at 5-15 miles-per-hour.
DSU PLAYERS MENTIONED: Two Dakota State University football players received honorable mention in the first edition of the NAIA Football National Player of the Week honor. Stacey Berg earned recognition in the NAIA 'Offensive Player of the Week' as he recorded five receptions for 155 yards on Sept. 1 at Dakota Wesleyan, including a 82-yard touchdown pass from Brandon Large. Nic Behrens were mentioned in NAIA 'Special Teams Player of the Week.' He was 2-for-2 in PAT kicks in the game at DWU on Sept. 1. In addition, Behrens recorded seven punts for 308 yards (44.0 yards per punt). He recorded his longest punt of the season with 61 yards.
GO LONG: Senior Stacey Berg had been racking up in receiving yards for the Trojans. He ranks first in the nation in total receiving yards of 334 yards. He is second in receiving yards per game (167.0) and all-purpose yards (334). He records 12 receptions this season, which is sixth in the nation. Berg had a 66-yard touchdown reception in the home season opener versus Peru State on Aug. 25 and a 82-yard touchdown pass at Dakota Wesleyan on Sept. 1.
BEHRENS ON SPECIAL TEAMS: Nic Behrens is perfect in field goal percentage and PAT kicking percentage for Dakota State this season, which tops in the nation. He ranks sixth in total field goals (2). Behrens is 11th in the nation in punt yards per attempts with an average of 42.1 yards. He ranks 13th in the nation in total scoring (kicking) with 11 points.
LARGE AND BERG LEAD INDEPENDENT: Two Dakota State football players leads the independent conference in two different categories. Brandon Large leads the independent with 269.0 passing yards per game with a 57.8 passing completion percentage. Stacey Berg averages 6.0 catches per game, which top the independent conference.
DSU RANKS IN TOP 25 NATIONALLY: Dakota State ranks first in the nation in four different categories from the NAIA-Dakstats statistical website. The Trojans are first in opponent fourth down conversion percentage (0 percent), field goals percentage (100 percent), total pass offense (619) and PAT kicking percentage (100 percent). DSU ranks eighth in the nation in pass offense per game (309.5) and 11th in punt yards per attempt (42.1 yards). Dakota State is 13th in pass efficiency (144.5) and 20th in pass defense per game (140.0). The Trojans is 23rd in total offense yards per game (393.5 yards) and 25th in total scoring offense with 41 points.
DSU QUICK LEADERS: Brandon Large leads the Trojans' offense attack with 538 passing yards, which ranks second in the nation. He was 37-for-64 with two touchdown passes and two rushing touchdowns this season. Large ranks second in the nation in total offense with 539 offensive yards and ninth in passing per game (269.0). Kris Dearie records 108 rushing yards and averages 54.0 rushing yards per game. Stacey Berg had 12 catches for 324 yards. He recorded his longest catch of 82 yards on Sept. 8 at Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.). Craig Hertz leads the team in total tackles with 24 (12.0 tackles per game), which ranks ninth in the nation. Eric Liles is 18th in the nation in tackles per game with an average of 11.5 tackles.
DSU FOOTBALL HISTORY LESSON: Dakota State is in its 93rd year of competition. The Trojans own an all-time record of 268-452-17. DSU opened their first year of competition in 1908 with an overall record of 4-1-1. Dakota State is in their second year membership with the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.).
FOLLOW LIVE: Doane (Neb.) will be providing the live coverage (video, live stats) of the DSU-Doane football game on Saturday night. The link can be found on http://www.doane.edu/Athletics/TigerSportsNetwork/. The link can be also found on www.dsuathletics.com, above the 'Upcoming Events' on the 'Live Games' tab.
STAY CONNECTED: Stay connected with Dakota State football and athletics all season long on www.dsuathletics.com. The Trojans are also on Twitter, just log onto www.twitter.com/GoDaSUAthletics. The Dakota State University Athletics group page can be found on Facebook.
UP NEXT: Dakota State returns home at Trojan Field on Sept. 15. The Trojans welcome Valley City State (N.D.) in the Association of Independent Institutions (A.I.I.) conference game. The battle of former Dakota Athletic Conference foes is set for 4 p.m. kick-off time.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
