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Trojan Football heads to Briar Cliff (Iowa) Saturday
October 11, 2012
THIS WEEK: Dakota State (0-7 overall record) is seeking for their first football win this season as they head on the road on Saturday afternoon. The Trojans visit Briar Cliff (Iowa) (1-5) of the Great Plains Athletic Conference. Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. at the Memorial Field in Sioux City, Iowa.
THE SERIES: Dakota State won its first-ever meeting with Briar Cliff last season at Trojan Field in Madison, S.D. Dakota State's defense shut down the Charges in the first three quarters and maintained a 24-0 lead before BC made their late rally in the game. The Trojans held on to a 24-16 victory over Briar Cliff. DSU outgained the Chargers 448-293 in total offensive yards. The Trojans maintained possession for 32 minutes and 45 seconds, while BC had the ball for 27 minutes and 15 seconds.
LAST TIME OUT: The Trojans faced their fourth opponent that are ranked in the NAIA's 'Top 25' last Saturday (Oct. 6). Hastings (Neb.) defeated DSU 55-19 at the Trojan Field. The Broncos outgained the Trojans 387-314 in total offensive yards. Briar Cliff suffered a 45-12 home defeat to Concordia (Neb.) on Oct. 6 in Sioux City, Iowa. The Chargers were outgained by the Bulldogs 479-350 in total offensive yards. Briar Cliff suffered four interceptions and a fumble in the loss.
FOOTBALL FORECAST: As of Thursday, the weather forecast for Saturday in Sioux City, Iowa calls for partly cloudy skies with a high temperature of 67 degrees. There is a 60 percent chance of thunderstorms. The wind will be from the south-southwest at 10-20 miles-per-hour.
TROJANS IN THE NATIONAL RANKS: According to the DakStats-NAIA statistical website as of Thursday, Dakota State ranks fifth in the nation in total passing offense yards (1878) and 12th in pass offense per game (268.3). The Trojans are No. 12 in the nation in opponents' fourth-down conversion (33.3 percent). Three DSU football players are ranked in the top 10. Stacey Berg is third in the nation in total receiving yards (697). In addition, Berg is 11th in all-purpose yards (817). Craig Hertz ranks fourth in tackles (all positions) per game with an average of 11.7 tackles. Brandon Large is fifth in the nation in total passing (1769). Eric Liles is 11th in tackles per game (11.0). Nic Behrens ranks 21st in the nation in total field goals with five. Carl Curtis is 30th in total receptions with 28.
DSU QUICK LEADERS: Brandon Large leads the Trojans' offense attack with an average of 252.7 passing yards per game. He records a passing completion rate of 57.4 percent. Large amasses 11 passing touchdowns and two rushing touchdowns this season. Kris Dearie records 195 rushing yards and averages 27.9 rushing yards per game. Carl Curtis records 28 catches for 341 yards (48.7 yards per game). Craig Hertz leads the team in total tackles with 70 (11.7 tackles per game). Josh Licht records 2.0 quarterback sacks for the Trojans (0.3 sacks per game).
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.).
LISTEN TO THE GAME: Briar Cliff will be having an audio live webcast of DSU-BC football game on Saturday afternoon. The link to the audio webcast is http://www.bcuchargers.com/f/BC360.php. There is no charge to the webcast. The link also will be available on www.dsuathletics.com in the 'Live Games' tab above the 'Upcoming Events.'
LIVE STATS/PLAY-BY-PLAY: Briar Cliff will be providing live stats and play-by-play on Saturday. The link for the live stats and play-by-play is http://www.qkstats.net/bcu/xlive.htm. The live stats link is available on game day on www.dsuathletics.com under 'Live Games' tab above the 'Upcoming Events.'
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 stays on the road next Saturday, Oct. 20. The Trojans visit another opponent from the GPAC, Dordt College (Iowa). Kick-off is set for 1 p.m. at the Open Space Park in Sioux Center, Iowa.
Nick Huntimer, Dakota State University Sports Information Director
