JC hosts struggling ‘Hawks’

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Dickinson State football coach Hank Biesiot began the season two wins short of the all-time NAIA record for career victories.

Six weeks into the 2012 campaign, Biesiot is still looking for that second win.

The Blue Hawks (1-5) have been playing uphill since August. Before the season, a couple of expected starters decided to give up playing. Once the season began, injuries to key players added another wrinkle. Dickinson State has played all or part of the season without its starting quarterback, No. 1 running back, tight end and free safety.

Maybe even more significant is that the Blue Hawks are playing their first year in the Frontier Conference — the SEC of the NAIA.

Never one to make excuses, don’t expect Biesiot to pass the buck now in his 37th season.

“We’ve had our share of issues, but at the same time those things don’t have much to do with the way we’ve played. We just haven’t done the things we do well enough,” he said. “It’s been frustrating for our players, for our coaches. … Our players have been playing hard, and sure, we wish we had a better record but there are a lot of teams in America that probably think that.

“You keep working hard and play for the next game. … But we have some distance to get where we would like to be.”

Shawn Frank, who admired Biesiot’s program while growing up in the western part of the state, said the Jimmies won’t overlook the Blue Hawks.

“As far as I’m concerned you can throw their record out the window,” the JC head coach said. “They play in the deepest football conference at this level.

“Dickinson State is a program I have a lot of respect for. Coach Biesiot is a great example for all coaches. He does things the right way.”

The Blue Hawks have struggled on both sides of the ball. They’ve been outscored by 135 points (207-72). Quarterback Dave Velasquez was injured last week and leading rusher Myren Moore also is hurt. Neither is likely to play today.

Their injury problems are similar to what the Jimmies had gone through the previous three years.

Jamestown College, meanwhile, has remained remarkably healthy. The Jimmies (2-4) are 2-1 in their last three games with a three-point loss to Valley City State (4-2) the only setback.

Frank is expecting nothing less than a four-quarter contest.

“They’re going to be physical, because they always are. They’re going to be fundamentally sound, because they always are,” he said. “The exciting thing is we get to play them. They’re a natural rival and it’s the kind of game that is great for our team because they’re a program we aspire to be like.”

Biesiot saw the Jimmies play in August against Rocky Mountain College and believes they’ve made significant strides since.

“They’ve improved and made progress since that first game. I don’t know if we have,” he said. “We have to play a lot better. There isn’t much question about that.”

Tags: sports, jimmies, football