The Southern Oregon Red Raiders are on the rise, and are part of a trio of teams from the Frontier Conference ranked in this week’s NAIA Coaches Poll.
After scoring 76 points at UM-Western last Saturday, the Raiders have won three straight games and moved up to No. 19 in the newest poll. Carroll College also moved up on spot to No. 6 this week, while Montana Tech remained at No. 8. Carroll and SOU are set for a nationally-ranked showdown this Saturday in Ashland, Ore.
Carroll’s Dustin Rinker was named Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Rinker is a 5-foot-9, 200-pound, sophomore running back from Riggins, Idaho. In Carroll's 35-14 win over Montana State-Northern, Rinker rushed for 241 yards and three touchdowns on 20 carries. He also caught one pass for 20 yards. SOU’s Kalii Robinson is a 6-foot, 190 pounds, senior linebacker, from Los Angeles, Calif. And he was named Defensive Player of the Week. In SOU’s 76-29 road win over Western, Robinson had three solo tackles, four assisted tackles and one tackle for loss as the Southern Oregon defense held Western to 17 yards rushing and 200 total yards of offense. Rocky Mountain College’s Nick Knell earned Special Teams honors.
In volleyball, Carroll libero Catie Hanser earned Player of the Week honors. Hanser is a 5-foot-9 junior defensive specialist from Billings. Carroll downed Montana State-Northern 3-1 and lost to Rocky Mountain College 2-3. Hanser averaged eight digs per set for the weekend. Her 40 digs against Northern, broke the Carroll school record of 30 digs in a single match set in 1985. Holly Cartwright was Northern’s nominee for the award.
NAIA Football Poll
The Associated Press
Rec. Pts Pvs
1. Marian (Ind.) (13) 7-0 314 1
2. Georgetown (Ky.) (1) 8-0 302 2
3. Missouri Valley 7-0 286 3
4. Morningside (Iowa) 7-0 283 4
5. Saint Xavier (Ill.) 6-1 261 6
6. Carroll (Mont.) 6-2 255 7
7. Saint Francis (Ind.) 5-2 232 9
8. Montana Tech 6-1 223 8
9. Grand View (Iowa) 6-2 206 10
10. Cumberlands (Ky.) 7-1 203 11
11. William Penn (Iowa) 7-1 201 5
12. St. Ambrose (Iowa) 6-1 191 11
13. MidAmerica Naza. 5-2 186 13
14. Baker (Kan.) 5-2 153 15
15. Evangel (Mo.) 6-2 141 17
16. Northwestern (Iowa) 6-2 121 18
17. St. Francis (Ill.) 5-3 113 19
18. Hastings (Neb.) 6-1 111 14
19. Southern Oregon 5-2 93 23
20. Cumberland (Tenn.) 6-2 88 25
21. Benedictine (Kan.) 5-3 59 16
22. Tabor (Kan.) 5-2 49 22
22. Robert Morris (Ill.) 7-1 49 24
24. Ottawa (Kan.) 5-2 45 —
25. Dakota Wesleyan (S.D.) 5-2 26 —
Others receiving votes: Bethel (Tenn.) 20; Kansas Wesleyan 16; Doane (Neb.) 6.
