GAME DAY: HOMECOMING GAME WITH THE WOLVES

Western Oregon faces Dixie State in GNAC football action

THIS WEEK: Homecoming week at Dixie State College concludes with the Red Storm football team hosting Western Oregon University in a GNAC battle at Hansen Stadium on October 9, 2010 at 1:00pm. The game will be the first gridiron battle contested on the renovated Field Turf. Dixie State looks to continue a positive string in Homecoming games – they have won two straight.

ON-AIR: Hear all of the live action on Classical 91.3 FM with John Potter calling the play-by-play and Phil Tuckett adding commentary. The audio feed will also be available through Network1Sports.com and Classical 91.3's feed online. KCSG-TV has the television coverage with Jon Oglesby and Josh Sine. America One and the B2Networks.com will simulcast the KCSG feed online.

SERIES: In six previous meeting, Dixie State has only been the victor once – the team's last meeting on October 10, 2009 in St. George. The Red Storm defeated WOU 31-23 in last year's Homecoming game. Prior to that, Western Oregon had beat DSC five straight times incluing the first meeting in Monmouth in 2009 by a score of 17-16. Game played at Hansen Stadium in the series have over the series show a building progression for the Storm – they lost 31-7 in 2007 before losing by a touchdown (34-27) in 2008.

LAST WEEK: DSC travelled to Simon Fraser and picked their first win of the year 28-21 over the Clan. Jesse Ence (St. George, UT/Pine View) and Cody Stevenson (Sandy, UT/Juan Diego) led the charge offensively. Ence carried the rock 25 times for 150 yards and a touchdown. The QB threw for three scores, his highest output in 2010. Keauntea Bankhead (Seattle, WA/Ballard) had a nice effort with seven tackles and a blacked FG - Christian Case (West Jordan, UT/West Jordan) recorded three tackles for loss. Western Oregon survived a scare from in-state rival Southern Oregon 24-23. Kelly Morgan's 42-yard FG with just over six minutes left gave the Wolves their first lead. Evan Mozzochi captained the offense with A.J. Robinson sitting out with an injury. Darryl Valdez tallied 63 of his 89 yards on the ground in the second half and scored a touchdown.

RED STORM NOTES: With 151 teams competing in NCAA Division-II football, Dixie State sits at #123 in total offense (#71 passing, #133 rushing) and #101 in total defense (#90 pass, #114 pass). Individually, DSC has some noteworthy performers. Keauntea Bankhead (Seattle, WA/Ballard) tops the GNAC tied for 14th in the nation in tackles. Nick Rocco (Sammamish, WA/Skyline) is the league leader in tackles for loss (#57 NCAA). Mike Langston (Riverside, CA/Ramona) is the 12th-ranked punter in the nation (#1 GNAC) and Nash Fowler (Orem, UT/Timpanogas HS) is #43 in receptions.

SCOUTING THE WOLVES: The Wolves can throw the ball and defend against the pass. WOU is 30th in the NCAA in pass offense and 12th in pass defense efficiency. Quarterback A.J. Robinson has thrown for 864 yards in four games with six touchdowns and seven interceptions. Justin Ore, Demario Ballard and Trevor Gates are the three primary receiving targets with 18, 17 and 16 catches respectively. Darryl Valdez averages 75.6 yards as the main rush threat. Senior linebacker Garrett Vincent paces the defense with 44 tackles while safety Caleb Singeton has three of the team's eight interceptions. Punter Scott Buche averages 38.2 yards per kick. Sophomore place kicker Kelly Morgan is 5-for-8 on field goals and 15-of-16 on PATs.

THE TURF IS NEW AND VIBRANT: Today's game is the first time the Red Storm football team will compete on a new playing surface. Top-of-the-line Field Turf has replaced the old surface called Sprint Turf. Dixie State's current “D” logo covers midfield and the end zones have block “DIXIE STATE” and “RED STORM”. The installation of the new field turf was completed before the Dixie State soccer matches on September 30. Renovation of the playing surface at Hansen Stadium began September 13.

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