Game Notes: DIXIE STATE - PDF | WEBER STATE - PDF
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Live Stats: vs. Weber State
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OPENING KICK: Dixie State (0-1) returns to action this Saturday night as the Trailblazers welcome in-state foe and defending Big Sky champion No. 10 Weber State (0-1) to Greater Zion Stadium. Kickoff is slated for 8 p.m.

WE WILL NEVER FORGET: Saturday's game will also serve as Military and First Responder Appreciation Day as part of Dixie State University's remembrance and observance of the 20th-Anniversary of the September 11th terrorist attacks on New York City and Washington D.C.
    Prior to the kickoff on Saturday night, there will be a special pre-game ceremony, which will include a giant American Flag and an F-35 flyover by the 466th "Diamondbacks" Fighter Squadron based out of Utah's Hill Air Force Base.  

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/WEBER STATE SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's game vs. Weber State will be the second-ever NCAA meeting between the Trailblazers and Wildcats on the gridiron.
    The last time the two sides squared off was during the 2008 season when Weber State defeated DSU by a 44-7 count in Ogden nearly 13 years to the day of this Saturday's match-up (9/13/08).
    In addition, this will be Weber State's first game in St. George since 1961, when both programs competed at the junior college level.

DSU/WEBER STATE TIES: Three members of the Dixie State coaching staff are very familiar with the Wildcat program.
    Offensive Coordinator Kelly Bills served as both wide receivers coach and QB coach at Weber State from 2016-18, while Defensive Coordinator Justin Ena was the DC and linebackers coach at WSU in 2014.
    In addition, Assistant Head Coach and Special Teams Coach Mike Fassel's father, the late Jim Fassel, was the OC at Weber State (1977-78), and his older brother John played receiver at WSU (1997-98).

LAST TIME OUT: Dixie State opened the 2021 season on a sour note with a 19-7 loss to Sacramento State last Saturday night at Greater Zion Stadium.
    The Trailblazers found themselves in a 12-0 second quarter hole, before the offense showed signs of life thanks to an eight-play, 70-yard drive that culminated with a 12-yd Kody Wilstead touchdown scramble. The junior quarterback accounted for all 70 yards on the drive with 58 of those yards coming through the air, which included a pair of clutch third-down completions.
    However that would be the only DSU scoring drive of the night as the Blazer offense could only muster 128 yards after halftime. Meanwhile, the Dixie State defense, which was on the field for nearly 38 game minutes, kept the Trailblazers in the game and limited the high-power Hornet offense to only 17 points and 400 total yards (176 in the second half).    

NEW YEAR-NEW HOME: After making its D-I debut as one of three FCS independents last spring, Dixie State has started 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 with a combined .714 overall winning percentage (record based on last completed season).   
    To date, nine of the 11 teams on DSU's slate are listed in the current 2021 AFCA FCS Coaches' top-25 poll, including  seven ranked teams, four 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 will travel to FCS runner-up No. 3 South Dakota State on Oct. 2.
    In addition to playing No. 10 Weber State, the Blazers will play road games at Big Sky members No. 12 UC Davis (9/18) and No. 5 Montana (10/9), and CAA member No. 6 Delaware (10/30). Meanwhile, Missouri State, which will visit St. George in DSU's season final on Nov. 20, cracked into the AFCA poll at No. 25.
    Last week's opponent, Sacramento State, is one of DSU's two other opponents which received votes in the AFCA poll, along fellow Trailblazer home opponent SFA (10/23).

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 3-18 all-time (D-II and FCS combined).
    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.

ALL-TIME IN SEASON OPENERS: Dixie State fell to 3-13 all-time in season openers (2-5 at home), in its NCAA era following its loss to Sacramento State last Saturday.
    DSU has now dropped four of its last six season openers overall, though the Blazers did collect a win in their FCS debut last February, a 26-14 road win at then-No. 22 Tarleton State (2/27).

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: Junior QB Kody Wilstead was limited to 159 yards on 15-of-30 passing last Saturday vs. Sac State.
• Wilstead did rush for 32 yards, highlighted by his 12-yard TD scamper, but he was sacked a career-high four times (minus 33 yards lost, -1 net), including being flagged for intentional grounding in the end zone midway through the first quarter.
• Wilstead (3,138 yds) did become just the second player in Dixie State's NCAA era to eclipse the 3,000-yard total passing yard plateau on Saturday night (Griff Robles - 5,096 yds; 2012-13) ... Wilstead (3,464 yds) enters Saturday night's game vs. Weber State needing only 36 yards to surpass 3,500 career yards of total offense.
• Wilstead's second-quarter touchdown rush was the fifth of his DSU career.
• Wilstead accounted for all 70 yards in that eight-play scoring drive, with 54 of those yards coming through the air, including a clutch 25-yard strike to freshman WR David Fisher on 3rd and 10, which was followed by a 31-yard connection with senior WR Jalen Powell on 3rd and 19, which set up the junior QB's scoring run one play later.
• Wilstead saw his streak of not throwing an interception halted at 28-straight quarters and 231-straight pass attempts when a deflection on his second throw of the game resulted in the Blazers' lone turnover in the Sacramento State loss.
• Wilstead had not thrown an interception since midway through the 2019 season, when he was picked off just before halftime in a road win at Western Colorado (10/19/19).  
• Freshman RB Quali Conley extended his streak of leading Dixie State in rushing to six-straight games after he racked up 26 yards on eight carries vs. Sacramento State.
• 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 vs. both New Mexico State (3/7) and at Kennesaw State (3/20).
• Senior RB Drew Kannely-Robles got the start vs. Sacramento State, which was his first game back after missing the 2021 spring season due to injury ... Kannely-Robles rushed for 16 yards on five carries and caught two passes for 23 yards.
• Powell (48 yards), Fisher (40 yards) and sophomore newcomer Keith Davis (30 yards) each hauled in a team-high four passes in the Sac State loss on Saturday ... DSU's "Three Amigos" combined for 118 of the Blazers' 159 receiving yards overall.
• Freshman DB Tyrell Grayson had himself a night against the Hornets as he racked up a career-high 13 tackles, including 12 solo stops, and registered one TFL.
• Junior LB Malaki Malaki recorded his third-career double digit tackle game with 11 stops (1 TFL) ... Malaki accomplished the feat twice last spring, highlighted by a DSU single game record-tying 19 tackles at NMSU (3/7), which came on the heels of a 10-tackle day a week earlier at Tarleton (2/27).
• Senior DL Livingston Paogofie enjoyed a solid Trailblazer debut in the Sac State game ... the Colorado State was credited with four solo tackles, including three TFLs and one of DSU's two sacks.
• Speaking of debuts, freshman LB Will Leota made an immediate impact last Saturday 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 ... Hendrickson now stands three sacks shy of becoming DSU's career sack leader.
* - Freshman punter Raleigh Phillips punted six times for 227 yards (37.8 ypp) in last Saturday's loss, including a 59-yarder ... three of Phillips' six punts were downed inside the 20.

TEAM NOTES:
• Dixie State picked up right where it left off by scoring points in its lone red zone possession last Saturday vs. Sacramento Stat ...  DSU scored in 13-of-16 red zone trips last spring with 10 touchdowns.
• Dixie State broke three team records in its 60-0 rout of Fort Lewis in the spring finale on March 27 ... DSU set records for total points (60), first half points (44) and margin of victory (60) ... meanwhile the shutout win was DSU's first at home and  just the second in the program's NCAA era (55-0 at NM Highlands; 9/21/19).
• DSU's defense surrendered 120 yards (third-lowest in program history) of total offense and 38 yards passing (second-lowest in program history) vs. FLC, both of which were season lows.
• Dixie State racked up 400-plus yards of offense in two of five games in the spring, including a season-high 483 yards at NMSU (3/7).  
• DSU has 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 second time in the Peterson-era, the Trailblazers were held under 300 yards of total offense in the Sacramento State loss, which broke a string of 15-straight games that the DSU offense had gained 300-plus yards.
• The last time DSU failed to gain at least 300 yards offensively came in Peterson's coaching debut at home vs. Colorado State-Pueblo (9/7) nearly two years to the day.
• Dixie State was held scoreless in the second half vs. Sacramento State, which is was the third occurrence during Peterson's tenure ... DSU was held scoreless in the first half in its home loss to Tarleton (3/13) last spring, and in the first half at Fort Lewis (11/9/19) ... however DSU rebounded with 23 unanswered points after halftime en route to a 23-14 road win.
• Dixie State was flagged five times for 41 penalty yards vs. Sacramento State, this after the Blazers were penalized just 21 times for 208 penalty yards last spring.
• Meanwhile, Sacramento State racked up 76 yards on eight penalties ... last spring, DSU's five Blazer opponents recorded 312 yards on 35 accepted penalties.  

#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 WEBER STATE "WILDCATS": No. 10 Weber State enters Saturday night's game looking to rebound after dropping a 40-17 decision at PAC-12 power No. 24 Utah last Thursday night in Salt Lake City.
    The Wildcats have been the class of the Big Sky Conference, having won four-straight league titles, and have made five-straight trips to the NCAA FCS playoffs, including a semifinal appearance in 2019.
    WSU returned four All-Americans and 13 all-Big Sky players from last spring's 5-1 team, including senior WR/Returner Rashid Shaheen, who ran a kick back 100 yards for the Wildcats' first touchdown last Thursday at Utah. Freshman QB Bronson Barron threw for 213 yards and a touchdown in the loss at Utah.
    Jay Hill (Utah, 2000) is in his eighth season as head coach at Weber State, where he is 52-32 overall and is a two-time AFCA Region 5 and 2021 Big Sky Coach of the Year honoree.   
    
NEXT UP FOR THE TRAILBLAZERS: Dixie State begins the road portion of its 2021 slate next Saturday in NorCal with a date at UC Davis. Kick-off is slated for 7 p.m. (PT).