ST. GEORGE, Utah-As was confirmed late Wednesday, 17 Dixie State football student-athletes earned all-conference honors from the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference.
Four Trailblazers made the all-RMAC first team. They include senior receiver Dejuan Dantzler (45 rec, 847 yards, 7 TD’s), junior tight end Chase Hess (23 rec, 354 yards, 7 TD’s), NFL prospect senior defensive back Aaron Simpson (7 interceptions, 12 pass breakups) and junior kicker James Baird (11-13 on field goal attempts and 42 of 45 on PAT attempts). All of these student-athletes were at or near the top of the conference with their respective attainments.
Three Dixie State standouts made the all-RMAC second team. They include senior safety Alex Lilliard (71 tackles, 8.5 tackles for a loss, 4 sacks, 7 pass breakups, four forced fumbles and a fumble return), senior tailback Sei-J Lauago (108 car, 575 yards, 5 TD’s), the all-time Dixie State leading rusher (2,348 career rushing yards) and sophomore offensive lineman Nathen Aceves.
Ten other Trailblazers received honorable mention recognition from the RMAC.
They include junior receiver Jalen Powell (44 rec, 557 yards, 5 TD’s), redshirt senior wide-out Kasey Allison (26 rec, 446 yards, 5 TD’s), redshirt sophomore offensive lineman Adeeb Jaouni, freshman offensive lineman Siotame Ha’unga, senior kick returner Xavier Smith (29 total kick/punt returns, 391 net kick/punt return yards, 1 kickoff return for a score, 27.9 yards per kick return) sophomore linebacker Malaki Malaki (71 total tackles, 1 sack, six tackles for a loss) freshman linebacker Syrr Barnes (six tackles for a loss) redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Dylan Hendrickson (10 sacks, ranking him 16th nationally, 11.5 tackles for a loss, one pass breakup), redshirt sophomore defensive lineman Tyler Heaton (1.5 sacks, forced fumble, 5 tackles for a loss) and sophomore defensive back Devin Chandler (5 pass breakups. 0.5 sacks).
Dixie State’s season ended with an 8-3 record (7-3 in RMAC play) after the NCAA Division II playoff committee and subsequent bowl committees bypassed them for a postseason berth.
Their next game will occur as an NCAA FCS school at Southern Utah next September 5 as their football history at the Division II level has drawn to a close.
Their first home game in history against a fellow Division I opponent occurs September 26, 2020 against Drake of Des Moines, Iowa at what will be a refurbished state-of-the-art Trailblazers Stadium.
