SIOUX FALLS -- The #9 University of Sioux Falls Football Team (1-0), which won the NSIC Championship for the first time in 2016, will host in-state NSIC foe Northern State (1-0) on Saturday, Sept. 9 at 6:05 p.m. in the home opener on Military Appreciation Day at Bob Young Field.

On Saturday Night, USF will welcome and honor all military veterans and active duty men and women in attendance. Veterans may attend the game at $5 per ticket. USF will honor military veteran's unyielding and patriotic service, sacrifice and dedication to America's freedom. During halftime all veterans in attendance will be honored in a special ceremony.  During pre-game ceremonies, the S.D. Air National Guard's 114th Fighter Wing, Master Sergeant Brian Johnson and Master Sergeant Bo Ellefson will present a game ball to USF Director of Athletics Josh Snyder. The USF-NSU game will be carried by Midco TV network with David Brown on play-by-play.

Moment of Silence for USF Board of Trustee Tom Lillibridge
Prior to the start of the game, USF will hold a moment of silence for former chairman of the USF Board of Trustees and special friend Tom Lillibridge, who recently passed away. He joined the USF Board of Trustees in 1998 and recently completed four years serving as chair of the board. Tom and his wife, Cindy, established the Tom and Cindy Lillibridge Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership and Innovation at the USF School of Business and the Lillibridge Family Track facility.

USF to hold ceremony for President Bradfield at halftime of NSU-USF Football Game
On Tuesday, January 31st, the Board of Trustees named former USF Provost and Vice President for Academic Affairs, Dr. Brett Bradfield, the 23rd president of the University of Sioux Falls. On Thursday, September 7, 2017, Dr. Brett Bradfield was officially inaugurated as President in an Inaugural Ceremony on campus. At halftime of the USF-NSU game on Saturday, the USF Athletic Department and all 400+ student-athletes, coaches, and staff will honor and congratulate President Bradfield and  his family for taking over as President of the 134-year old institution.  

Breakdown of USF- NSU
Both USF and Northern opened the season with victories. The Cougars, aided by a defensive score by Derek Landis and a punt return TD from Jason Towns, defeated defending North Division champ Minnesota Duluth, 26-7, snapping the Bulldogs 22-game home winning streak. NSIC Defensive Player of the Week Dennis Gardeck had five sacks to lead a USF defense which recorded a program D2 best eight sacks, 14 tackles for loss and held UMD to -19 yards rushing on 30 carries.

NSU turned back Wayne State, 23-16. NSU outscored the Wildcats 14-6 in the second half. The Wolves recorded 330 yards of total offense, including 151 yards rushing. Quarterback Jake Comeaux threw for 179 yards and a TD.

Series Notes
The Cougars have a 4-8 record vs. NSU, including a 45-37 win over the Wolves in Sioux Falls in 2013 and a 28-10 victory in Aberdeen in 2015. In win over NSU in 2013, Luke Papilion had 19 carries for 240 yards and a career-best five rushing TDs. In the 2015 win, USF built a 21-3 at half after two TD receptions by Garrett Shutt and a 21-yard TD run by Max Mickey, who had 21 carries for 110 yards and a TD. The Cougars outgained NSU, 431-to-262. USF and NSU began playing each other in 1922 but had not met before 2013 since 1959, which was a 32-0 NSU win.

Gardeck named Defensive NSIC POW
USF linebacker Dennis Gardeck was named the NSIC Defensive Player of the Week after setting a USF D2 mark of five sacks while registering his 10th career double digit tackles game with 10. He had five tackles for a loss, fumble recovery and a forced fumble. A two-time All Mountain East performer before transferring to USF, Gardeck has 10 career games with double digit tackles after his opening season outing against UMD. In his career, he now has 283 tackles with 23 career sacks and 42 tackles for loss.

Butler surpasses 200 career tackles
With seven tackles in the opener against Minnesota Duluth, senior captain Josh Butler has surpassed 200 tackles in his career. He has 202 career stops with 128 solo stops with 18 career pass deflections.

Mickey records 14th 100-yard rushing game
With a career-high 37 carries, eight-time All-American Max Mickey had his 14th career 100-yard rushing game, finishing with 114 yards and a one-yard score in the win over UMD. The NSIC Preseason South Offensive Player of the Year now has He now has 2,897 career rushing yards (8th all-time at USF) and 33 career rushing TDs (6th all-time at USF). He now needs 219 rushing yards to move into seventh on USF career chart. A year ago, he set a school record with 1,764 rushing yards. He has 36 career TDs, 33 rushing, with his overall total ranking 11th all-time at USF.

Anderson records first win as head coach at USF
With a 26-7 victory over #10 Minnesota-Duluth, USF Football gave head coach Jon Anderson his first career win in his first game leading the program. He returned to USF in December to take over the program. Anderson was an assistant coach, including serving as defensive coordinator, from 2002-2012.

So what is the record for first year coaches in opening games?
Coach Jon Anderson has become the ninth coach to record a win in the opening game as USF coach. Overall, USF coaches have gone 9-10-2 when coaching their first games at the school. Here is a list.

1919 -- T.R. Johnson, L, 19-9, Dakota Wesleyan
1924 -- Frank McCormick, W, 32-0, Southern State
1928 -- Francis Olson, W, 7-0, Northern State
1935 -- Walter Hargesheimer, W, 12-7, Fort Dodge JC
1937 -- Ben Mankowski, L, 18-0, Morningside
1946 -- Ben Nelson, L, 13-0, Southern State
1947 -- Bill Mauzy, L, 20-0, General Beadle
1948 -- Bill Wilkinson, T, 0-0, General Beadle
1949 -- Philip Tinsworth, W, 26-12, General Beadle
1956 -- Jack LaSalle, L, 27-0, Yankton College
1958 -- Don Ewen, T, 6-6, SD Tech
1962 -- Richard Sterup, L, 28-13, Bethel
1969 -- Jim Ricketts, L, 36-12, Southwest State
1971 -- Al Molde, L, 34-0 Dakota Wesleyan
1973 -- Gary Hoffman, L, 7-3, USD-Springfield
1976 -- Roger Thomas, L, 13-7, Dakota Wesleyan
1978 -- David Schroeder, L, 22-0, SD Tech
1983 -- Bob Young, L, 31-0, Bemidji State
2005 -- Kalen DeBoer, W, 14-7, Concordia, Neb.
2010 -- Jed Stugart, W, 41-24, Northwestern, Iowa
2017 -- Jon Anderson, W, 26-7, Minnesota Duluth

Cougars score twice on special teams and defense to push D2 total to 35
With a 17-yard fumble recovery for a TD by Derek Landis and a 41-yard punt return for a TD by Jason Towns, the Cougars pushed their total of 35 touchdowns by special teams or defense during the DII era (since 2011). USF has scored 24 defensive TDs since 2011 and 11 special teams TDs.

Scoring streak hits 140 games
Since moving to DII in 2011, the Cougars have scored 2,504 points in 69 games or 37 ppg. USF has scored in 140 games dating to a 55-0 loss to Carroll College in the final game of the 2005 season. USF had a DII-best 73 points vs. Minnesota State-Moorhead (Sept. 27) in 2014. The previous high was in 2011 when the Cougars defeated the South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, 71-0.  

Cougars stand 46-10 in NSIC games
USF is 46-10 in NSIC games and 53-15 in all DII games since the transition in 2011. USF's clinched a 23rd straight winning season in 2015, a streak which is unmatched in D2 and the fifth-longest streak across all divisions. The string of success began with an 8-3 season for legendary head coach Bob Young in 1994.  

Butler, Mayberry, Springer and Mickey named Team Captains
Head Football Coach Jon Anderson has announced the team captains for the 2017 season. The captains, selected by vote of the team, include seniors Max Mickey, Holden, Mo.; Joshua Butler, Aurora, Colo.; Brian Mayberry, Littleton, Colo.; and Jesse Springer, Denver, Colo.

Cougars Tracks
~ USF has the fifth longest run of winning seasons -- best in  NCAA DII -- at 23 straight

~ In 69 games since 2011, USF is 53-16 and has made 5,166 plays for 30,741 yards (17.46 miles), 445.52 per game, 5.95 yards per play.

NSU Notes

Dosch leads NSU Program
Northern State is led by Tom Dosch, who is the 26th head coach in Wolves football history, Dosch enters his eighth year at the helm of the Wolves and 26th year of collegiate coaching in the fall of 2017. In 2016 the Wolves finished 6-5 overall and 4-3 in the NSIC North.  The other staff include:
Offensive Coordinator: Mark Martin, Defensive Coordinator: Matt Racowschi, Offensive Line: Ben Ehret, Wide Receivers: Maia Tupou, Defensive Line: Jalon Bibbs, Running Backs: Kurt Holinka, Secondary: Terry Dosch, Cornerbacks: Patrick Sweeney, Tight Ends: Gerardo Magana, Outside LBs: Ben Watkins

Quick Take on NSU
In NSU's season-opening win over Wayne State, 23-16, several players led the way. The Wolves were led in rushing by Nick Truen with eight carries for 46 yards. Quarterback Jake Comeaux completed 20-of-33 passes for 179 yards with a TD and an interception. He also rushed for 42 yards including a 31-yard run. Riley Frantzen caught five passes for 23 yards to lead the receiving corps. On defense, Joe Gorghuber had six tackles and a TFL.