GAME DAY: Football Storm Front Rolls in Monmouth

DSC faces last GNAC road test against 3rd-place Western Oregon

DSC-WOU GAME NOTES: OCTOBER 30, 2010

THIS WEEK: Dixie State College heads out to Monmouth, Oregon for its final contest in the Great Northwest Athletic Conference this Saturday, October 30 against Western Oregon. This game will mark the second time the two teams meet in a span of four weeks. Kickoff from McArthur Stadium is set for 2:00pm Pacific (3:00pm Mountain).

ON-AIR: Live radio coverage from Monmouth begins at 2:45pm Mountain time with John Potter on the Intermountain Sports Medicine Pre-Game Show on Classical 91.3FM. Western Oregon will have a free, live video feed courtesy of Penn Atlantic available on their website www.wouwolves.com.

SERIES: In seven previous meetings, Dixie State has only been the victor once – on Homecoming 2009 when the Red Storm defeated WOU 31-23. Prior to that, Western Oregon had beat DSC five straight times including the first meeting in Monmouth in 2009 by a score of 17-16. The Wolves increased their advantage in the series earlier this season scoring 31 points unanswered to hand Dixie State a 40-27 loss on the first football game held on the renovated Hansen Stadium turf. Last year's meeting in Monmouth was the closest Dixie State has come to a victory at McArthur Field. A late Kelly Morgan field goal downed DSC 17-16 in a physically taxing game for both teams.

LAST WEEK: Dixie State went ahead in the third quarter on a 10-yard pass from quarterback Cody Stevenson (Sandy, UT/Juan Diego) to Alex Nelson, then held on as Danny Hawkins (Seattle, WA/Ballard) blocked Carlos Martinez's 36-yard field goal try as time expired to earn an 18-15 win over Simon Fraser at Hansen Stadium. Stevenson's TD pass finished off an 80-yard, eight-play drive that included a 19-yard completion on third-and-16 down to the Clan 25. Simon Fraser had two opportunities to tie it in the fourth quarter, but Martinez missed from the 45 with 5:03 left and had a field goal blocked in the final seconds. Simon Fraser had a huge advantage in total offense, outgaining the Red Storm 504-214. Two long returns and a pass interception led to 21 fourth-quarter points as Western Oregon snapped a 17-17 tie in defeating Azusa Pacific 38-17 before 2,497 fans at McArthur Field. The Wolves, who had five takeaways and turned the ball over just once on a fumble, also got a 43-yard interception return for a touchdown by Bryce Peila with 1:09 left in the second quarter to go ahead 10-7 at the half. Azusa ended the contest with a 277 to 258 edge in total offense, but WOU had 331 return yards - 98 on punts, 157 on kick returns and 76 on interceptions. Gonsalves had 210 including 98 on five punt returns and 112 on two kickoffs.

PLAYERS OF THE WEEK: OFFENSE: Sione Tapuosi (East Palo Alto. CA/Carlmont) - Topped the 100-yard rushing mark for the first time in his Dixie State career. Ran the ball 20 times for 112 yards against Simon Fraser. That total matched Sione's entire 2008 season yardage. DEFENSE: Jake Duncan (Corona, CA/Notre Dame) - Had the unenviable task of filling in for Keauntea Bankhead (Seattle, WA/Ballard) at middle linebacker. Totaled a season-best nine tackles, 1.5 TFL and forced a fumble in second half action. SPECIAL TEAMS: Mike Langston (Riverside, CA/Ramona) - Booted a career-best 72-yard punt in the third quater against SFU. Finished the game averaging 48.8 yards per punt and added a 36-yard field goal in the victory.

RED STORM NOTES: With 151 teams competing in NCAA Division-II football, Dixie State sits at #129 in total offense (#71 passing, #139 rushing) and #113 in total defense (#121 rush, #88 pass). Individually, DSC has some noteworthy performers. Keauntea Bankhead (Seattle, WA/Ballard) tops the GNAC and is 10th in the nation in tackles. Nick Cragin (Issaquah, WA/Skyline) ranks second in GNAC tackles and #32 in the nation. Mike Langston (Riverside, CA/Ramona) is the 7th-ranked punter in the nation (#1 GNAC) and Nash Fowler (Orem, UT/Timpanogas HS) is #45 in receptions. Cody Stevenson (Sandy, UT/Juan Diego) is #1 in the GNAC and #67 in D-II in overall passing efficiency (124.50 rating).

SCOUTING THE WOLVES: The Wolves can throw the ball and defend against the pass. WOU is 59th in the NCAA in pass offense and 23rd in pass defense efficiency. Evan Mozzochi is expected to make his second straight start for the Wolves after replacing southpaw A.J Robinson. Mozzochi threw for two touchdowns last week against Azusa Pacific. Leading the way for the Wolves rushing attack are Adryan Allen and Darryl Valdez. Allen rushed for 108 yards with two touchdowns a week ago while Valdez added 47 yards. Justin Ore has caught eight touchdowns on the year including two last week against APU. Trevor Gates and Demario Ballard are two other weapons in the passing game for Mozzochi. On the defensive side, Caleb Singleton is one of the most lethal defensive backs in the GNAC – 60 total tackles and six interceptions. Linebacker Scotland Foss is the team leader with 64 tackles and seven tackles for loss. Place kicker Kelly Morgan is 8-of-13 this season in FG attempts and made both tries (40, 43) against the Red Storm on October 9. Morgan also handles the kickoff duties averaging 55.0 yards an attempt. Punting for WOU is Scott Buche – he averages 38.2 yards per punt, but has placed opponents inside their own 20-yard line on 14 occasions this season. Arne Ferguson is in his sixth season at the helm in Monmouth.

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