Valley City (VCSU) – The 2025 college football season is off and running around the country. Valley City State University will open its season on the road against Dickinson State on Thursday, August 28th.

The Blue Hawks have won the last nine meetings between these two teams. The last Vikings win came in 2019 when they defeated the Dickinson State 23-22 at Lokken Stadium. The last win at Dickinson State for the Vikings was a 33-21 victory in 2014.

Both teams have moved into the Frontier Conference for the 2025 season. This game will be a non-conference game. The conference matchup will come on October 25th in the last home game of the season for VCSU.
In the preseason coaches’ poll, Valley City State was picked sixth in the East Division of the Frontier Conference. Dickinson State, who won the last ten NSAA titles, was picked second in the East Division, one point behind Montana Tech.

The Vikings come into the season with depth at many positions and many All-Conference players are returning. On offense, Jake Deutsch returns to lead a talented receiving corps. Deutsch caught 30 passes last season for 385 yards and two touchdowns. Laggarius Marshell is the leading rusher back for the Vikings. He had 393 yards rushing yards on 76 carries and four touchdowns in 2024. At quarterback, the Vikings will have Joey Cave starting on Thursday. The NCAA Division Two transfer was an All-Conference quarterback at New Mexico Highlands University in 2024. The dual threat quarterback threw for 1,252 yards and 13 touchdowns last season. He added 482 rushing yards and another seven scores.

TaQuez Chatman returns to anchor the defensive line. Chatman was an All-Conference selection in 2024 and totaled 43 tackles and 5.5 sacks. Gavin Gerhardt returns this season after a standout sophomore campaign where he led the team with 84 tackles and added two interceptions.

Some newcomers to watch for are Kassius Ashtiani at wide receiver and Ashton Raquino at linebacker. Aquino is not a true newcomer. He returns to VCSU after playing one season at the University of Hawai’i.

Kickoff for Thursday opener is set for 6:00 p.m. Mountain Time and 7:00 p.m. Central Time from Fisher Field at the Hank Biesiot Activities Center.

Catch all the action on KOVC AM 1490/96.3 FM with “The Voice of the Vikings” Ryan Cunningham on the call. Pregame is set for 6:15 p.m.