Frontier Notebook: Carroll, EOU having surprise struggles

If there is a surprise team in the Frontier Conference this season, it has to be the Montana Tech Orediggers. After all, Tech won just one game all of last season. But while Tech’s rise to the top of the league standings may be a pleasant surprise to some, there’s two teams that have caught the league by surprise.

But, it’s for the wrong reason.

One team that sits at 3-3 halfway through the season is Carroll College. The Fighting Saints were picked to win the Frontier title this season, but offensive woes and close losses have cost the Saints a legitimate shot at the conference crown.

Carroll is averaging just 23 points and 333 yards of total offense per game, which ranks seventh in the Frontier. But what’s really shocking is the fact that the Saints are averaging a mere 87 yards rushing per outing, which is dead last in the conference. For nearly two decades, Carroll has made a living on ball control and running it right at Frontier defense, who have always been powerless to stop it. But last spring, the Saints saw all-time leading rusher Dustin Rinker graduate, and the result is a running game that can’t find its way.

Close losses have also crushed the Saints this season, and another one happened just last Saturday in Ashland, Oregon. In overtime against Southern Oregon, Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest went for the win, trying a two-point conversion that would have ended the game, and kept Carroll near the top of the league standings. But the Saints didn’t get it, and instead, are now looking up at SOU, Tech and Western in the conference title hunt.

The other team that is a surprise in the Frontier standings is coming to Blue Pony Stadium Saturday to face the winless Montana State University-Northern Lights.

The Eastern Oregon Mountaineers finished 8-3 a year ago, and started the 2015 season ranked No. 13 in the NAIA. But an opening day loss to College of Idaho sent the Mounties spiraling, and, as they make their first appearance in Havre since a 2013 come-from-behind win over the Lights, they sit at just 2-4 in league play and 2-5 overall — all but out of the title chase and the NAIA playoff picture.

EOU is a tough team to figure out. Head coach Tim Camp’s team is loaded with talent on both sides of the ball. On offense, the Mounties have an experienced quarterback in Zach Bartlow, and one of the most versatile offensive weapons in the league in Jase Billingsley. Yet, EOU is in the bottom half of the conference in scoring and total yards.

Defensively, EOU is equally talented. The Mounties have a veteran defense led by linebacker Gary Posten, who is on pace to lead the Frontier in tackles for the second straight season. Add to that a star defensive linemen in Kyle Lanoue, a wealth of experience at linebacker, and one of the best cover men in league in corner Byron Benson, and the Mounties have a star-studded defense. But even with all that, EOU is seventh in the Frontier in scoring defense, total defense and rushing defense, so, all of that talent just hasn’t clicked for the Mounties this season.

Big Games Left

With SOU and Tech tied atop the Frontier standings, the conference championship could come down to a Nov. 7 meeting when the Raiders and Orediggers square off at SOU. But, both teams have a long way to go to get there.

The Orediggers have to travel to Carroll this Saturday, and though Tech beat Carroll last month in Butte, Saturday’s game at Nelson Stadium won’t be easy, as Carroll fights to save its season against its most hated rival. Tech also has a season finale showdown with UM-Western Nov. 14, and if the Bulldogs can win out until then, they too will be a part of the final conference picture.

On the flip side, SOU has gotten most of its biggest challenges out of the way. The Raiders have already played Carroll twice, and also one at UM-Western. But, the Raiders will have to beat College of Idaho at home and Rocky Mountain College on the road to set up a potential title-deciding game with the Orediggers next month.

Piling Up

It would be a special feat for MSU-Northern junior defensive end Tyler Craig to lead the Frontier in sacks two years in a row. And, despite the Lights’ struggles this season, Craig is still dominating opposing offensive lines like no other player in the league.

In last week’s 40-0 loss to Montana Tech, Craig registered a sack on Tech quarterback Quinn McQueary, and also had two more tackles for loss. That upped Craig’s sack total to seven this season, and he also has 9.5 tackles for loss. Now, over the last two years, Craig has 17 sacks for the Lights, and he has four games left to keep that total rising.

Craig has also been more active away from the line of scrimmage this season, too. He has 53 total tackles on the season, including 31 solo stops, which already surpassed his total tackles from his sophomore season.

Honors

College of Idaho sophomore tight end Marcus Lenhardt was named this week’s Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week. In College of Idaho’s 38-17 home conference win over Rocky Mountain College, Lenhardt caught eight passes for 143 yards and three touchdowns.

EOU linebacker Gary Posten was named the Defensive Player of the Week. In Eastern Oregon’s 23-30 conference loss to then No. 22 Montana Western, Posten recorded 11 unassisted tackles and two assisted tackles.

UM-Western linebacker Dakota Wainwright was named Special Teams Player of the Week. In then No. 22 Montana Western’s 30-23 conference road win over Eastern Oregon, with two minutes remaining and Western trailing 23-22, Wainwright blocked a Mountaineer punt and returned it 36 yards for the winning touchdown in Western's exciting victory.