Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | TARLETON STATE - PDF
Live TV: KCEC-TV (TDS Channel 22)
Live Video: DIXIE STATE YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Live Audio: ESPN RADIO 97.7 FM
Live Stats: vs. Tarleton State
Twitter: @DixieAthletics | @DixieState_FB | #DixieBlazers | #WeAreONE | #OnTheRISE

OPENING KICK: Following an unexpected 483-day gap between home games, Dixie State (1-1) will finally get to play a game on the turf at Greater Zion Stadium as the Trailblazers will make their NCAA D-I FCS home debut this Saturday night against Tarleton State (2-2). Kickoff is slated for 7 p.m. (MT). 

FANS IN THE STANDS: Dixie State Athletics announced back on January 27th that limited single game general admission seating will be made available for the Trailblazers' two home football games this spring season.
    Seating at Greater Zion Stadium will be capped at 50 percent capacity, or 5,000 total attendees, with all University, local, state and federal CDC COVID-19 protocols and recommendations strictly followed.

DIXIE STATE VS. TARLETON: Saturday night's game vs. Tarleton will be the second game of a home-and-home series between the Trailblazers and Texans this season.
    Dixie State made its NCAA D-I FCS debut on the road at then #22 Tarleton in Stephenville, Texas back on Feb. 27, and came away with a hard-fought 26-14 victory.
    The Trailblazers never trailed as they racked up 445 yards of total offense, while the DSU defense forced five Texan turnovers, and allowed only one offensive touchdown, to pick up the victory.

DIXIE STATE ON THE AIR: All Dixie State Division I 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, both DSU home games this spring will be simulcast on KCEC-TV (TDS Cable Channel 22), with tape-delay rebroadcasts aired throughout the following week, and streamed live on Dixie State's YouTube channel (youtube.com/DixieStateAthletics).

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State took the field against a NCAA D-I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) team this past Sunday afternoon when the Trailblazers traveled to El Paso to face New Mexico State.
    DSU led 14-10 at the half and 21-20 after three quarters, but the Aggies scored nine unanswered points to vault to a 29-21 lead with 6:03 remaining.
    The Trailblazers pulled even thanks to a Kody Wilstead to Quali Conley 75-yard touchdown strike and two-point conversion to tie the game at 29-29, but NMSU punched in a game-winning score with 21 seconds to play to escape with a 36-29 victory.

HI, MY NAME IS ....: After 14 years as a competing member of the NCAA at the Division II level, Dixie State will officially kick off its D-I FCS era on Saturday at Tarleton.
    During their 14-year Division II era, the Trailblazers played to a 52-100 (.342) overall record, which included a combined 41-61 conference record in the GNAC (16-46; .258) and RMAC (25-15; .625) conferences.
    Dixie State posted winning records in three of its final D-II seasons, including a program best 8-3 mark (8-2 RMAC) last season Head Coach Paul Peterson's first season at the helm.

WE ARE INDEPENDENT...FOR NOW: Dixie State Athletics officially began its transition to NCAA Division I status this past July 1, with all sports except football joining the Western Athletic Conference. The transition also meant that the Trailblazer football program was going to begin its transition as one of three FCS independent programs in the country, joining Tarleton State and Presbyterian University.
    However the WAC announced last month an expansion plan that would include the addition of five new member schools, all of which sponsor football. Among the new members are current Big Sky Conference member and soon-to-be a new in-state rival Southern Utah, and Abilene Christian, Lamar, Sam Houston State and Stephen F. Austin from the Southland Conference.
    The four Southland schools will join the WAC this upcoming July 1, while SUU will move over in July of 2022, thus rounding out a seven-team WAC FCS football league that begins play that fall.
    Fellow WAC member New Mexico State, which DSU played last Sunday afternoon in El Paso, will remain an independent D-I FBS program and will not be included in the new WAC football league.

ARE YOU READY FOR SOME (SPRING) FOOTBALL?: Though the 2020 D-I FBS football season has come and gone, the National Football Foundation announced last month that more than 300 schools and 35 conferences in the FBS, FCS, D-II, D-III and NAIA levels are playing college football this spring.
    According to the NFF, Dixie State is one of more than 100 FCS programs which are putting on the helmets and pads for the 2021 spring season.

DIXIE STATE AGAINST D-I FCS OPPONENTS: Well it took 10 tries but Dixie State finally recorded its first victory over a D-I FCS program when the Blazers knocked off Tarleton State on Feb. 27.
    Prior to that win, DSU had played nine games against D-I FCS opponents over its 14 years as a D-II program (0-9), including eight games against current members of the Big Sky Conference, most recently at Idaho State in 2013 (L, 14-40; 9/7/13). DSU has also played road games Northern Arizona (2006), Montana State (2007, 2009), Weber State (2008), Southern Utah (2009, 2010) and Cal Poly (2009), and at current Pioneer Football League member San Diego in 2006, which was coached at the time by current Michigan head football coach Jim Harbaugh.

DIXIE STATE AGAINST RANKED OPPONENTS: The win at then No. 22 Tarleton (2/27) also marked the third-straight season that the Trailblazers opened a season against a ranked opponent. 
    Last season, DSU kicked off the year at home against then D-II AFCA No. 9-ranked CSU-Pueblo (L, 7-36), which was one of two ranked teams the Blazers played last season. CSU-Pueblo was also ranked #14 in the AFCA D-II poll to begin the 2018 campaign when DSU faced them in Pueblo for that season opener.
    Thanks to the win at Tarleton, the Trailblazers improved to 3-17 all-time in match-ups against ranked opponents. Prior to last Saturday, 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.

DIXIE STATE RECEIVING VOTES: For the second-straight week, Dixie State has received votes (10 this week) in the Stat Perform FCS Top-25 poll.
    Prior to this season, DSU had only received votes in the top-25 just one other time in the program's NCAA era, that came during the 2019 season when the Blazers received 37 votes in the AFCA D-II Coaches' Poll (10/20/19) after a 6-1 start to that campaign. 

ALL-TIME IN SEASON OPENERS: Dixie State improved to 3-12 all-time in season openers in its NCAA era with the win at Tarleton (2/27).
    Prior to that, the Trailblazers' last season-opening win came at home in a 21-14 triumph over New Mexico Highlands on Sept. 1, 2016. DSU's last season-opening victory before that was a 37-28 home win over Adams State on Aug. 27, 2009.
    The Tarleton win also marked the first season-opening road win in the program's four-year era (1-8).

MALAKI AND CONLEY EARN NATIONAL RECOGNITION: Dixie State junior linebacker Malaki Malaki and freshman running back Quali Conley landed on this week's Stat Perform Week 4 FCS Player of the Week honorable mention lists for their performances in Sunday's loss at NMSU.
    Malaki, who is averaging 14.5 tpg this season, tied a program NCAA-era record with 19 total tackles, including nine solo stops vs. the Aggies. Malaki, who also had 2.5 tackles for loss and a forced fumble, tied the record first set by former DSU linebacker Robert Metz, who also recorded 19 tackles in a 2015 game at Central Washington (11/14/15).
    Conley racked up a career-best 179 all-purpose yards and scored two touchdowns to highlight the Trailblazers' day offensively. The freshman got Dixie State on the board on the team's opening drive with a 43-yard scamper, which was part of a career high 84-yard rushing effort on 11 carries.
    Conley then helped the Blazers tie the game late in the fourth quarter when he hooked up with quarterback Kody Wilstead for a 75-yard catch-and-run touchdown with 5:52 to play in the game. He finished the day with a career-high 98 receiving yards on four catches.

HITTING THE TRAIL
* - After throwing for a then-career high 350 yards in the season opener at Tarleton (2/27), junior QB Kody Wilstead bettered that a week later at NMSU, when he completed 26-of-38 of his passes for 373 yards and two touchdowns.
*- Wilstead's 373 yards passing tied for the eighth-most in a game in the program's NCAA era (Judd Thompson vs. Adams State (2009).
* - Wilstead also padded his school record with his sixth-career 300-yard passing game at NMSU.
* - Wilstead completed a 65-yard TD pass to senior WR Jalen Powell in the third quarter, and found Conley for a 75-yard TD catch-and-run late in the fourth quarter.
* - Wilstead's 75-yard TD pass tied for the 6th longest in the program's NCAA era and was DSU's 15th TD pass all-time in the four-year era that had covered 65 or more yards, which included the Powell TD one quarter earlier.
* - Wilstead's two touchdown passes last Sunday moved him into solo third place on DSU's career passing TD list (21).
* - In all, Wilstead threw to eight different receivers at NMSU, with five of them hauling in at least four catches.
* - Wilstead also extended his streak without an interception to 18 quarters, dating back to the 2019 season, and he has not been picked off in his last 139 pass attempts overall ... his last INT came just before halftime in a road win at Western Colorado (10/19/19).
* - Wilstead also rushed for a touchdown in the second quarter at NMSU, his second rushing TD in as many weeks, and the third of his career.
* - Powell recorded his second career 100-yard receiving game as he hauled in six passes for 104 yards to go with his TD ... Powell posted a career-high 127 receiving yards in 2019 vs. Colorado Mesa (11/2/19).
* - Senior TE Chase Hess picked up right where he left off a season ago as he hauled in five catches for 96 yards at Tarleton (2/27), highlighted by a 43-yard catch and run for his eighth career TD, which pulled him into a tie for ninth on DSU's career TD receptions list ... Hess also tallied 49 yards on four receptions at NMSU last Sunday.
* - Senior WR Deven Osborne recorded a career-high 67 receiving yards at Tarleton (2/27) ... Osborne, who had only six total catches a season ago, also made four catches for 53 yards at NMSU last Sunday.
* - Conley is averaging 74.5 yards rushing and 153.5 all-purpose yards through his first two collegiate games with three total touchdowns overall.
* - Conley rushed for 68 yards and a score at Tarleton (2/27), and caught three passes out of the backfield for 60 yards, including a 48-yd catch and run, to finish with 133 total yards on the day.
* - DSU's offense racked up a season-high 483 total yards at NMSU, marking the fifth-straight game dating back to last season that the Trailblazers had gained at least 440 total yards of offense.
* - DSU eclipsed the 400-yard plateau offensively nine times in 2019, highlighted by a 677-yard day (#2 all-time at DSU) vs. Black Hills State (10/5/19).
* - Dixie State has scored in all four quarters in three-straight games overall.
* - Through two games this spring, Dixie State has been flagged just seven times for 88 penalty yards.
* - Junior safety Darrius Nash collected two strip sacks at Tarleton (2/27), including a big one on the Texans' first possession of the game that help set up Dixie State's first touchdown.
* - Nash (9.5 tpg) made nine tackles (4 solo) at NMSU last Sunday, which included one TFL, and recorded one pass breakup.
* - Senior DL Isaac Fotu complemented Malaki's big day at NMSU as he was credited with 10 total tackles (2 solo) and DSU's lone sack of the game.
* - Freshman DB Malina Ti'a matched Fotu with 10 total tackles at NMSU and he was also credited with 0.5 TFL.  
* - Junior CB Kaejin Smith-Bejgrowicz and junior DB Devin Chandler accounted for both Trailblazer interceptions at Tarleton (2/27), while Smith-Bejgrowicz also forced a fumble to halt the Texans' first sustained drive of the second half.
* - Chandler also made eight total stops at NMSU with 1.0 TFL and two PBUs.
* - Dixie State surrendered 329 yards rushing to NMSU last Sunday, which broke a string of 22-straight games since the last time an opponent rushed for 300-plus yards against a DSU defense (at CSU-Pueblo - 496 yds; 9/1/18).
* - Junior P Johnny Borashan punted seven times for 257 total yards (36.7 ypp) with three kicks inside 20 yards.
* - Senior PK James Baird went 2-for-3 in the field goal department at Tarleton, including a career long 48-yd field goal early in the fourth quarter.
* - Not only was that kick a career best for Baird, it was also the second-longest field goal make in DSU's NCAA era (Jameson Schulz 50-yd FG at Colorado Mesa, 2011).
* - Dixie State special team surrendered a 93-yard Tarleton kick-off return for a touchdown in the third quarter last Saturday... that KOR broke a string of 55-straight games since the last time a DSU opponent housed a kick off (11/8/14 vs. Colorado Mesa).

DIXIE STATE LANDS SEVEN ON PHIL STEELE PRESEASON ALL-INDY TEAM: Though its seems forever ago, July 24, 2020 to be exact, but Dixie State landed seven player on the annual Phil Steele 2020 Preseason FCS Independent Team.
    Four of the Blazers' seven selections were on the offensive side of the ball, including redshirt junior quarterback Kody Wilstead, senior tight end Chase Hess, senior wide receiver Jalen Powell and junior offensive lineman Nathen Aceves.  
    Dixie State redshirt junior defensive lineman Dylan Hendrickson was the Trailblazers' lone representative on the Steele defensive team, while senior placekicker James Baird and redshirt senior quarterback/punter Keaton Mott (who opted out of the 2021 spring season) were special teams selections.

#AB3FOREVER: Just prior to the start of its first NCAA Division I fall camp, Dixie State Football announced that senior running back D'Arman Notoa was awarded the No. 3 jersey for the 2020 season.
    The awarding of the No. 3 jersey is the first of what will 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.
    "When we thought of a player to carry on his legacy and have the honor of wearing the number three, D'Arman was clearly the best candidate. We know D'Arman will continue to exemplify our team culture, carry on Abe's legacy and help propel us into becoming an elite D-1 football program."
    Notoa played in all 11 games in his first season at Dixie State in 2019, during which he rushed for 308 yards on 75 carries and three touchdowns. He also caught 16 passes out of the backfield for 124 yards with one more touchdown.

NOT ALL HEROES WEAR CAPES: The Dixie State University football program was presented the Life Saving Medal Award last September by the DSU Department of Public Safety for its heroic efforts in the St. George community The award was presented to the team at Greater Zion Stadium by DSU Chief of Police/Director of Public Safety Blair Barfuss and several DSU Police officers.
    This past August 7, the Trailblazer program received national attention when several football players and coaches sprang into action to rescue a rappeler who was stranded in mid-air below the face of the "Dixie Rock" located on the Dixie Sugarloaf that overlooks the city. The entire team was at the Sugarloaf as part of an annual tradition prior to the start of fall preseason camp when the call for help came.
    Then two weeks later on the evening of Sunday, Aug. 23, two members of the team, along with two other fellow students, helped lift a vehicle off another Dixie State student who was trapped under water during a sudden flash flood as a result of a massive thunderstorm that hit the St. George area.
    "I am really proud of this team, we have some really good young men on this team," Coach Peterson said. "We are trying to establish a culture of positivity and to champion everything that we do. We definitely want to give back to our community.

SCOUTING TARLETON STATE: Tarleton enters Saturday's game with a 2-2 record through four games of its eight-game 2021 spring schedule.
    The Texans' two wins came in a convincing 43-17 road triumph at New Mexico State (2/20), and a 39-14 home win vs. Mississippi College last Saturday in Stephenville.
    Junior quarterback Steven Duncan has completed 58.8 percent (50-of-85) of his throws through three games with two TDs. The junior threw for 259 yards and a score in last Saturday's win vs. Mississippi College.
    Senior RB Ryheem Skinner is averaging 102 yards rushing through four games with three touchdowns on the ground, including a 197-yard day with a score vs. Dixie State (2/27) earlier this season.   
    Tarleton is averaging 33.2 ppg and 411.5 yards of total offense, while allowing 24.2 ppg and 337.8 yards in four games. 

NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State closes the road portion of its 2021 spring schedule next Saturday, March 20, with a date at current No. 9 Kennesaw State. The game will be played inside Fifth Third Bank Stadium in Kennesaw, Ga., with kick-off slated for 1 p.m. (ET).