Dickinson State heads to Mayville for NSAA opener – The Dickinson Press

DICKINSON — With the Blue Hawks no longer burdened by Rocky-Mountain-College, Dickinson State will open its final North Star Athletic Association schedule at noon on Saturday, Sept. 7, at Mayville State. The ‘Hawks will look to complete a decade of NSAA dominance after nine straight titles and it all starts with the Comets, who finished the 2023 schedule with a 3-8 overall record and 2-6 in North Star play and will host their first home and season opener.

With the Blue Hawks and Comets joining the Frontier Conference in 2025 (along with Valley City State University, Dakota State University and Bellevue University), DSU will have a familiar, NSAA-style environment associated with the move. But first, the schools must navigate their way through the 2024 North Star schedule and take care of business, as DSU holds a 20-1 record over Mayville State during the series (not to mention winning both games in 2023 by a combined score of 90-38).

If last week is any indication, the Blue Hawks are ready to play in 2024 following their season-opening 42-17 victory over Rocky Mountain College at the Biesiot Activities Center on Thursday, Aug. 29. That win snapped a four-game losing streak to the Battlin’ Bears and came courtesy of 281 total yards of offense for the hosts and a suffocating run defense that limited Rocky to just 56 rushing yards and a paltry 1.4 YPC average.

DSU responded with 140 rushing yards (77 from senior running back Braden Zuroff, plus a 20-yard touchdown run) and a pair of timely defensive plays from senior defensive back Jayden Heartwell, who caught a 66-yard touchdown catch to open the scoring in the game and added a 75-yard fumble recovery for a touchdown with :09 remaining in the first half. Backup quarterback Carson Hunter also grabbed one from 37 yards out with 1:30 left in the game and senior quarterback Will Madler had an efficient night going 11-of-16 passing with a 23-yard pass to junior wide receiver C.J. Stinson just after halftime that broke the Bears’ backs and gave DSU an 18-point lead at the time.

In the last meeting between DSU and Mayville State on Oct. 14 of last year, the Blue Hawks took a 35-17 halftime lead and held the Comets to just 3 points in the second half en route to a 49-20 victory. Zuroff rushed for 111 yards on 12 carries with 2 touchdowns and Darion Brown had a 3-TD field day with 91 yards of his own as the Blue Hawks racked up 505 total yards of offense and held MSU to just 32 yards on the ground.

To watch the game live, please visit the YouTube page at www.youtube.com/watch?v=eeFytcW4XZQ and live stats can be followed at www.dsubluehawks.com/sports/fball/2024-25/boxscores/20240829_xhhr.xml while radio enthusiasts can join North Dakota Broadcasting Hall of Famer Rod Kleinjan on the airwaves at 12:30 a.m. and/or www.kdix.com for the play-by-play broadcast.

For more information on DSU football, please read on. The Dickinson Press and/or visit their website at

https://www.dsubluehawks.com/sports/fball/index.

Gaylon is a sportswriter from Jensen Beach, Florida, but has lived all over the world. His athletic background gave him a love of sports that led him to a journalism career in places like Enid, Oklahoma, Alamogordo, New Mexico, Pascagoula, Mississippi, and Viera, Florida since 1998. His main passion is small-town community sports, particularly baseball and football.