2001 Valley City State Vikings football team
| 2001 Valley City State Vikings football | |
|---|---|
NAIA First Round, L 27–45 at Carroll (MT) | |
| Conference | Dakota Athletic Conference |
| Record | 9–2 (8–1 DAC) |
| Head coach |
|
| Offensive coordinator | Cory Anderson |
| Defensive coordinator | Gregg Horner (5th season) |
| MVP | Jeremy Peschel |
| Home stadium | Lokken Stadium |
| Conf. | Overall | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Team | W | L | W | L | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 8 Mary $^ | 9 | – | 0 | 9 | – | 1 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 13 Valley City State | 8 | – | 1 | 9 | – | 2 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| No. 21 Huron | 7 | – | 2 | 7 | – | 3 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dickinson State | 6 | – | 3 | 6 | – | 4 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Jamestown | 5 | – | 4 | 5 | – | 5 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Minot State | 4 | – | 5 | 4 | – | 6 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Black Hills State | 2 | – | 7 | 3 | – | 7 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Dakota State | 2 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| South Dakota Mines | 2 | – | 7 | 2 | – | 8 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| Mayville State | 0 | – | 9 | 0 | – | 10 | ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
| ||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||||
The 2001 Valley City State Vikings football team represented Valley City State University in the 2001 NAIA football season as a member of the Dakota Athletic Conference (DAC). Under fifth-year head coach Dennis McCulloch, the Vikings finished 9–2 overall and 8–1 in conference play, earning a second consecutive berth in the NAIA playoffs for the first time in program history.[1] Valley City State opened the season 9–0 before falling to conference champion Mary in the regular-season finale and losing at Carroll (MT) in the NAIA First Round.[1]
Wide receiver Steve Battle and linebacker Ben Aarestad were both named NAIA Second-Team All-Americans, while quarterback Jeremy Peschel earned conference Most Valuable Player honors for the second straight season. Eight Vikings were selected to the All-DAC First Team: Peschel, Battle, Aarestad, Justin Wieseler, Brent Miller, James Thornton, Mike Silbernagel, and David Rowe.[1]
Valley City State dominated early in the season, posting back-to-back shutouts over Minnesota–Morris and Minot State and outscoring their first nine opponents by a wide margin. The Vikings’ 9–0 start positioned them among the top teams in the NAIA, rising as high as No. 3 in the NAIA Coaches' Poll.
A road loss at Mary in the regular-season finale left the Vikings as runners-up in the DAC standings, but they still secured an at-large bid to the NAIA playoffs for a second consecutive year. In the first round, Valley City State traveled to Helena, Montana, where they fell 45–27 to eventual national champion Carroll (MT).[1]
Schedule
| Date | Opponent | Rank | Site | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| September 1 | Minnesota–Morris* | No. 8 | W 45–0 | |
| September 8 | Minot State | No. 8 |
| W 42–0 |
| September 15 | at Dakota State | No. 7 | Madison, SD | W 33–0 |
| September 22 | at Black Hills State | No. 4 | Spearfish, SD | W 21–7 |
| September 29 | Jamestown | No. 4 |
| W 33–14 |
| October 6 | No. 22 Huron | No. 4 |
| W 31–0 |
| October 13 | at Dickinson State | No. 3 |
| W 23–20 |
| October 20 | at Mayville State | No. 3 |
| W 35–14 |
| October 27 | South Dakota Mines | No. 3 |
| W 51–13 |
| November 3 | at No. 4 Mary | No. 3 | Bismarck, ND | L 8–40 |
| November 17 | at No. 4 Carroll (MT)* | No. 12 | Helena, MT (NAIA First Round) | L 27–45 |
| ||||
Rankings
| Week | |||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Poll | Pre | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 5 | 6 | 7 | 8 | 9 | Final |
| NAIA Coaches' Poll | 8 | 7 | 4 | 4 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 3 | 12 | 12 | 13 |
Coaching staff
- Dennis McCulloch: head coach
- Cory Anderson: offensive coordinator
- Gregg Horner: defensive Coordinator
- Nat Hill: assistant coach
- Dave Rausch: assistant coach
- Jamie Nelson: assistant coach
Awards and honors
- Jeremy Peschel – Dakota Athletic Conference Most Valuable Player (Second Consecutive Season)[1]
- Steve Battle – NAIA Second-Team All-American (Wide receiver)[1]
- Ben Aarestad – NAIA Second-Team All-American (Linebacker)[1]
- Brent Miller - NAIA Second-Team All-American (Defensive Line)[1]
Dakota Athletic Conference All-Conference
- Jeremy Peschel
- Steve Battle
- Justin Wieseler
- Brent Miller
- Mike Silbernagel
- Ben Aarestad
- David Rowe
- James Thornton
- J.O. Thielges
- Josh Komarek
- Mike Rowe