VALLEY CITY, N.D. – The 2026 football season is upon us, and the Valley City State University Vikings open the campaign taking on Southwest Minnesota State. Kickoff is set for 7:00 p.m. at Mattke Field at the Schwan Regional Event Center.

This will be the second meeting between these two teams. The first was back in November of 1988 with SMSU winning 29-19 in Valley City. That was one of only three losses that year for the Vikings.

VCSU is coming off a 6-4 season in 2025, 3-3 in its first year in the Frontier Conference East Division. Leading the way offensively are wide receivers Jake Deutsch and Exavian Westbrook. Deutsch, who was All-Conference Honorable Mention in 2025, led the team with 38 receptions for a team leading 447 yards and five touchdowns in 2025. All three stats were career highs for the senior from Fargo. Westbrook was second on the team with 28 catches for 303 yards.

Laggarius Marshell will lead the ground game this season after missing 2025 with an injury. In 2024, he rushed for 384 yards in 76 carries with three touchdowns. He was second on the team in rushing and tied for the team leadership in rushing touchdowns with three.

Defensively, 2025 2^nd team All-Conference players Gavin Gerhardt and Aiden Russell will lead the way for the Vikings. Gerhardt led VCSU in tackles in 2025 with 89 total stops. He also added two fumble recoveries from his safety position. Russell was next on the tackle chart with 60 tackles and a team leading three fumble recoveries. He will be part of an experienced linebacking corp with Riley Olson and Levi Olson. Lorenzo Luchi is back at defensive end for the Vikings. He was second on the team with 4.5 sacks and led the team with two forced fumbles.

You can hear all the action on 1490 AM/96.3 FM KOVC with the Voice of the Vikings Ryan Cunningham on the call. Pregame is at 6:15pm, kickoff at 7pm live from Marshall.

If you are heading to Marshall, get your tickets on-line here. For Parking pass tickets, you can get them here.