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October 13, 2017
www.havredailynews.com
Notebook: Plenty of stars on all sides putting up big numbers through the Frontier's first half ■ From Page 11 Others in the defensive discussion include Southern Oregon linebacker Keegan Lawrence, Eastern Oregon linebacker Michael Arenas, College of Idaho defensive end Josh Price and UM-Western defensive back Zach Janis. As for the Coach of the Year, it’s early, but, there’s no denying what SOU firstyear head man Charlie Hall is doing with the Raiders. Hall was hired after longtime SOU great Craig Howard passed away, and, despite the emotions of losing their beloved head coach, Hall hasn’t let the Raiders slip. IN fact, after SOU suffered a subpar season last season, Hall has brought them right back to national prominence. Of course, Tech head coach Chuck Morrell is doing another bang-up job with the Orediggers this season, but, another head coach who has to be considered for the award, at least halfway through the season, is UM-Western’s Ryan Nourse. Nourse got the Bulldogs through a brutal opening
stretch to their season, and now, they appear to be legitimate Frontier contenders. Dawgs Shake It Up Speaking of the Bulldogs, they certainly threw a wrench into the Frontier’s title race. Playing their biggest rival at home, Western ended Montana Tech’s chance at perfection last Saturday with a 42-35 win over the Orediggers in Dillon. Western’s victory was huge not only for the program, but also for SOU’s chances of winning an outright Frontier title. Because the Raiders and Diggers play just once this season, if SOU wins out, Tech can’t catch the Raiders for the conference championship. The win was also an indictment on how well Western has been playing lately. After squeaking by C of I in their season-opener, the Dawgs lost three straight games – albeit one of those to FCS powerhouse Weber State. Still, Western’s season was already slipping
away and September wasn’t even over yet. But, a 61-7 thrashing of MSU-Northern, followed by a bye week, and then a monumental win over Tech, has thrust the Dawgs back into the NAIA Top 25, and right back into the hunt for, at the very least, an NAIA playoff berth.
Round Two Speaking of the playoffs, the Rocky Mountain College Batllin’ Bears aren’t out of the playoff hunt yet either. Like Western, Rocky responded to an early-season loss with some thrilling wins, and a near-miss against Montana Tech late last month. One of those thrilling wins came all the way back on Sept. 2 when the Bears stormed back to beat Northern in the final minutes of a great game in Billings. Now, Rocky sits at 3-2 in Frontier play, and will have to navigate a second win over the Lights in order to keep their playoff push alive. But, the Lights will certainly be out for
revenge Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium. Northern put up huge offensive numbers last month in Billings, and twice led the Bears in the fourth quarter. So, despite Rocky’s fine play in recent weeks, the Lights know full well they have what it takes to take the Bears down this Saturday. The Northern/Rocky game is also one of three rematches on the slate this weekend in league play. Montana Tech will try to shake off its stunning loss to Western when it travels to Carroll College. The Orediggers beat the Saints 45-28 on Aug. 30 in Butte, and Carroll has won just once since. Southern Oregon also comes out of its bye week with a dangerous trip to Eastern Oregon. Under the lights of Community Stadium, the Raiders will try and avoid an upset at the hands of their biggest rival. SOU beat EOU 31-21 last month in Ashland, Oregon, and SOU will have to be on high alert as EOU will be riding high after busting a three-game losing streak last week when they beat Northern 41-12.
Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson Montana State University-Northern senior linebacker Garet Fowler is having a big season for the Lights' defense. Fowler is second in the Frontier Conference in tackles, and he's also intercepted two passes. Northern is home this Saturday to host Rocky Mountain College at 1 p.m. in Blue Pony Stadium.