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Ball carriers likely to steal the show once again
While stars like All-American Jed Fike at Montana Tech, and Major Ali at Carroll College are expected to have big years running the Football in the Frontier Conference, Eastern Oregon's Victor Dias is another standout rusher to watch.
Some of the most legendary players to ever suit up in the Frontier Conference had one thing in common - they played the running back position.
It's true. Some of the league's biggest stars, for decades now, were running backs, whether at vaunted Carroll College, Montana Tech, Montana Western, Rocky Mountain College, or, guys like Montana State University-Northern's Zach McKinley. The league has produced some of the very best.
And, as the 2019 Frontier football season draws closer, the conference once again has those types of players at running back.
Montana Tech surely does in Jed Fike. The former University of North Dakota standout has led the league in rushing in each of the last two seasons, and, last year, was an NAIA All-American for his efforts. Fike romped over Frontier defenses to the tune of 1,340 yards and nine touchdowns. He averaged 5.2 yards per carry, and a whopping 134 yards per game, which was second in all of the NAIA, and first in the Frontier by a very wide margin.
So, after an incredible 2018 campaign, Fike is back for an encore performance, and he's likely to be even better with new offensive coordinator and former Lights' great Kyle Samson calling the plays in Butte for head coach Chuck Morrell.
"I think it's a big change but it's a good change ... it's definitely a bonus for me and our offense," Fike, who is nearing 3000 rushing yards for his career said about Samson coming to Tech. "We're definitely going to be an attack running team."
With how good Fike is, and how innovative Samson is, that's a scary thought for Frontier defenses. But, Samson isn't the only coach who has an all-world running back at his disposal this fall.
In Helena, new Carroll College head coach Troy Purcell, the former Havre Blue Pony head coach, has some big challenges in front of him, but he also has star tailback Major Ali to hand the ball to.
A two-time All-Conference performer, Ali enters his senior season ready to explode. In 2018, he rushed for 722 yards and five touchdowns in a Carroll offense that struggled to build momentum at times. Still, Ali has rushed for over 2,000 yards in his career with the Fighting Saints, including his sophomore campaign in which he tallied 980 yards, averaging 98 per game.
Eastern Oregon will also look to Victor Dias for big things this coming season. With a dangerous quarterback in Kai Quinn, head coach Tim Camp's offense will be very dangerous with Dias in the backfield. Last season, he rushed for 695 yards and 72.2 per outing in EOU's spread offense, and, since the Mounties love to the throw the ball, it's no wonder Dias might be the best pass-catching back in the Frontier.
Fike, Ali and Dias are all backs that are capable of going over 1,000 yards this season for their respective clubs, but, across the Frontier, the running back talent is strong.
The run game is a huge part of College of Idaho's offense, and while senior QB Darius-James Peterson has led the Yotes in rushing each of the last two seasons, head coach Mike Moroski has starter Nick Calzaretta back, as well as the very talented Dom Garzoli.
Rocky Mountain College and Montana Western feel good about their running backs too.
Western returns senior Kylar Plante, who is now a two-year starter, while Rocky junior Sam Sparks finally get this turn to be the full-time starter in Billings.
Of course, the running game is also a big focus for second-year Montana State University-Northern head coach Andrew Rolin, and fortunately, he has a veteran starter returning in senior Jett Robertson.
Last fall, Robertson rushed for a career-high 732 yards on a workmanlike 184 carries over 11 games. He also scored four touchdowns and averaged 62.4 yards per game. Rolin is also high on sophomore Andrez Trahan Proctor, who played in six games a season ago, and will do a great job backing up Robertson in a Northern offense that is bent on establishing a strong running game this fall.
And while it's the Lights, the Orediggers, the Saints, EOU or C of I, there's little doubt that, this season in the Frontier, it's going to be the year of the running back.
What's new?
Editor's Note: This is the eighth installment of the Havre Daily News' annual series on the top players in the Frontier Conference. For a look at the coaches in the league, see Tuesday's HDN.
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