Madison Daily Leader - DSU football victory could mean start of new era

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Madison Daily Leader	home : news : news : opinion

DSU football victory could mean start of new era

By JON M. HUNTER, Publisher

11/02/2009

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We know times are tough when a college football team's first victory comes on Halloween.

But there are reasons for enthusiasm for the Dakota State University Trojans following their 42-7 victory over Mayville State on Saturday at Trojan Field.

The DSU football program has struggled to build sustained success in recent years as head coaches haven't stayed long and on-the-field losses have hampered recruiting.

In February, DSU Athletic Director Gene Wockenfuss hired Josh Anderson as head football coach. Anderson was a Trojan tight end in 1994-95 and an All-Conference SDIC player before transferring to North Dakota State. He was an assistant coach at three universities before becoming a head high school coach in Arizona for the past six years.

Anderson recruited a number of freshmen for this year's Trojan squad, and they played a substantial role in Saturday's victory. All six touchdowns were scored by freshmen.

So while a 1-7 record isn't what the squad had hoped for, the building blocks are being set in place for a better season next year. Freshman quarterback Paul Bagala said after the game, "If we stick together, we could do a lot of damage in the DAC." He said the win was for the graduating seniors and the coaching staff.

There is still plenty of work to do to build the program, especially recruiting to replace the seniors and build depth. But we're encouraged that the team can start to build up some longer-term success.

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