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October 5, 2018
www.havredailynews.com
Notebook: Now, the Frontier starts its stretch run ■ From Page 11
Frontier Honors
jor Ali and MSU-N’s Jett Robertson are also in the Top 20 in the NAIA in total rushing. On the defensive side of the ball, the usual suspects are at it again, with Rocky’s Ryder Rice tallying 6.5 sacks already, and Keenan Fagan grabbing three interceptions. UMWestern linebacker Jason Ferris already has 50 stops, and is ranked third in the NAIA in tackles per game, while Montana Tech’s Connor Wines is once again wreaking havoc with four sacks as well. Big Games When Frontier play resumes Oct. 6, it will do so with a pair of season-defining games. Montana Tech visits Western that day, and it’s essentially an elimination game. Also, Southern Oregon travels to Rocky, in what is a must-win for the Bears. That game looked like the biggest game in the NAIA a few weeks ago, but now, it’s become a do-ordie contest for Rocky’s playoff hopes, while for SOU it’s a game the Raiders look to just their season rolling. MSU-Northern also has a big game that night. The Lights will play under the lights of Blue Pony Stadium, when they host Eastern Oregon. The Mounties are heating up offensively, while the Lights have struggled on the defensive side of the ball. But Northern is hoping an electric atmosphere in Havre is just what it needs to get back on track.
College of Idaho's Darisu James-Peterson was named Frontier Offensive Player of the Week. Peterson is a 5-foot-11, 190-pound junior quarterback from Novato, California. In College of Idaho’s 41-42 home conference loss to No. 23 Rocky Mountain College, Peterson was 15 of 26 passing for 233 yards, two touchdowns and one interception. He rushed for 179 yards and four touchdowns on 20 carries. He set a school record with six touchdowns in a single game. Peterson is just the third C of I player to surpass the 2,000-yard rushing mark in his career. SOU's Tyson Cooper was named Defensive Player of the Week. Cooper is 6-foot, 205-pound, senior linebacker from Gresham, Oregon. In No. 3 Southern’s 27-0 road conference shutout over Carroll College, Cooper recorded five solo tackles, one tackle for loss (-0.5), four assisted tackles and an interception. Southern Oregon recorded their first shutout since 2003. EOU's Nathan Harden is the Frontier Special Team Player of the Week. Harden is a 6-foot, 185-pound, senior kicker from Graham, Washington. In Eastern Oregon’s triple overtime 54-51 home conference win over No. 22 Montana Western, he was 6 for 6 in PATs and 4 of 5 in field goals. Harden also punted seven times for 315 yards.posite directions. UM-Western, picked seventh in the Frontier Coaches Poll, is off to a fast start, beating
Carroll and Northern to open the season. The preseason pick isn’t the only reason Western has been a surprise thus far, it’s been the play of a pair of new starters on offense. Last year, Western quarterback Bennett Gibson threw for over 3,000 yards and running back Hunter Thomsen rushed for over 900. Both graduated in the spring, and, it figured to have a lasting effect on the Bulldog offense. Wrong. So far this fall, Western is leading the Frontier in scoring at 36 ppg, and is second in total offense. Sophomore quarterback Jon Jund has been outstanding thus far, and the Bulldogs are rushing by committee, and it’s working, after they plowed over Northern to the tune of 340 yards last Saturday night. Meanwhile, on the other end of the spectrum is the College of Idaho. The Yotes were a sexy pick to contend for the Frontier title this season, but, a pair of close, early-season losses by the less than a touchdown, and a difficult loss to Montana Tech, has left C of I at 0-3 in the Frontier to start the year. And it doesn’t get any easier, as the Yotes step out of conference play, and go way, way up to play Big Sky Conference member Portland State this Saturday. Unless C of I pulls off a miracle in Portland, the Yotes are going to be 0-4 before September is even over, and, with that, the only chance they have to make the playoffs is to somehow win the Frontier title outright. Bounce Back Give Rocky Mountain head coach Jason Petrino and his Battlin’ Bears a ton of credit. One week ago, RMC was riding high, 2-0 and headed for greatness. Then comes the news
the Bears were forced to forfeit their seasonopening win over Carroll College, and that news came just days before the Bears were set to host 13th-ranked Dickinson State in a huge non-conference clash in Billings. A situation like that could have derailed Rocky, but instead, the Bears bucked down, and rode a hard-nosed defense to a 21-10 win over the Blue Hawks at Herb Klindt Field. The forfeit of the Carroll game could have certainly hurt Rocky against the resurgent Blue Hawks, but, RMC focused and got the job done. And while the damage could be felt later in the season, if Rocky comes down to being tied for the league title, for this week anyway, all is back to normal in Billings. Frontier Honors Southern Oregon's Rey Vega was named Frontier Offensive Player of the Week. Vega, a 5-10, 205-pound running back from Modesto, California, rushed for 158 yards and two touchddowns in SOU's win over C of I last Saturday. Eastern Oregon's Justin Hughes was named Frontier Defensive Player of the Week. He is a 5-10, 185-pound defensive back from Longdale, Nevada. In EOU's loss to Montana Tech, Hughes had 13 tackles and an interception. Mark Karachenko of UM-Western was named Frontier Special Teams Player of the Week. He is a 6-4, 180-pound kicker from Colville, Washington. In Western's 55-3 win over Northern, he was 7-gor-7 on PAT's and made two 23-yard field goals.
Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson MSU-Northern's Jett Robertson is among the top three rushers in the Frontier Conference. Robertson and the Lights come out of their bye week, and will host the Eastern Oregon Mounties Saturday night at Blue Pony Stadium. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m.