Soldotna senior Dylan Dahlgren signed a national letter of intent Monday to play football for Dickinson State University in Dickinson, North Dakota.
The Blue Hawks play at the NAIA level and have won seven consecutive North Star Athletic Association titles. This season, Dickinson State lost 38-13 in the opening round of the NAIA playoffs to Grand View University of Des Moines, Iowa, on Nov. 20 to finish 8-3.
Pete Stanton has been the head coach of the Blue Hawks since 2013, but Stanton also spent 14 years as an assistant coach with the program. Stanton has now led the team to seven straight conference titles. In 2018, the Blue Hawks reached the NAIA quarterfinals. In 2020, Dickinson State became only the sixth team in school history to have an undefeated season.
Dahlgren, the son of Dane and Christina Dahlgren, helped lead the Stars to a 6-1 record in the regular season and a Northern Lights Conference title by catching 15 balls for 300 yards and five touchdowns from his tight end position.
At the conclusion of the season, he was awarded Lineman of the Year for both the Northern Lights Conference and Division II.
Dahlgren also plays hockey and throws the shot put and discus for SoHi. At the Division I state meet last season, Dahlgren took third in the shot put.
At Dickinson State, Dahlgren will join three other graduates of Soldotna.
Galen Brantley III has played a pair of seasons for the Blue Hawks, but still is listed as a freshman on the roster due to the extra year granted by the coronavirus pandemic.
This season, Brantley III earned honorable mention at tight end in the North Star All-Conference honors. The 6-foot-3, 230-pound player caught six balls for 49 yards this season. On Oct. 30 in a 53-7 victory over Mayville State, Brantley III scored the first points of his career when he caught a two-point conversion.
Offensive lineman Melvin Lloyd, at 6-2, 300, and defensive lineman Aaron Faletoi, at 6-2, 260, also are on the Blue Hawks roster as freshmen.
Soldotna had four other players in college football this season.
Brenner Furlong also played in the North Star Athletic Association for Dakota State, which finished 5-3 in the league and 6-4 overall. Furlong is listed as a 6-0, 205-pound running back. He led the Trojans in rushing yards, appearing in eight games and rushing 92 times for 319 yards and three touchdowns. He also caught 10 balls for 81 yards and two touchdowns.
Hudson Metcalf plays for Colorado Mesa University in Grand Junction. The Mavericks play at the NCAA Division II level in the Rocky Mountain Athletic Conference. Metcalf is listed as a 6-2, 200-pound freshman linebacker on the roster.
Metcalf appeared in two games this season and recorded one solo tackle. Colorado Mesa finished 8-2 this season.
Aseli Finau plays for Eastern New Mexico University in Portales, New Mexico. The Greyhounds play at the NCAA Division II level in the Lone Star Conference.
Eastern New Mexico finished 4-7 this season. Finau is on the roster as a redshirt junior playing defensive line at 6-2, 260 pounds. Finau appeared in nine games for the Greyounds this season, rolling up eight solo tackles, three assisted tackles, 3.5 tackles for loss and one sack.
Dennis Taylor plays for Lewis-Clark Valley Loggers. This program was created in 2013 due to the absence of NCAA Division II and III programs in Idaho. The program gives players an opportunity to play Division III competition. All players are students at Lewis-Clark State College in Lewiston, Idaho.
The Loggers went 1-5 this season. Taylor is listed as a 5-9, 165-pound freshman running back and defensive back on the roster.
Taylor did a little bit of everything this season. He rushed three times for minus-2 yards, racked up six solo and eight assisted tackles, had three kickoffs in one game, and punted four times in another game.
