MEDIA INFORMATION Date Thurs., Aug. 31 | 5 p.m. MT Location West Las Vegas HS | Las Vegas, N.M. TV None Radio ESPN SportsRadio 97.7 FM Online Audio/Video New Mexico Highlands SportsRadio977.com (Audio Only) Live Stats New Mexico Highlands Ticket Info New Mexico Highlands Game Notes Dixie State (PDF) Twitter @DixieAthletics #RMACFB #BlazeForward DIXIE STATE - NMHU SERIES Series Dixie State leads 1-0 At DSU DSU leads 1-0 At NMHU N/A First Meeting 9/1/16 - DSU 21, NMHU 14 @DSU Last Meeting 9/1/16 - DSU 21, NMHU 14 @DSU DIXIE STATE TRAILBLAZERS Record 0-0, 0-0 RMAC Ranking NR Last Game Nov. 12, 2016 (won vs. Fort Lewis, 16-14) Head Coach Shay McClure (Southern Oregon, 1995) Career: 6-5 (2nd Season) DSU Record: Same NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS COWBOYS Record 0-0, 0-0 RMAC Ranking NR Last Game Nov. 12, 2016 (lost vs. Adams State, 40-50) Head Coach Marty Fine (Western New Mexico, 1984) Career: 90-72 (16th Season) NMHU Record: 0-0 (1st Season)

WEEK 1 GAME NOTES (PDF)
LIVE VIDEO/STATS
LIVE RADIO STREAM

Dixie State football opens the 2017 season on Thursday with a 5 p.m. matchup at New Mexico Highlands in Las Vegas, New Mexico. Due to construction at the NMHU Perkins Stadium, the game will be played at West Las Vegas High School.

Live audio coverage is scheduled on radio (ESPN Sports Radio 97.7) and internet (SportsRadio977.com). DSU Media Relations Assistant Keric Seegmiller returns for his third season as the Radio Voice of the Trailblazers, and will provide play-by-play for all football games.

ALL-TIME IN SEASON OPENERS: Dixie State is 2-9 all-time in season openers. The Trailblazers snapped a six-game season-opening losing streak last season with a 21-14 win over New Mexico Highlands on September 1, 2016. DSU's last season-opening win before then was a 37-28 win over Adams State on Aug. 27, 2009. Dixie State has opened the season six times on the road (2006, 2007, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2014), dropping each of its six road season-openers.

ALL-TIME VS. NEW MEXICO HIGHLANDS: Thursday's game marks the second meeting between Dixie State and New Mexico Highlands. The Trailblazers won the first meeting in last year's season-opener, a 21-14 triumph in the first football game played in the newly renamed Legend Solar Stadium.

KNOW YOUR FOE: New Mexico Highlands finished the 2016 season with an 0-11 record (0-10 RMAC). The Cowboys ran a balanced offensive attack last season, with an almost exact split of run and pass attempts. NHMU carried the ball 377 time for 1,128 yards seven touchdowns, while completing 184-of-372 pass attempts for 2,011 yards and nine touchdowns.

The Cowboys return two of their top offensive threats from the 2016 team, including sophomore running back Jairan Manning, who rushed for 560 yards and two touchdowns on 121 carries. Redshirt senior receiver Regan Atkins returns after catching 53 passes for 597 yards and two touchdowns last season. Junior Danny Cameron replaces Cody Keith at quarterback in 2017. Cameron saw minimal action in two seasons at Indiana.

Defensively, NMHU allowed 377.8 yards rushing and 227 yards passing per game. The Cowboys return senior safety Jimmy Threat, who finished the year with a team second-best 78 tackles (3.5 for loss).

Senior Luke Jones returns as the leading specialist for the Cowboys. Jones converted 4-of-8 field goals with a long of 46 yards in 2016, while averaging 40.5 yards per punt with 91 punts attempts in 2016.

2017 SEASON OUTLOOK: A year after setting a school record with the first winning season (6-5, 6-4 RMAC) in the program's NCAA Division II era, the Trailblazers were picked to finish fourth in the 2017 RMAC Coaches Preseason Poll. The only three teams ahead of Dixie State (CSU-Pueblo, Colorado Mesa, Colorado Mines) each landed in the AFCA Preseason Top 25, a reminder that the Trailblazers won't be able to sneak up on anyone in 2017. Dixie State will be on opponents' radars from start to finish.

After laying a winning foundation in 2016, Dixie State will strive to show continued improvement during the 2017 campaign. Coaches and players will live by the theme, "Change Your Best", a simple phrase reminding the team it must improve from week to week.

Dixie State returns 17 starters from the 2016 squad, including nine on offense and eight on defense. Four starters from the offensive line return in 2016, led by preseason All-RMAC honoree Tim Ah Hee (Waipahu, Hawaii/Lincoln HS). The Trailblazers also return the 2016 statistical leaders in passing/total offense, sophomore quarterback Josh Thompson (Ontario, Calif./Colony HS), and scoring, junior wide receiver Orlando Wallace (Cathedral City, Calif./Cathedral City HS).

2016 RECAP: Prior to the 2016 season, Dixie State Football had experienced 10 consecutive losing seasons, never winning more than four games in a season. That changed in 2016, as the Trailblazers won six games on their way to the program's first winning season as an NCAA Division II member. The 2016 squad also matched a program-best 13 all-conference awards and set program records in single-season rushing yards (2,396) and rushing touchdowns (24) during the historic season.

The journey toward history began on a warm, early-September night inside Legend Solar Stadium, as New Mexico Highlands made its first trip to St. George. The Trailblazers earned a 21-14 come-from-behind victory over the Cowboys to jumpstart their season.

Dixie State was flying high after the win, but fell in a 31-27 heartbreaker to South Dakota Mines the following week, and dropped another close decision in a 20-14 loss at Black Hills State two weeks after the opener. Central Washington handed DSU its third consecutive loss on September 24, and for a moment it seemed the fate of previous DSU teams would repeat itself.  

But 2016 was be different. Dixie State responded with three consecutive victories, including a hard-fought 28-20 win at home over Western State on October 1, followed by the Trailblazers' only blowout win of the season, a 44-27 victory at Chadron State that saw DSU lead from wire-to-wire. After clawing its way back to a .500 record at 3-3, Dixie State had a chance to record its first three-game win streak in the NCAA Division II era, and the Trailblazers did not disappoint. Overcoming a 17-0 first quarter deficit, DSU rallied to defeat No. 23 Colorado Mesa, 38-31, on October 15 in Grand Junction, securing a three-game win streak and its first win over a ranked opponent in the Division II era.

With a 4-3 record and four games remaining, Dixie State needed two wins to clinch a winning season. The Trailblazers got the first on October 29 in a back and forth game at Adams State. Anthony Reyes (Queen Creek, Ariz./Dobson HS) propelled DSU to a 24-21 victory with a 21-yard field goal as time expire, giving the Trailblazers their fifth win of the season. The win marked the most wins in single-season in program history at that point, but the Trailblazers were not done. They wanted the winning season. And they got it two weeks later on Senior Day vs. Fort Lewis.

Dixie State jumped out to a 16-0 lead over the Skyhawks after two Dejon Coleman touchdown runs and a blocked punt by Orlando Wallace (Cathedral City, Calif./Cathedral City HS) that went for a safety. Fort Lewis closed the gap to 16-14 in the fourth quarter, but DSU got the stop it needed after Corey Stens (Corona, Calif./Santiago HS) pinned the Skyhawks at the 1-yard line with a 58-yard punt to complete the 16-14 victory and the first winning season in its NCAA Division II era.

COACHING STAFF: Head coach Shay McClure begins his second season as head coach, and will once again team up with Reilly Murphy (offensive coordinator) and Shawn Howe (defensive coordinator) on the DSU sideline. The coaching staff returns five assistants (Keola Loo, Jose Flores, Dustin Sobieraj, Ryan Williams, Marcus Graves)  from the 2016 team, while Willie Mack Garza (defensive backs), Anthony Weeden (wide receivers), and Rick Worman join the staff for the 2017 campaign.

UP NEXT: The Trailblazers travel to Rapid City, South Dakota, to battle South Dakota Mines on Saturday, Sept. 9.