Frontier Notebook: Lights ready to play under the lights

The annual bye week in the Frontier Conference is over. Now, the race for the conference title is really on.

In all honesty, it’s been on since day one, but with all of the parity in the Frontier this season, it’s obvious that the conference title is most likely going to come down to the last two weeks of the season, and more than one team will likely have a say in who wins it.

Montana Tech and Southern Oregon, the two teams picked to compete for the title this season, started off the year with losses. SOU actually lost two in a row, but, now, neither team has stumbled since, and the Nov. 12 showdown between the Orediggers and Raiders could still be the de facto championship game.

However, plenty of other teams could have a say in whether or not that game in Ashland, Oregon, will be that impactful. One of those is Rocky Mountain College, which sits tied atop the Frontier standings at 3-1, and plays SOU in the NAIA Game of the Week this Saturday in Billings. A Rocky win over the Raiders would give the Battlin’ Bears a big boost toward winning the league title, as the Bears also have Montana Tech at home later this month.

UM-Western and Eastern Oregon aren’t out of the hunt either. Both sit at 2-2 in league play and are just one game out of first place. And both teams still have games against Tech and SOU upcoming. Western plays at Tech this Saturday, while EOU pays a visit to SOU next Saturday.

So, with five teams in the conference sitting at .500 or better, and five teams ranked nationally, there’s no doubt, we’re a long way for knowing how things are going to shake out.

Lights

Eastern Oregon can’t afford to look ahead to its second meeting with arch rival SOU. That’s because the Mounties have a road trip to Havre coming up Saturday night.

The Montana State University-Northern Lights, coming off their second bye of the season, are home to host the Mounties in a rare night game at Blue Pony Stadium.

The Lights have played under the lights in Havre many times before, but most of those games were moved to Friday night because of Havre High playoff games. The last time the Lights played a scheduled evening or night start was six years ago when they opened the season at home against Carroll College. That game was a 6 p.m., and was scheduled because of the August heat that was gripping Montana that summer.

However, Saturday night’s game was planned to be played under the lights from the get-go. It’s part of the annual Legends for Lights weekend, and, Northern head coach Aaron Christensen said back in the summer that playing a night game at home would be an exciting thing for both his players and Northern fans.

Of course, the Lights are also hoping for a win, too. After knocking off Carroll back on Sept. 17, the Lights were battered by UM-Western the following week. MSU-N’s bye week came at a good time, and now the Lights’ defense must rally to stop the top offensive team in the Frontier Conference, and, the MSU-N defense should get help with an excitable and boisterous crowd, one that will be amped up for the night game.

Numbers Game

It’s not quite the halfway point in the 2016 season, at least not for most teams. But it’s still interesting to see who’s doing what thus far.

On the offensive side of the ball, it’s no surprise to see SOU leading the league in total offense and passing. The Raiders are averaging over 500 yards per game, and nearly 350 passing. EOU is second in passing at 295 yards per game.

Scoring is definitely down in the Frontier this season, with Montana Tech averaging 36 points per game. At this point a year ago, three teams were averaging 39 or more points per contest. This season, only two teams average over 30 points, with SOU averaging 32 per contest. Western averages 29 ppg, followed by EOU at 27, RMC at 23, College of Idaho at 21, Carroll at 19 and Northern at 16.

Rushing-wise, not a single team in the Frontier is averaging 200 yards this season, despite so many great running backs in the league. Western is first at 184 yards per game, while SOU averages 180. And three teams, Rocky, Carroll and Northern, don’t even average 100 yards per outing.

That’s again, a compliment to the great defenses in the Frontier. Three teams, Western, Tech and C of I, don’t even allow 20 ppg, while Tech’s defense is allowing just 315 yards per game. When it comes to total defense, Northern is holding solid, allowing just 361 yards, and in all, only EOU and SOU allow more than 400 yards per contest. Tech also has the best rush defense, while Northern is right there, too, allowing just 118 yards per game, while Rocky is best against the pass at 200 yards allowed per outing.

Frontier Honors

SOU’s Jason Shelley was named Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week. Shelley is a 6-foot-2, 175-pound freshman wide receiver from Fairfield, California. In No. 9 Southern Oregon’s 31-27 conference win over College of Idaho, Shelley caught five passes for 113 yards and one touchdown. Also nominated; Darius-James Peterson of College of Idaho.

SOU’s Keegan Lawrence is a 5-foot-11, 195-pound junior defensive back from Sherwood, Oregon, who was named Frontier Defensive Player of the Week.In No. 9 Southern Oregon’s 31-27 win over College of Idaho, Lawrence recorded 10 solo tackles, one assisted tackle and one pass break-up. Also nominated: Forrest Rivers of College of Idaho.

SOU’s Louis DesPrez, a junior punter from Pleasanton, California, was named Special Team’s Player of the Week. In No. 9 Southern Oregon’s 31-27 win over College of Idaho, Des-Prez punted seven times for 282 yards (40 yard average).

His longest was a 56-yarder.