Tonight’s matchup: Hardrockers invade Legend Solar Stadium

GAME PREVIEW CAPSULE
South Dakota Mines & Technology University (1-0) at Dixie State University (1-0), 6 p.m., at Legend Solar Stadium
Previous Meeting: Dixie State beats SDMT 48-25 behind 682 yards of total offense on Halloween night, 2015 at Rapid City, South Dakota
Broadcast: ESPN SportsRadio 97.7 FM, CEC-TV, SouthernUtahLive.com

TRAILBLAZERS
blazerDHead coach: Shay McClure (1st year, 1-0, 1-0 overall)
Offense: Pro Set, Multiple
Defense: Pro 4-3
Last Game: Beat New Mexico Highlands 21-14 last week at home
Players to watch: Last year Blake Barney had a monster game against SDMT. But neither he nor DeJon Coleman is expected back until next week. Added to the injured list this past week is tight end Derrick Brown, who will be out 2-3 weeks. QB Tyson Blackner has plenty of talent around him though. RBs Clifford Simms, Orlando Wallace and Sei-J Lauago played pivotal roles in game one. WR Dejuan Dantzler leads the team in receiving. Defensively, safety Colton Olson and linebacker Peter Brown lead the team in tackles. Defensive linemen Darius Mathews and Keanu Foki lead the team in sacks. Defensive end Remington Kelly and tackle James Lautogia played well against SDMT last year.

HARDROCKERS
hardrockerHead Coach: Zach Tinker (1st year at SDMT, 1-0, 1-0 overall)
Offense: Spread
Defense: Base 4-3, multiple coverages.
Last Game: Beat William Jewell College 64-41 last week at home
Players to watch: After throwing a pick-six on the opening play of the game, QB Jake Sullivan proceeded to rack up 390 yards of total offense (258 passing, 132 rushing). The offense totaled 607 yards. Sullivan also threw five touchdown passes to five different receivers. WR Marcus Sanchez leads the team with five receptions. Safeties Triston Brown and Jamir Moore lead the team in tackles. Jake Fitzgerald leads the linebacking crew.

COACH MCCLURE’S PERSPECTIVE
“We played SDMT pretty well last year. They had a couple of big plays that hurt us, but other than that we were able to shut them down. This year they have new personnel. They look like a better team than last year. Their offense is basically the same with some new wrinkles. They do the hurry-up on offense and try to catch you out of coverage. Their defense has changed from a double flex to a base 4-3, but defensively they have the same personnel, just in different roles. We had great fan support last week. We hope that they will DVR the “Holy War” and come out and support us again this week.”

GAME OUTLOOK
This game is unique in many ways. It is the first game between the two newcomers to the RMAC. It is a game between two new head coaches without any previous head coaching experience. Unlike last week when DSU faced a balanced team, SDMT is blatant about trying to outscore you, defense be damned. They will face a DSU team that has McClure’s defensive stamp on it. The defense came up big in a pressure situation last week. They will likely face some pressure situations this week as well.

STGNews Prediction: Look for more scoring than last week. DSU wins 42-28.

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Twitter: @oldschoolag

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