DSU prepares to embark on a new Frontier
Dickinson State senior quarterback Dave Velasquez has yet to take a snap in the 2012 season and he knows his football team has already been written off by some in its new conference.By: Dustin Monke, The Dickinson Press
- Biesiot and seniors
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Dickinson State senior quarterback Dave Velasquez has yet to take a snap in the 2012 season and he knows his football team has already been written off by some in its new conference.
“Coming in, we’re definitely the underdogs,” Velasquez said. “I think a lot of people count us out.”
Frontier coaches picked the Blue Hawks to finish second to last in the league’s annual preseason poll.
Velasquez and other DSU players admit there are reasons for that.
The Blue Hawks are coming off an uncharacteristic 4-6 season — just the third losing season in the 36-year career of head coach Hank Biesiot — as they enter their first year in the Frontier Conference.
Despite returning 15 starters — 10 on offense — DSU’s two most lopsided losses in 2011 were against Frontier teams Rocky Mountain College (38-3) and Carroll College (35-6), the eventual NAIA national runner-up.
DSU opens its season against Rocky Mountain at 7 p.m. Saturday at the Badlands Activities Center in its first Frontier Conference game.
It was inevitable that even before they played their first down of the 2012 season, the Blue Hawks weren’t going to get much respect.
Some of the Frontier coaches — including the one who comes to Dickinson on Saturday — don’t know why either.
“There’s no doubt in my mind that they’re going to be ready to play,” Rocky Mountain head coach Brian Armstrong said. “They’re going to be ready for us and very competitive in the Frontier immediately.”
There are reasons to think DSU will struggle, at least right away, in its new league.
Its defense has to replace six starters. All-Dakota Athletic Conference running back Brennan Haughian didn’t return to the team and they’re replacing veterans on special teams.
Then there’s the team’s track record against Frontier competition.
Over the past 11 seasons, DSU has a compiled a 5-12 record against Frontier Conference opponents.
Though all but one game — a playoff victory over Montana Tech in 2004 — was against Carroll College (0-6), Montana State-Northern (3-4) and Rocky Mountain (1-4), those are the teams DSU must play twice this season — both at the Badlands Activities Center and on the road.
“It’s going to be a hard transition for us, but we have a good team, a lot of good seniors, a lot of good players,” said DSU senior receiver Tanner Leak, whose only career victory against a Frontier team was a 25-21 win over Rocky in the 2010 season opener. “I’m anxious to see how it works out. I’d like to say we’re going to do awesome. Then again, it’s a hard conference — probably one of the toughest conferences in the nation.”
Rokcy is already a burgeoning rival.
“Beat Rocky” T-shirts have been available at DSU’s Student Center all week.
It’s not even close to the often cringe-worthy, fan-made apparel once created for games against former Dakota Athletic Conference and North Dakota Collegiate Athletic Conference rivals University of Mary, Minot State or Jamestown College.
But it’s a start.
Things could be as challenging in the Frontier as they were when DSU first joined the DAC in 2000.
Then, the DAC was considered among the elite football leagues in the NAIA. Now, it’s the Frontier.
Much of that can be traced to Carroll College’s success.
The Saints’ eight national title game appearances, which have resulted in six championships, have pushed other teams to ratchet up their talent level in order to stay competitive.
“The Frontier has gotten better,” DSU head coach Hank Biesiot said. “Carroll always was good. There’s been kind of an arms race because of Carroll’s success out there. That’s what we’re involved with now.”
MSU-Northern head coach Mark Samson took it a step further, recalling comments he made at the Frontier coaches meeting in Great Falls earlier this month.
“This is the best league in the NAIA. I’ll argue that with anybody,” Samson said. “Top to bottom, there is not a better small college football league in the country than this one here. If anyone wants to challenge me on that, I’d be more than happy to get up there with them and prove it to them. There’s a lot of leagues in this country that there’s two or three at the top who are really good and the bottom four, five are terrible. I’ve watched them on film and they’re terrible.
“It isn’t going to be that way in this league. There’s going to be young teams. Unfortunately someone is only going to win two or three games this year. That’s just the way it’s going to work out. But this is, by far and away, the best league in the nation. I just believe that.”
Though the conference is loaded — Carroll is ranked No. 2, Eastern Oregon is No. 16 and MSU-Northern received votes in the preseason NAIA top 25 poll — the Blue Hawks believe they have a certain edge against many Frontier teams: toughness.
“One of the big things is we get told not to get out-hit, not to get out-hustled,” said DSU senior right tackle Carl Dynneson, who grew up in Sidney, Mont. “We’re going to take that to the Frontier and show them that over in North Dakota we can still play with them.
“We see some of what they have to bring and what they have to offer. I’d like to be confident and say we’re going to do just fine. We’re a good team, we have good players on our team. We know what we can do, we just have to go out there and prove it on the field.”
Biesiot echoes those statements but keeps to the old adage — by his admission a cliché — he has stuck to in all of his previous 36 seasons.
“It’s the old cliché, one game at a time,” Biesiot said. “It’s a long season and we plan on playing every one of them on our schedule.”
There are reasons to think DSU will struggle, at least right away, in its new league.
Its defense has to replace six starters. All-Dakota Athletic Conference running back Brennan Haughian didn’t return to the team and they’re replacing veterans on special teams.
Then there’s the team’s track record against Frontier competition.
Over the past 11 seasons, DSU has a compiled a 5-12 record against Frontier Conference opponents.
All but one game — a playoff victory over Montana Tech in 2004 — was against Carroll College (0-6), Montana State-Northern (3-4) and Rocky Mountain (1-4). Those are the same teams DSU must play twice this season, both at the Badlands Activities Center and on the road.
“It’s going to be a hard transition for us, but we have a good team, a lot of good seniors, a lot of good players,” said DSU senior receiver Tanner Leak, whose only career victory against a Frontier team was a 25-21 win over Rocky in the 2010 season opener. “I’m anxious to see how it works out. I’d like to say we’re going to do awesome. Then again, it’s a hard conference — probably one of the toughest conferences in the nation.”
Rocky is already a burgeoning rival.
“Beat Rocky” T-shirts have been available at DSU’s Student Center all week.
It’s not even close to the often cringe-worthy, fan-made apparel once created for games against former Dakota Athletic Conference and North Dakota Collegiate Athletic Conference rivals University of Mary, Minot State or Jamestown College.
But it’s a start.
Things could be as challenging in the Frontier as they were when DSU first joined the DAC in 2000.
Then, the DAC was considered among the elite football leagues in the NAIA.
Now, it’s the Frontier.
Much of that can be traced to Carroll College’s success.
The Saints’ eight national title game appearances, which have resulted in six championships, have pushed other teams to ratchet up their talent level in order to stay competitive.
“The Frontier has gotten better,” DSU head coach Hank Biesiot said. “Carroll always was good. There’s been kind of an arms race because of Carroll’s success out there. That’s what we’re involved with now.”
MSU-Northern head coach Mark Samson took it a step further, recalling comments he made at the Frontier coaches meeting in Great Falls earlier this month.
“This is the best league in the NAIA. I’ll argue that with anybody,” Samson said. “Top to bottom, there is not a better small college football league in the country than this one here. If anyone wants to challenge me on that, I’d be more than happy to get up there with them and prove it to them. There’s a lot of leagues in this country that there’s two or three at the top who are really good and the bottom four, five are terrible. I’ve watched them on film and they’re terrible.
“It isn’t going to be that way in this league. There’s going to be young teams. Unfortunately someone is only going to win two or three games this year. That’s just the way it’s going to work out. But this is, by far and away, the best league in the nation. I just believe that.”
Though the conference is loaded — Carroll is ranked No. 2, Eastern Oregon is No. 16 and MSU-Northern received votes in the preseason NAIA top 25 poll — the Blue Hawks believe they have a certain edge against many Frontier teams: toughness.
“One of the big things is we get told not to get out-hit, not to get out-hustled,” said DSU senior right tackle Carl Dynneson, who grew up in Sidney, Mont. “We’re going to take that to the Frontier and show them that over in North Dakota we can still play with them.
“We see some of what they have to bring and what they have to offer. I’d like to be confident and say we’re going to do just fine. We’re a good team, we have good players on our team. We know what we can do, we just have to go out there and prove it on the field.”
Biesiot echoes those statements but keeps to the old adage — by his admission a cliché — he has stuck to in all of his previous 36 seasons.
“It’s the old cliché, one game at a time,” Biesiot said. “It’s a long season and we plan on playing every one of them on our schedule.”
Tags: dsu blue hawks, frontier conference, college football, hank biesiot, sports, football
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