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Frontier has speedy return men, top kickers
Montana State University-Northern's Jett Robertson runs with the ball during a Lights' practice Tuesday afternoon on the Northern campus. Robertson is MSU-N's senior running back and a veteran, but he got his start with the Lights returning kicks, and he's still one of the top return men in the league even now. For a look at the top running backs in the Frontier, including Robertson, see Friday's Havre Daily News.
There are three phases to the game of football. And while offense and defense get most of the publicity, any coach worth his salt will tell you - you can't win without special teams play.
So it should be to no one's surprise that coaches around the Frontier Conference are always looking for good kickers and punters, and always trying to find a return man who can "take it to the house."
And there should be plenty of those guys around the league this fall.
Two teams that will be looking to replace kickers this season are Eastern Oregon and Southern Oregon. Nathan Harden was huge for EOU a year ago, leading the league in field goal kicking, as well as being the Mounties' punter. Zach Cahill will step into the kicking role for EOU, while the Raiders will be looking to replace a two-=time All-Conference kicker in Marcus Montano.
The College of Idaho however, does return an outstanding kicker/punter in Kyle Mitchell. He made 88 percent of his kicks a season ago and was also among the league leaders in net punting. Montana Western also has a strong kicker back in junior Mark Karchenko, who was 12-of-16 on field goal tries last season. Montana Tech will also look for even more from Tyler Padilla, who went 11-of-15 in his sophomore season of 2018, while Carroll College should see even more production from Josh Kraft after he assumed the kicking duties for the Fighting Saints as a sophomore.
Often times in the Frontier, kickers double as punters, and several will do so again this season. Padilla was fourth in the Frontier in punting last fall for the Orediggers, while Karchenko was fifth for the Dawgs. The top returning punter in the league this fall is SOU's Jaxon Clark, who averaged 41.1 yards per kick last season, while Carroll's Stephen Powell should be another punter to watch this season.
The Saints, of new head coach Troy Purcell, always seem to be sound on special teams, and, with the return of Shane Sipes, they could be deadly in the return game. Sipes is a two-time All-Conference performer on kick returns, and last season, he led the league with 426 yards on 18 returns, including one touchdown.
C of I's Keenan Patwell and Montana Western's Trey Mounts are others to keep an eye on in the return game this season.
Speaking of the return game, the Montana State University-Northern Lights have some weapons there.
Senior running back Jett Robertson got his start with the Lights as a return-man during his freshman campaign, and he's been a fixture there even now, as the starting running back. Robertson had 515 returns yards last season. Junior wide receiver Marvin Williams has also shined in kickoff returns and could be the Lights' top choice on punt return as well this season, as Williams is speedy and has excellent vision on the field.
As for the kicking duties, Northern graduated outstanding punter Sam Tapia last season, while Diego Morales handled the kicking duties a season ago. But, heading into fall camp, head coach Andrew Rolin said, both positions are up for grabs.
Editor's Note: This is the seventh installment of the Havre Daily News' annual series on the top players in the Frontier Conference. For a look at the top running backs in the league, see Friday's HDN.
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