Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | MONTANA - PDF
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OPENING KICK: Dixie State will close its three-game road swing this Saturday afternoon when the Trailblazers head to Big Sky Country for a road test at No. 6 Montana (3-1). Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. (MT), at Washington-Grizzly Stadium (25,217) in Missoula.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State home and away games this season will be broadcast live on ESPN Radio 97.7 FM, with Devin Dixon calling the play-by-play action and Andy Thompson providing color commentary. A live stream of the radio broadcast will be available at sportsradio977.com.
    Along with the radio coverage, all Dixie State home games will be streamed live on ESPN+.
     In August, the Western Athletic Conference announced a new multi-year, multi-platform media rights agreement with the "The Worldwide Leader" that will see over 500 annual events on ESPN+ and the ESPN app. This will include all Dixie State football, men's basketball, and women's basketball home games and WAC road games.

DIXIE STATE/MONTANA SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's game at Montana will be the first-ever meeting between the Trailblazers and Grizzlies on the football field.

ALL-TIME IN THE "TREASURE STATE": Saturday's game at Montana will be the third-ever time the Trailblazers have put on the pads in the Treasure State.
    The previous two occasions came early in program's NCAA transition to Division II, when DSU played a pair of games at Montana State.
    After dropping a 61-7 decision to the Bobcats in 2007 (9/15/07), Dixie State returned to Bozeman two years later and saw a major upset bid come up just short in a 23-20 (9/12/09) loss.

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State fell to 0-4 on the season after a 55-7 loss decision at No. 2/3 South Dakota State last Saturday in Brookings.
    After standing toe-to-toe with the 2020-21 FCS runner-up through the first quarter, the Trailblazers saw the Jackrabbits strike for five second-quarter touchdowns en route to a 35-0 halftime cushion.
    SDSU scored four times over the final seven minutes, with three of those TDs coming in a 2:35 span, thanks in part to two costly Blazer turnovers.  
    Dixie State did manage to avoid the shutout when reserve quarterback Kobe Tracy found tight end Cade Veach in the end zone from 16-yards out on 4th-and-10 with six seconds remaining in the game.

NEW YEAR-NEW HOME: After making its D-I debut as one of three FCS independents last spring, Dixie State is in its first season as a football playing member of the WAC, joining the other 14 Trailblazer Athletic programs under the conference umbrella.
    Due to previous game contract agreements for 2021, the Trailblazers were not eligible to be listed in the preseason WAC Coaches' Poll, and will face only three of the five football playing conference members (at home vs. both Tarleton State and Stephen F. Austin; on the road at Sam Houston) this season.
    Starting in 2022, Dixie State, Tarleton, SFA, Sam Houston, Lamar and Abilene Christian, and current Big Sky member and soon-to-be a new in-state rival Southern Utah, will make up the seven-team WAC FCS conference.

SO ABOUT THAT SCHEDULE: To paraphrase the legendary Ric Flair - "To be the best, you gotta beat the best!!!" And judging by who is on the Trailblazers' 2021 schedule, they will have plenty of opportunities to do just that.
    Dixie State's 2021 fall slate is arguably the toughest schedule in the country at the FCS subdivision, a schedule that features seven FCS Spring playoff teams, and an 11-team list that posted a combined .714 overall winning percentage (record based on last completed season).   
    To date, eight of the 11 teams on DSU's slate are listed in the current 2021 AFCA FCS Coaches' top-25 poll, including seven ranked opponents, five of which are ranked in the top-10 overall.
    Defending NCAA FCS champion and WAC newcomer Sam Houston tops the poll and will host DSU on Nov. 6, while the Blazers have already faced No. 3 SDSU, current No. 8 UC Davis (L, 27-60; 9/18), and current No. 18 Weber State (L, 3-41; 9/11).
    In addition to playing Montana on Saturday, DSU will also travel to CAA power No. 10 Delaware (10/30), and will host No. 16 Missouri State, in the season finale on Saturday, Nov. 20.
    Along with all the ranked teams listed, DSU will welcome Stephen F. Austin, which received votes in this week's AFCA poll, to St. George on Homecoming Saturday, Oct. 23.

DIXIE STATE AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS: Dixie State's 2021 schedule will also give the Blazers a chance to improve on their record against ranked opponents, which currently stands at 3-21 all-time (FCS and D-II combined) after the loss at SDSU last Saturday.
    DSU did split a pair of games against ranked opponents last spring, highlighted by its third-ever triumph over a ranked foe in last spring's season opener at then No. 22 Tarleton (Stat Perform ranking, 26-14; 2/27/21). Dixie State also dropped a hard-fought 37-27 decision at then-No. 9 Kennesaw State (AFCA and Stat Perform; 3/20/21).
    Prior to the Tarleton road result, the last DSU win vs. a ranked opponent came on Nov. 3, 2018, in a 52-45 thriller at home against then-No. 6 Colorado School of Mines. DSU claimed its first win over a ranked opponent in a 38-31 victory at then-No. 23 Colorado Mesa in Grand Junction in 2016.

HITTING THE TRAIL: Last spring, Dixie State traveled over 7,500 miles for its three road games at Tarleton State (Stephenville, Texas - 2,220 miles), at New Mexico State (played in El Paso, Texas - 1,458 miles), and at Kennesaw State (Kennesaw, Ga.)
    In fact, the KSU jaunt was a near 3,844-mile round trip, which was the longest road trip in program history, and marked the first time that the Trailblazers played a game EAST of the Mississippi River.
    This season, the Blazers are scheduled to travel over 12,000 miles for their five road dates, including a new program record trip to Newark, Delaware (4,664 miles) for their game at UD on Oct. 30. DSU will also travel nearly 2,700 to play at South Dakota State (10/2), and just over 2,000 miles to play at Sam Houston (11/6).

TRAILBLAZER QUICK HITS: Sophomore QB Kenyon Oblad was limited to 126 yards on 14-of-25 passing with two INTs and was sacked three times in the start against SDSU.
• Oblad made his first Trailblazer start at UC Davis (9/18), against which he threw for 342 yards and a collegiate career-high four touchdowns in the loss.
• Oblad's four TD passes eclipsed his previous career-high total of three, which he recorded twice, also on the road, during his freshman year at UNLV in 2019 (at Fresno State 10/18/19; at Nevada 11/30/19).
• Oblad completed 32 of his 58 pass attempts, though he was intercepted five times, and the UCD defense sacked him six times.
• Oblad's five INTs tied a DSU single game record (5, Skyler Ence vs. Colorado Mesa, 2007), while the six sacks were the most by an opponent since the 2018 season, when DSU surrendered six sacks vs. Western Colorado (10/13/18).
• Last spring the DSU offensive line surrendered only five total sacks in five games.
• RS-Freshman QB Kobe Tracy just about matched Oblad's line as he was 14-23-2 for 121 yards, though he did collect his third career TD pass when he found fellow freshman Cade Veach from 16-yards out with six seconds left.
• Veach finished the night with three catches for a career-high 55 yards to go with his first collegiate TD catch.
• Junior QB Kody Wilstead became the second player DSU's NCAA era to reach the 3,500-yard career total offense plateau in the loss to Weber State (9/11) ... Wilstead (3,583 yards) rushed nine times for 52 yards and completed eight passes (8-14-1) for 67 yards in three quarters against the Wildcats.
• Wilstead (3,190 yds) is also the second player in Dixie State's NCAA era to eclipse the 3,000-yard total passing yard plateau (Griff Robles - 5,096 yds; 2012-13).
• Wilstead's second-quarter touchdown rush against Sacramento State (9/4) was the fifth of his DSU career.
• Wilstead, who did not play at UC Davis (9/25), recorded his second-career pass reception when he lined up at receiver in the fourth quarter at SDSU last Saturday night ... he hauled in his only target for six yards, which was his first reception since he caught one pass for 14 yards on a trick play with former DSU WR Xavier Smith in the Blazers' 35-10 home win over Adams State (11/16/19) in the 2019 season finale.   
• Well it took three games, but freshman RB Quali Conley notched his first touchdown of the year, which came on a first quarter 8-yard screen pass from Oblad that got the Blazers on the board at UC Davis (9/18).
• Conley has scored at least one touchdown in five of his first nine collegiate games overall, including four of five starts last spring ... four of Conley's seven TDs have come on the ground, while his catch at UCD was his third TD reception.
• Conley saw his streak of leading Dixie State in rushing end at six-straight games after he was held to just 23 yards on eight carries vs. Weber State ... he was held in check at SDSU last Saturday as he mustered only 18 yards on seven carries to go with one catch for 13 yards out of the backfield.
• Conley was DSU's leading rusher in all five spring games, highlighted by a 97-yard night vs. Tarleton State (3/13), and a pair of 81-yard outings at both New Mexico State (3/7) and at Kennesaw State (3/20) ... the freshman also tallied a team-high 26 yards on eight carries in the Sacramento State (9/4) loss.
• Senior RB Drew Kannely-Robles rushed for a season-high 61 yards on nine carries at UC Davis (9/18) and caught two passes for nine yards to finish with a season-best 70 all-purpose yards.
• Kannely-Robles has racked up 137 all-purpose yards over his last two starts overall, including 67 yards (22 rush/45 rec) at SDSU last Saturday.
• Senior WR Jalen Powell (30 rec., 242) extended his streak of catching at least one pass to 20-straight games in the SDSU loss as he caught seven of his 11 targets for 32 yards.
• Powell had a night in the UC Davis loss (9/25) as he hauled in a career-high 13 balls for 107 yards - his third-career 100-yard receiving game.
• Meanwhile, Powell's 13 receptions was one off of DSU's single-game record of 14, which was which was set by former DSU All-American Joe Don Duncan (vs. Western Oregon) in 2013.
• Powell enters Saturday's game at Montana needing five more receptions to become just the eighth receiver in DSU's NCAA era to reach the 100-catch plateau.
• Powell also surpassed 1,100 receiving yards (1,104) last Saturday at SDSU and he now stands 134 yards shy of moving into 10th-place on DSU's career receiving yards list.
• Sophomores Taylor Alvarez and Malcolm Ross-Turner each collected their first collegiate TD receptions at UC Davis (9/18) ... Alvarez, who had played offensive line during his first two seasons as a Trailblazer before moving to tight end this year, found himself wide open for 4-yard TD toss in the first quarter.
• Ross-Turner found the end zone on DSU's second possession of the third quarter when he broke two tackles on his way to a 35-yard catch-and-run score.
• Freshman WR David Fisher racked up a career-high 77 receiving yards and his fourth-career TD at UC Davis, which came on a 26-yard strike from Oblad as time expired in the third quarter.
• Fisher's 77 receiving yards eclipsed his previous high of 63 yards, which came on two TD tosses, last spring vs. Tarleton State (3/13).  
• Junior DB/LB Kaejin Smith-Bejgrowicz registered his first career sack in the first quarter at SDSU last Saturday ... it was also the first sack the Jackrabbit o-line gave up this season (one of two on the night), and it came on a big 3rd-and-13 stop midway through the stanza.
• Freshman DB Tyrell Grayson tied a DSU single-game record with 19 total tackles (15 solo) in the UC Davis loss (9/25) ... Grayson joined junior LB Malaki Malaki (at New Mexico State, 3/7/21) and former LB Robert Metz (at Central Washington, 11/14/15) atop the single-game list.
• Grayson had himself a night against Sacramento State (9/4) when he racked up a then-career high 13 tackles, including 12 solo stops, and registered one TFL ... he followed that up with five solo tackles against Weber State (9/11), and he made eight tackles (6 solo) at SDSU last Saturday.
• Malaki recorded his third-career double digit tackle game with 11 stops (1 TFL) in the opener vs. Sacramento State (9/4) ... the junior also led the DSU defense with nine total tackles (6 solo) and a sack at SDSU, this after he recorded nine tackles (3 TFLs) a week earlier at UC Davis.  
• Malaki reached double figures in tackles twice last spring, highlighted by his record day at NMSU (3/7), which came on the heels of a 10-tackle effort in DSU's D-I debut win at Tarleton (2/27).
• Senior DL Livingston Paogofie enjoyed a solid Trailblazer debut in the Sac State (9/4) game ... the Colorado State transfer was credited with four solo tackles, including three TFLs and one of DSU's two sacks ... Paogofie added three more tackles to his season ledger in the Weber State loss (9/11), including 2.0 TFLs and his third sack of the year.
• Speaking of debuts, freshman LB Will Leota made an immediate impact against Sac State (9/4) as he collected eight tackles (6 solo) in his first collegiate game.
• After not notching a sack last spring, junior DL Dylan Hendrickson picked up his 11.0 career sack in the opener vs. Sac State (9/4) ... Hendrickson now stands three sacks shy of becoming DSU's career sack leader.

TEAM NOTES:
• Despite the loss last Saturday, Dixie State's defense hung a pair of "firsts" on SDSU - including being the first team hold the Jackrabbits scoreless in the first quarter.
• DSU also became the first team to register a sack against the SDSU offensive line and finished with two sacks and five total TFLs on the night overall.
• Dixie State enters Saturday's game against a stout Montana defense looking to get off the turnover train as the Blazers have committed 10 of its 14 turnovers on the year over its two games, with five miscues at both UC Davis and SDSU.
• The five TOs at UCD led to 21 Aggie points, while SDSU scored 20 points off of five Blazer miscues.
• Of the 175 points DSU has surrendered through four games, 51 points have come off of turnovers.  
• Dixie State tallied a season-high 442 yards (90 plays) of total offense in the UC Davis loss on Sept. 18, including a season-best 389 yards passing.
• Dixie State racked up 400-plus yards of offense in two of five games this past spring, including a season-high 483 yards at New Mexico State (3/7).  
• DSU eclipsed the 400-yard plateau offensively nine times in Paul Peterson's first year at the helm in 2019, highlighted by a 677-yard day (#2 all-time at DSU) vs. Black Hills State (10/5/19).
• However, for just the fourth time in the Peterson-era, and the third time this season, the Trailblazers were held under 300 yards of total offense in the SDSU loss (10/2; 253 yards in 72 plays).  
• Dixie State was limited to six net rush yards at SDSU, thanks in large part to four QB sacks that erased 31 rushing yards.
• The six yards gained rushing (0.25 ypc - #4 all-time low) was fifth-lowest total in DSU's NCAA era, and were the fewest yards since DSU was held to minus-1 yard at home vs. Western Colorado (10/13/18) nearly three years to the day in a game that DSU actually won, 17-10 ... DSU QBs were sacked six times in that game, though the DSU defense racked up seven sacks of its own in the win.  
• DSU was also limited to 253 yards vs. Weber State (79 plays), and 209 yards (in 55 plays) in the opener against Sacramento State, which broke a string of 15-straight games that the DSU offense had gained 300-plus yards.
• After scoring 10 total points over its first two games, Dixie State put 27 points on the board in the first three quarters at UC Davis (9/18), though the Blazers were held scoreless in that decisive fourth quarter.
• Dixie State (11.0 ppg in 2021) avoided being shutout for the first time in 73 games when Tracy found Veach in the waning moments of the SDSU loss ... the last time DSU was held scoreless was in a 44-0 home loss to Central Washington (11/16/13) during the 2013 season.
• Last spring Dixie State averaged 31.4 ppg, and scored at a 34.4 ppg clip in Paul Peterson's first year as head coach in 2019.
• Dixie State has been flagged 28 times for 222 yards over its first four games this fall, including eight penalties for 78 yards at SDSU (10/2).
• Last spring the Trailblazers were penalized just 21 times for 208 yards in five games.

YOU'RE IN GOOD HANDS: Allstate and the American Football Coaches Association (AFCA) announced on Sept. 24, that Dixie State post-graduate student wide receiver Deven Osborne has been named to the 30th-Anniversary 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team.
    Osborne is among 22 football student-athletes and one honorary coach selected to the 30th-Anniversary team. In all, 109 student-athletes from all divisions across the nation were with stories of exemplary community service, alongside academic dedication and impact on and off the field.
    The final 22-member team and honorary coach, were selected by a committee made up of former Allstate AFCA Good Works Team members and journalists.
    Osborne is the fifth college football student-athlete from the state of Utah to be selected to the Good Works Team, joining former Utah defensive backs Morgan Scalley (2004) and Eric Weddle (2006), former BYU quarterback Riley Nelson (2010) and former Utah State quarterback Chuckie Keaton (2014). In addition, Osborne is one of two Trailblazer football players to have earned the honor as former DSU transfer running back Jeffrey Coprich (2017) was named to the 2014 Good Works Team while at California.
    Fans will have the opportunity to help Osborne become the 2021 Allstate AFCA Good Works Team captain through online voting by visiting ESPN.com/Allstate. Voting is open now through Nov. 22, 2021.

#AB3FOREVER: Junior linebacker Malaki Malaki has been awarded the No. 3 jersey for the 2021 season.
    The awarding of the No. 3 jersey is the second instance in what has become an annual tradition honoring the memory of former Dixie State football player Abraham Reinhardt, who passed away unexpectedly on March 22, 2019. DSU Head Football Coach Paul Peterson noted that the No. 3 jersey would be awarded to a student-athlete who best exemplified Reinhardt's leadership, both on and off the field.
    "When we lost a great young man in Abraham [in 2019], we wanted to honor him and his legacy the best we possibly could," Coach Peterson said. "Abe was a perfect representative of our team culture which focuses on toughness, hard work, trust and accountability.
    "Malaki exemplifies everything that we are trying to build here at Dixie State. He is tough, works tremendously hard, is a great student and leader. Malaki will wear AB3's jersey this season in honor of his legacy."

ABOUT THE MONTANA "GRIZZLIES": No. 6 Montana enters Saturday game looking to rebound from a hard-fought 34-28 loss at No. 4 Eastern Washington last Saturday night in Cheney.
    The Grizzlies opened the 2021 campaign with a bang thanks to a 13-7 upset victory at then (FBS) No. 20 Washington in Seattle back on Sept. 4. UM followed that up with consecutive home routs of both Western Illinois (42-7, 9/11) and Cal Poly (39-7, 9/25).
    Montana's calling card this season has been its defense as the Grizzlies currently lead the FCS level in tackles for loss (10.8 TFLs/G), and are second in the country in sacks per game (4.5 spg). UM tallied 10 TFLs and five sacks in last Saturday's loss at EWU.
    Montana is also ranked in the top-10 nationally in passing efficiency defense (103.9) and 11th-nationally in scoring defense (13.8 ppg), while the unit is allowing 67.0 yards rushing and 268.5 yards passing through four games this season.
    Offensively, Montana is averaging 30.5 points and 365.5 yards a game (202.0 pass/163.5 rush). Senior quarterback Cam Humphrey has thrown for 722 yards and nine touchdowns this season, though his status for Saturday's game is in doubt after he suffered a leg injury late in the loss at EWU.
    Humphrey's favorite target is senior WR Samuel Akem, who has caught 11 passes for 185 yards and three touchdowns. Meanwhile freshman RB Xavier Harris has rushed for 264 yards on 42 carries with one touchdown in three games, with 127 of those yards and the TD coming last week at EWU.   
    Bobby Hauck (Montana, 1988) is in the fourth season of his second stint as head coach at his alma mater, where he is 101-27 overall in 10-plus seasons. Hauck has led the Grizzlies to seven Big Sky titles, including three outright conference crowns during his tenure, which was broken up by a five-year stint as head coach at UNLV (2010-2014).

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: After four weeks between home dates, Dixie State returns to Greater Zion Stadium for its first-ever WAC football game next Saturday, Oct. 16, when the Trailblazers play host to Tarleton State.
    Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. (MT).