Frontier Notebook: Mounties win away from the playoffs

The Montana Tech Orediggers are officially Frontier Conference champions. But Tech is far from done.

Tech, after beating College of Idaho last Saturday, has a huge road showdown with Southern Oregon this Saturday, and a win would clinch the league championship outright. That’s something that will certainly motivate the Diggers this weekend, even though they’ve already laid claim to the Frontier’s automatic bid into the postseason.

And the postseason is now what hangs in the balance for not only Tech, but also Eastern Oregon. Winners of five straight games, the Mounties have put themselves in a position to make the NAIA playoffs. They nearly lost that chance last Saturday, but hung on to beat Rocky Mountain College 19-16.

Now, EOU can do something it hasn’t done since joining the Frontier Conference a little over a decade ago — make the playoffs. In 2013 and 2014 EOU was on the verge but lost three games in each of those seasons to just miss the playoffs. The Mounties were the last team on the outside looking in 2014. But with a road win at Carroll College, EOU can change all of that. Their national ranking is well inside the Top 15, they will have won six straight games and finished at 8-2, and they are alone in second place in the Frontier.

In other words, a win at Carroll’s Nelson Stadium Saturday, and EOU is in.

And not only can EOU make the playoffs with a win Saturday, the Mounties still have a chance to be called conference champions. EOU will be cheering hard for its biggest rival, Southern Oregon, to beat Montana Tech Saturday in Ashland, Oregon. If the Raiders pull off the upset against the Orediggers, and EOU beats Carroll, the Mounties will be Frontier Co-Champions, which would be another first in program history.

Stats Winners

The final weekend of the regular season has arrived, and for many this week will also determine who finishes on top in individual Frontier statistics.

For Montana State University-Northern running back Zach McKinley, his senior day against College of Idaho will be his last chance to chase down Montana Tech’s Nolan Saraceni for the rushing title. A rough last game at SOU last Saturday left McKinley well behind Saraceni, who is averaging 132 yards per game now, and has his third straight 1,000-yard season. McKinley meanwhile, is averaging 103 yards per game, and needs a huge game against the Yotes to get his fourth straight 1,000-yard season. McKinley currently has 836 yards this season, and, against a young Yotes’ defense, rushing for 160 yards isn’t out of the question.

Other offensive leaders heading into the final day of the season include, EOU’s Zach Bartlow, who leads the league in total offense, while SOU’s Jack Singler leads the Frontier in passing at 297 yards per outing. Montana Tech QB Quinn McQueary leads the conference in touchdowns with 29 on the year, while SOU’s Matt Retzlaff has 65 catches, and Carroll WR Connor Fohn averages 99 yards receiving per game.

Defensively, Montana Tech’s Luke Benz has 8.5 sacks, while Carroll’s Alec Basterrechea has 13 tackles for loss. Northern star senior Tyler Craig has four sacks and nine TFLs as he prepares for his senior day game Saturday. Tech’s Gunnar Kayser is way in front with six interceptions this season, while Northern’s Logan Sprouse has three. C of I’s Nate Moore has the most total tackles with 106, while EOU’s Stanley Tucker leads the way at 10.6 per game.

Saying Goodbye

Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium will be a special one for the Lights, who have 15 seniors listed on their roster. And interestingly, the majority of the Lights who will see their final action at Northern Saturday, have been around longer than College of Idaho has had football — at least in the modern era.

The Yotes are in just their third season of Frontier football, after bringing back a program that was dormant for nearly 40 years. And they’re making their second straight trip to Havre. C of I beat the Lights 48-17 at Blue Pony Stadium last year, and also beat Northern in their inaugural meeting in Caldwell, Idaho in 2014. The Lights are scheduled to travel to Caldwell for the only meeting between the two teams in 2016.

And while Saturday will be an emotional day for the Lights, who will be honoring a truly special senior class, a win against the Yotes is what MSU-N will be focused on.

“Senior day is special,” McKinley said. “It’s kind of like the finish line. Everything you’ve worked for and done, you do it to get over the finish line. But the big thing that would make it special is to get one last win. That’s how we want to end that day. And we’re going to do whatever we can to make sure that happens.”

Frontier Honors

Montana Tech quarterback Quinn McQueary was named Frontier Offensive Player of the Week. Against C of I, McQueary threw for 294 yards and four touchdowns. He rushed for 83 yards on 11 carries.

Western senior safety Skylar Roope was named Defensive Player of the Week. Roope recorded seven solo tackles, one tackle for loss (-3-yds) and one fumble recovery and return for touchdown in a win over Carroll College. SOU running back Rey Vega was named Special Teams Player of the Week. In a win over Northern, Vega returned a kickoff 93 yards for a TD.