Reusse: The Lance family of Marshall, Minn., lingers in its own football universe: Frisco, Texas

The championship game at the FCS level of NCAA Division I football has been played at Toyota Stadium in Frisco, Texas, since 2011. The Ford Center, a 12,000-seat domed stadium, is the showpiece of the Dallas Cowboys practice headquarters that opened in 2016, also in Frisco.

The two sites are separated by 4 miles.

There are few people who could have been more involved in the dramas surrounding these two locations than Carlton and Angie Lance from Marshall, the college town in southwest Minnesota.

There had been a week of suggestions coming from the Cowboys complex that their oldest son, quarterback Trey, finally would get some significant duty Sunday against the Washington Commanders.

Lance did make his first NFL start in 28 months at noon Sunday at AT&T Stadium. He played all the way in a Cowboys final-seconds loss, 23-19, to playoff-bound Washington.

On Monday, the Lances' other child, junior receiver Bryce, will attempt to assist North Dakota State to its 10th FCS/Division I-AA title (all in Frisco). The opponent will be Montana State, which has been listed as a 3½-point favorite.

The Monday appointment had been secured for the Bison since Dec. 21. On that Friday night in Fargo, it was Bryce’s remarkable one-handed snag while racing and tight-roping in the end zone that provided the winning touchdown (28-21) in the FCS semifinals.

The opponent was archrival South Dakota State, two-time defending FCS champion.

Carlton Lance first arrived in Marshall in 1988, when recruited out of Fort Myers, Fla., to play football at Southwest Minnesota State. He was a defensive back, contributed greatly to the best-ever Mustangs teams in 1990 and 1991 and is a member of college’s athletic Hall of Fame.

He also met Angie Irsfeld there. They were married in 1999, Marshall is Angie’s hometown, and that’s where they have remained.

The Lances are no strangers to Dallas and its sprawling suburb of Frisco to the north. They were there in January 2020, when Trey was a redshirt freshman, leading NDSU to a 16-0 record and a 28-20 victory over James Madison (and now Indiana coach Curt Cignetti) in the title game.

The Lances were in the Dallas area for much of last week, visiting Trey in advance of Bryce’s arrival with the Bison. There was a phone conversation with Carlton midweek.

Cordial gent. Coach turned businessman. But still a coach when it came to giving out information.

Coach Mike McCarthy was saying to expect more playing time for Trey than he had received. Wouldn’t take much, this being a season when Dak Prescott was injured in the middle of the schedule, Cooper Rush became the starter and Lance threw only seven passes as his backup.

And what McCarthy hadn’t done was say Lance would be Sunday’s starter.

Message (me to Carlton on Friday): “Between us fellas, can I strongly speculate in a piece for Sunday print that Trey will be starting?”

Carlton: “I can’t/won’t say anything about that.”

OK, former coach Lance.

At the start of Sunday’s telecast, viewers learned McCarthy had told the team Monday that Lance would start against Washington.

No doubt, the 49ers made a rush judgment in taking Trey as No. 3 overall in 2021, behind two other quarterbacks — Trevor Lawrence and Zach Wilson. He had been redshirted at NDSU in 2018 behind the excellent Easton Stick. He played those 16 games well enough to win the Walter Payton Award as the FCS Player of Year for 2019.

And then came COVID-19, and NDSU’s 2020 fall season was one game. He played that game, only his 17th start in college, received enough positive feedback for the upcoming draft to skip the COVID-caused spring season in 2021.

Jimmy Garoppolo was the 49ers quarterback in 2021. There was a serious ankle injury for Lance in 2022 that required multiple surgeries. The 49ers then discovered that Brock Purdy, a bottom-of-the-draft QB, could play.

Lance was traded to the Cowboys before the start of the 2023 schedule for a fourth-round draft choice.

The 49ers maintained responsibility for much of the original and guaranteed $34.1 million contract Lance received as a No. 3 overall selection. The fifth-year option on his contract was not picked up before this season, obviously, and Sunday’s game was the final chance to show something before free agency.

Last week, Carlton Lance was asked to describe Bryce’s emergence at NDSU — one reception in three years in the program, 66 catches for 946 yards and 16 TDs this season — and said:

“I would say, as most parents would, that Bryce was waiting for his opportunity. And he has gotten that, and made the most of it.”

Dad was also asked about Trey and said: “I’d say the same thing; he’s waiting for the next opportunity. I don’t think there’s a doubt that the broken ankle, the surgeries, changed Trey’s trajectory … changed his timeline."

Lance was 20-for-34 for 244 yards Sunday, OK numbers, but he definitely missed some throws.

NDSU was in final preparations Sunday and Bryce was not able to attend Sunday’s Cowboys game with his parents. Trey will be in attendance for the Bison title attempt Monday night.

The older brother offered this comment on his brother’s exceptional NDSU season:

“Bryce has had a lot of ups and downs during his college career and I could not be prouder of him. Bryce and I talk almost every day and we’ve had plenty of tough conversations. We are super close and go through all our experiences, good and bad, together.

“And also: Go, Bison.”