Frontier Notebook: Frontier's all-time rushing record not quite in jeopardy

Last Saturday, inside Blue Pony Stadium, Montana Tech’s Nolan Saraceni put on a show. The reigning Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Year rushed for 232 yards and five touchdowns against a very good Montana State University-Northern rush defense.

Of course, Saraceni wasn’t alone in the game when it came to star running backs. Northern’s Zach McKinley piled up 115 yards on a Tech defense which was allowing just 88 yards rushing per game coming in.

Yes, it’s safe to say that, right from the start of the 2016 season, Saraceni and McKinley have been the two best running backs in the Frontier Conference, and two of the best in the NAIA.

Saraceni now leads the Frontier and is second in the NAIA in rushing at 128 yards per game, and he’s piled up 902 yards this year, while headed for his third straight 1,000-yard season.

Through seven games, McKinley is averaging 100 yards per outing and has racked up 706 yards on the season. Of course, he’s also within striking distance of what would be a remarkable fourth straight 1,000-yard season.

But, as great as both backs have been, if you’re wondering whether either will chase down the All-Time Frontier Conference rushing title, the answer is, most likely, no.

That record belongs to former Carroll College great Dustin Rinker, who, in his four years at Carroll, racked up a remarkable 5,379 yards from 2011-2014. Of course, it helped that Rinker played in a whopping 51 games as Carroll went deep into the playoffs in three of his four seasons in Helena. But still, his numbers are staggering either way, especially his final two seasons where he averaged 140 yards a game as a junior and 139.6 as a senior. He finished his career with 936 attempts and a 5.7 yards per carry average.

McKinley, has played in 39 games in his incredible career and has 4,393 yards, which is the all-time best at Northern. He has 849 attempts and an outstanding 5.2 yards per carry average. Over those 39 games, the Northern great has averaged 111.6 yards game.

Saraceni’s numbers are also incredible considering he played behind Montana Tech’s all-time leading rusher, Pat Hansen, for his first two seasons. Still, through 32 career games, he’s managed to rush for 3,048 yards, average a whopping 6.8 yards per carry and score 35 touchdowns.

So, while neither McKinley or Saraceni will catch Rinker’s incredible career rushing totals, which have him at No. 8 on the NAIA’s All-Time rushing list, both players will go down as two of the greatest to ever play in the Frontier Conference.

Rematch Part Three

The Lights are in a stretch of three straight games having to play a foe they have already played this season. And the third game might be the most interesting.

Northern beat Carroll College, then ranked No. 21 in the NAIA, back on Sept. 17, and the Lights are now headed to Helena for a rematch with the Fighting Saints.

And one interesting matchup to watch is the quarterback position. Northern has started junior Caleb McLaren the last three games, while former starter Jess Krahn is now transitioning to tight end. McLaren has made strides with the Lights’ offense, averaging 191 yards per game, while having thrown just one interception.

On the other side, Carroll started Tanner Gustavsen in last week’s win over Rocky Mountain College, mainly due to an injury to J.T. Linder, who quarterbacked the Saints against the Lights last month in Helena. Against Rocky, Gustavsen completed 15 passes, threw two touchdowns and ran for 46 yards, and he will likely get the nod again this weekend against the Lights.

Also, the two teams have been trending in different directions as of late. Northern has lost four straight since knocking off the Fighting Saints, while Carroll has won two of its last three.

And with Northern having already beaten the Saints once this season, Saturday’s game at Nelson Stadium will be a good measuring stick to see how far both teams have come in a month.

Yotes Honored

Last Saturday was a big one for the College of Idaho Yotes, as they beat the Southern Oregon Raiders for the first time in five games since C of I brought back football. And two Yotes were honored by the Frontier.

C of I freshman quarterback Darius-James Peterson was named Offensive Player of the Week. In College of Idaho’s 44-41 home conference overtime win over then No. 17 Southern Oregon, in his first career start, Peterson was 9 of 19 passing for 215 yards, two touchdowns and two interceptions. He rushed for 228 yards and three touchdowns on 25 carries. Peterson set school records for rushing yards by a quarterback and single game total offense. He scored the game-tying touchdown on an 80-yard run and then threw the game winning touchdown in overtime.

C of I defensive back Nate Moore not only was the Frontier Defensive Player of the Week, but also the NAIA Player of the Week. Against SOU, Moore recorded nine solo tackles, three assisted tackles, one interception and one pass breakup. His fourth-quarter interception forced the game into overtime.

Carroll punter Dylan Torgerson was named Special Teams Player of the Week. In Carroll College’s 28-14 win over Rocky Mountain (RV), Torgerson had eight punts for 332 yards with long of 56 yards. Two of his punts were downed on the 10 and 9-yard lines. Only three of his punts were returned.