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Oct. 9, 2015
www.havredailynews.com
Notebook: College of Idaho making first trip to Blue Pony Stadium n From Page 11
a team like that, that’s tough, but we have to give a great effort every single play, and that’s something we really emphasized during the bye week.” This week however, the Lights have turned their attention to the Yotes, who come to Havre for the first time in school history – and while that’s exciting, the Yotes too are struggling. C of I hasn’t won a game since beating Eastern Oregon 40-28 back on Aug. 29, so the Yotes are certainly coming to Havre hungry. But, C of I head coach Mike Moroski knew there would be growing pains. The Yotes are only in their second season of Frontier Conference football – or any football for that matter in more than four decades. And while last season saw some highs, including a last-second, 35-31 win over MSU-N at home, things have gotten a little more daunting this season. Still, the Yotes are in the process of building a program from scratch, must like Northern did almost 20 years ago. And those things take time, and couple that with the fact that C of I resurrected football in the toughest
conference in the NAIA, and season’s like the one the Yotes are having are bound to happen. Yet, Moroski has something special brewing in Caldwell, Idaho. The Yotes have a splashy, two-year old stadium and are averaging over 5,000 fans per home game. They also have a roster rich in in-state talent as C of I boasts 48 players from the state of Idaho. Add to that a dazzling dual-threat quarterback in TeeJay Gordon, and All-Conference sophomore tight end in Marcus Lenhart, a great running game and a tough-nosed 4-2-5 defense, and the Yotes don’t look like a team at the bottom of the Frontier Conference. And they’ll certainly be a handful for the Lights in what will be their historical first trip inside famed Blue Pony Stadium this Saturday. Defensive While fans are used to seeing Frontier teams light up local scoreboards like a pinball machine, the league is also very defensive this season – in particular at UM-West-
ern and Carroll College. The Bulldogs may be coming off a home loss to Carroll, but they come into Saturday’s showdown with SOU boasting the top-ranked defense in the NAIA. Western allows an NAIA best nine points per game, and they rank in the Top 10 in the NAIA in seven different defensive categories. Linebackers A.J. Wilson and Joe Coker are All-American shoe-ins, but as a team, the Bulldogs are as stingy as anyone in the country. Carroll too has been very good. In conference play, the Saints are allowing just 21 points per game, which is third behind another stout defense at Montana Tech. The Saints have a stalwart leading the way in the secondary in All-American safety James Dowgin, while Tech’s defense revolves around tackling machine, and senior linebacker David Meis. Meanwhile, at Northern, Tyler Craig is once again racking up sacks at an alarming rate, and he’s in a race with Western’s Reno Ward in that category. Ward and Craig each have five sacks and eight tackles for loss this season, which are both tops in the Frontier,
and among the NAIA’s leaders. So, while there’s no doubt, the offenses in the league are still dangerous, it’s defense which is really stepping to the forefront across the conference this season. Leaders Speaking of leaders, heading into the halfway point of the season, Montana Tech’s Nolan Saraceni is starting to run away with the Frontier rushing title. The junior tailback from Billings is averaging 141 yards per game, while MSU-N’s Zach McKinley is third at 97 yards per outing. Rocky quarterback Chase White has started to emerge as a top passer in the league. He leads the Frontier with 263 passing yards per game, and also leads the league in total offense. Teammate and star WR Andre McCullouch is tops in the league with 106 yards and eight catches per game. On defense, aside from Ward and Craig, EOU’s Gary Posten is tops in the conference with 13.1 tackles per game, while C of I’s Nate Moore has a league-best five interceptions.
Havre Daily News/Roger Miller Zach McKinley, right, is the third leading rusher in the Frontier Conference. He and the Lights will look to get their offense on track when MSU-Northern plays host to the College of Idaho Yotes Saturday at 1 p.m. at Blue Pony Stadium.