The Dixie State College football team won its first football game last Saturday night, a 42-7 victory over Simon Fraser University.
DSC is now 1-0 in the GNAC and the team is experiencing a new-found optimism. Various figures around the program, from coaches Scott Brumfield and Judd Thompson to players like QB Cody Stephenson, are excited about what Dixie State Football can achieve after last week’s success.
“When we brought that offense together, we were clicking on all cylinders for all season,” Stephenson said. “And it just showed everyone we can compete in the GNAC this year.”
Dixie State Head Coach Scott Brumfield showed the most excitement about last week’s effort.
“We can believe in ourselves, and believe in our teammates, and we can come out and execute and eliminate mistakes, and do things not more than what we ask but just what you can do, and I think they (the DSC players) came out and did that and played a great football game,” he stated.
Critics scrutinized Dixie’s offense during the preseason but DSC QB coach Judd Thompson said the running game helped the Red Storm success against Simon Fraser.
“The first two games, people were really able to load up the box and bring a lot of pressure because we weren’t able to run,” Thompson said. “So it was really nice to get the run game going and that kind of took the pressure off and allowed Cody to throw the ball down the field as well.”
As Dixie prepares for a chance to go 2-0 for the first time in school D-2 history, the urgency to compete and perform hasn’t been lost on the Red Storm’s star players.
“We have to put points on the board as much as we can and keep our defense off the field,” Stephenson said. “We know from playing them (Western Oregon) last year; they’re physical, they’re tough, they’re fast, and they can play all four quarters so we have to do the same and match the intensity.”
Dixie State College plays Western Oregon University on Saturday at Hansen Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled at 6:00 p.m. This week’s game is the final game of Dixie’s four-game season opening homestand.
