MEDIA INFORMATION Date Sat., Sept. 22 | 6 p.m.  MT Location Trailblazer Stadium (10,000) | St. George, Utah TV CEC-TV (TDS Channel 22) Radio ESPN Radio 97.7 FM Watch/Listen WATCH (Dixie State Live Video) LISTEN (Online Radio Stream)   Live Stats Dixie State Live Stats Ticket Info Purchase Tickets Game Notes Dixie State (PDF) , South Dakota Mines Twitter @DixieAthletics #RMACfb #DixieBlazers DIXIE STATE - SOUTH DAKOTA MINES SERIES Series SD Mines leads, 3-1 At DSU SD Mines leads, 2-0 At SD Mines Tied, 1-1 First Meeting 11/1/14; SDSMT 41, DSU 40 - OT (@ SDSMT) Last Meeting 9/9/17; SDSMT 35, DSU 14 (@SDSMT) DIXIE STATE TRAILBLAZERS Record 2-1, 2-1 RMAC Ranking NR Last Game Sept. 15, 2018 (won vs. N.M. Highlands, 28-23) Head Coach Shay McClure (Southern Oregon, 1995) Career: 13-12 (3rd Season) DSU Record: Same SOUTH DAKOTA MINES HARDROCKERS Record 2-1, 1-1 RMAC Ranking NR Last Game Sept. 15, 2018 (Won vs. Simon Fraser, 52-28) Head Coach Zach Tinker (Western Wash., 1998) Career: 12-13 (3rd Season) SDSMT Record: Same

The Dixie State football team closes its three-game homestand on Saturday with a 6 p.m. matchup against South Dakota Mines at Trailblazer Stadium.

Live coverage is scheduled on television (CEC-TV – TDS Cable Channel 22), radio (ESPN Radio 97.7 FM), and internet (DSU Stretch Internet Portal), with Keric Seegmiller serving as play-by-play announcer and Andy Thompson providing color commentary and analysis. Drayson Ball will join the crew to provide further analysis and reports from the sideline.

ALZHEIMER'S AWARENESS NIGHT: Saturday's game will serve as Alzheimer's Awareness Night. Purple is the color that represents Alzheimer's, and during halftime, DSU student-athletes will throw out purple t-shirts, balls, and other items to the crowd to help promote the Walk to End Alzheimer's at Dixie State on Saturday, Nov. 10. For more information visit alz.org/walk and find the DSU St. George Walk.

ALL-TIME VS. SOUTH DAKOTA MINES: Saturday's game marks the fifth meeting between Dixie State and South Dakota Mines. The teams first met on Nov. 1, 2014, in St. George in a game that saw both teams score 40 points or more and amass a combined 998 yards of total offense. The game went to overtime, where the Hardrockers held on for a 41-40 victory after a DSU extra-point attempt clanged off the upright. The Trailblazers responded in 2015, rolling to a record-setting 48-25 victory on Halloween in Rapid City. The Hardrockers avenged the Halloween loss in 2016, scoring 28 points in the second half to hold on for a 31-27 win at Trailblazer Stadium.  South Dakota Mines extended its lead in the series to 3-1 with a decisive 35-14 victory last season in Rapid City.

KNOW YOUR FOE: South Dakota Mines enters Saturday's contest with a 2-1 overall record and 1-1 mark in RMAC play. The Hardrockers took Colorado Mesa to the wire before falling 36-33 in the 2018 season opener before responding with a 38-21 win over Western State and a 52-28 non-conference triumph over Simon Fraser.

SD Mines is racking up 435.3 yards (265.3 pass/169.7 rush) per game, led by senior quarterback Jake Sullivan, who has completed 73 passes for 774 yards and five touchdowns. Sullivan has also rushed for 123 yards and three more touchdowns. Sullivan's favorite targets are Isaiah Manley (17 rec/210 yards/3 TD) and Joe Luebbers (13 rec/156 yards). Senior running back Connor Silveria leads the rushing attack with 218 yards and four touchdowns on 35 carries.

Defensively, the Hardrockers allow 430.7 yards (285 pass/145.7 rush) of total offense per game. Freshman linebacker Will Carroll leads the SD Mines defense with 28 tackles, while junior defensive lineman Michael Retland leads with a team-high 2.5 sacks. The Hardrocker secondary has recorded six interceptions, led by Marken Vilson (2 INT) and Dominick Jackson (2 INT).

Sophomore kicker Enis Sefa leads the SDSMT special teams. Sefa was named RMAC Special Teams Player of the Week on Monday after converting 7-of-7 point-after attempts and connecting on a 39-yard field goal. Sefa has split the uprights on 4-of-5 field attempts this season and is a perfect 15-of-15 on point-after attempts.

LAST TIME OUT:  Dixie State football rallied for a 28-23 victory over New Mexico Highlands last Saturday at Trailblazer Stadium, overcoming an eight-point halftime deficit to tie the program's best start in the Division II era.

Dixie State won its second consecutive game despite being outgained by the Cowboys. The Trailblazers finished with 363 yards (203 rush, 160 pass) of total offense. Smith completed 13-of-25 passes for 160 yards and one touchdown, while rushing for another touchdown. Lauago eclipsed the century mark for the first time this season, rushing for 168 yards and one touchdown on 27 carries. Dantzler finished with four catches for 83 yards, while Duran also snagged four passes for 31 yards and his first touchdown of the year.

Defensively, DSU allowed 393 yards (220 pass, 173 rush) of total offense. Three Dixie State defenders finished with seven tackles, including Mike Jones (San Diego, Calif./Mount Miguel HS), J.T. Anderson (Layton, Utah/Layton HS), and Jordan Nichols (Bakersfield, Calif./Frontier HS), while Alex Lilliard (San Diego, Calif./Grossmont HS) recorded five tackles. Watson also added another five tackles to go with the game-sealing interception. The Trailblazers also won the turnover battle for the second consecutive game, forcing two turnovers while playing turnover-free for the second time in as many weeks.

NCAA TOP PLAY: Junior receiver Dejuan Dantzler (Moreno Valley, Calif./Citrus Hill HS) landed at No. 4 on Tuesday's NCAA.com Division II Football Plays of the Week with his diving catch late in the third quarter against New Mexico Highlands. The catch set up the game-winning touchdown run on the next play.

CHASING HISTORY: The Trailblazers improved to 2-1 with Saturday's 28-23 win over NMHU, matching the best start in their NCAA Division II era. Two other DSU teams (2007, 2012)  have opened the season with a 2-1 record. A win on Saturday would propel Dixie State to a 3-1 record and the best start in program history.

MAKING HISTORY: Dixie State students and fans packed the stands at Trailblazer Stadium on September 8, setting a new single-game attendance record of 5,498. The mark surpassed the previous record of 5,320 set during the 2006 home-opener against Humboldt State.

Freshman punter Josh Carlson (Gilbert, Ariz./Gilbert HS) set a new Dixie State record in his Trailblazer debut with an 81-yard punt in the third quarter at CSU-Pueblo on September 1, eclipsing the previous mark of 78 yards set by Nate Lewis against Humboldt State in 2007.

UP NEXT: Dixie State opens a two-game road swing next Saturday with a trip to Black Hills State in Spearfish, South Dakota. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.