BUTTE — DSU chants rained from the North end of Alumni Coliseum as players from the No. 16-ranked Dickinson State Blue Hawks filtered onto the field in celebratory jubilation.
With a roster featuring 54 Montana players, DSU shrugged off the fact it probably should’ve hosted a first-round NAIA Football Championship Series game, piled up 472 yards of offense, and knocked off No. 17-ranked Montana Tech 35-28 to avenge a seven-point playoff loss in Butte seven years ago.
A five-game FCS losing streak snapped, the Blue Hawks advance in the playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Dickinson State junior running back Braden Zuroff was tabbed Offensive Player of the Game following a 227-yard, three-touchdown performance.
Junior Joey DeMarco intercepted Tech quarterback Blake Thelen twice, including in the fourth quarter to all but ice the game, and earned Defensive Player of the Game honors.
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Thelen was picked off three times in the loss, but tossed two touchdowns, a 73-yarder to Mark Estes and a 20-yarder to Wyatt Alexander.
Alexander, who entered Saturday 22 yards short of 1,000 for the season, eclipsed that mark in the second quarter, totaling 131 on six catches. Alexander’s 1,109 receiving yards and nine touchdowns are each the second-best single-season marks in Tech program history.
The Orediggers’ season, which included two top-25-ranked victories and the program’s first NAIA FCS appearance since 2016, ends at 7-4.
This article will be updated
Email Daniel Shepard at daniel.shepard@406mtsports.com or find him on Twitter/X @IR_DanielS.