VALLEY CITY, ND  (NewsDakota.com)  This week marks the start of competition for Valley City State, and an old conference foe will greet them in the Magic City.

Minot State will host the Vikings Thursday night at Herb Parker Stadium in Minot.  The rivalry renews after several years away after Minot State pursued NCAA Division II status while Valley City State remained in the NAIA.

The last matchup between the Beavers and Vikings was in 2010, when Minot State scored 24 fourth-quarter points to win 34-3 in Minot.  The Beavers finished the season 6-4 that season, 5-2 in Dakota Athletic Conference play, losing games to South Dakota Mines and Dickinson State.

In the Division II era, the best season for the Beavers has been a three-win season, the last of those coming in 2019.  After no games were played in 2020 due to the Covid-19 pandemic, the Beavers have finished with records of 2-9, 1-10 and 1-10 last year, their lone win at home over Concordia-St. Paul.

The Beavers are picked 12th of 13 teams in this year’s preseason Northern Sun Intercollegiate Conference (NSIC) poll, ahead of the University of Mary.

The Vikings look to improve on a 7-3 record a year ago, losing two games to Dickinson State and on the road at South Dakota Mines.  Last season included a thrilling comeback win over Waldorf, IA 28-24, a game the Vikings trailed 24-0 at halftime, and a two-overtime win over Mayville State at home.

A key departure for the Vikings was Riley Gerhardt, who set records for sacks and tackles for loss a year ago.  Another is at runningback, where Justice Bice performed at an all-conference level.

Leading the key returners will be both quarterbacks from the past two seasons.  Avery Thorsgard and Noah Chambers have both seen action the past two years, and have competed regularly for the position.  Both are expected to see action in Minot.

The Vikings return a number of skilled players that all saw some success a year ago, including receivers Justin Cruz, Dominic Sotomayor, and Jake Deutsch.

Defensively, Georgia and Georgie Mageo return to anchor the defensive line, along with TaQuez Chatman, who saw time at both linebacker and line a year ago.

Gametime Thursday night is set for 6 PM, with pregame coverage beginning at 5 PM on KOVC.