Frontier Notebook: Lights, Saints set to renew their rivalry after dark

It won’t quite be October anymore when the Carroll College Fighting Saints come to Havre to play the Montana State University-Northern Lights. But, it will be close enough.

It will be, close, to the 14th anniversary of when Northern snapped Carroll’s 32-game winning streak in a historic 10-3 victory over the then No. 1 Saints in late October of 2006.

The Lights also snapped their own losing streak nearly three years ago when they beat the Fighting Saints 28-14 back in 2016 at Blue Pony Stadium.

So, to say the Lights have a history of streak drama against Carroll, well it wouldn’t be far off from the truth. That’s why, it stands to reason that, against the Saints Saturday night, Northern is hoping to put another streak to rest.

Since that win over Carroll in 2016, the Lights have lost 34 straight Frontier Conference games, the 34th being last week’s loss at Montana Western. Of course, the streak has been a tough one for the MSU-N program, but, in the last two seasons, the Lights, under head coach Andrew Rolin, have been doing anything and everything they can to turn around their conference fortunes.

One of the main issues is, no matter how much the Lights improve, they still play in the SEC of the NAIA. In other words, the Frontier Conference just doesn’t let up, and recent history shows that. Even when traditional powers like Carroll and Montana Tech fall back, there’s teams like Southern Oregon, Eastern Oregon, and now College of Idaho who rise right up to the top. So, rebuilding in the Frontier is just not an easy proposition, and that’s what the Lights are up against week in and week out.

Still, Northern is certainly due for a breakthrough - the Lights will be looking for some old-fashioned Blue Pony Stadium mojo Saturday night.

Yes, that’s right, I said Saturday night. Northern’s game with Carroll was moved from 1 p.m. to 7 p.m. due to Havre High’s home playoff game against Lewistown Saturday afternoon. So that’s some more mojo the Lights are hoping to have, because, there’s been a few times when the Lights have really played well, under the Lights.

Anyone remember the final game of 2004? That was a night game moved because of an HHS playoff game and the Lights pulled a huge upset over Rocky Mountain College for their only win of that season. That just happened to be the first win of Mark Samson’s career, and it also happened to be the same month that now Carroll College head coach Troy Purcell led the Blue Ponies to the Class A state championship.

So, while Halloween will have come and gone by the time the Lights and Saints kick off Saturday night, don’t be surprised of some weird things happen during the latest showdown between Northern and Carroll.

Jund Crazy

In Montana Western’s dominant win over the Lights last Saturday in Dillon, Bulldog quarterback Job Jund certainly put himself back into consideration for the Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Year Award.

Jund threw for 330 yards on just 21 completions, and found the endzone six times through the air. Just for fun, he also rushed for 88 more yards, which led all ball carriers in the game, and scored one more touchdown. The day certainly could have earned Jund Frontier and NAIA Offensive Player of the Week honors, but, it did a whole lot more.

Jund’s performance put the Dawgs squarely back in the race for an NAIA playoff berth. Jund, who has now thrown for 20 touchdowns against just five interceptions, and ranks third in the NAIA in total offense, and third in passer rating, might just be the one player that has a chance to help his team take down College of Idaho.

With three games left in 2019, the Frontier is down to a three-team race, and C of I may not lose the league title no matter what happens. But, Montana Tech already has lost to the Yotes twice, while Western gets its only shot at the unbeaten Yotes next week in Caldwell, Idaho. And, the Dawgs will need to beat the Yotes to have any chance of making the playoffs, because a loss by either Tech or Western at this point, means the Frontier will once again get just one team into the NAIA postseason.

Poll Position

There are still 10 undefeated teams left in the NAIA and C of I is one of them. In the new NAIA Coaches Poll, the Yotes crept up one more spot to No. 6. With each new ranking, C of I breaks its own record for highest ranking in school history.

Montana Tech moved up one spot to No. 19 after a win over SOU, and Western stayed put at No. 24. For the first time this season, Carroll is also back on the map, as the Saints received votes in this week’s poll.

NAIA Coaches Poll

Rn. Prv. Rec. Pts.

1 1 Morningside (Iowa) [17] 7-0 392

2 3 Marian (Ind.) 6-0 368

3 2 Kansas Wesleyan 8-0 361

4 4 Grand View (Iowa) 8-0 350

5 5 Northwestern (Iowa) 7-0 327

6 7 College of Idaho 7-0 321

7 8 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 8-0 309

8 9 Cumberlands (Ky.) 7-0 284

9 10 Evangel (Mo.) 7-1 269

10 12 Keiser (Fla.) 8-0 241

11 11 Saint Xavier (Ill.) 5-2 236

12 15 Ottawa (Ariz.) (AZ) 8-0 215

13 14 Benedictine (Kan.) 6-2 205

14 18 Siena Heights (Mich.) 7-1 201

15 16 Concordia (Mich.) 6-2 182

16 6 Saint Francis (Ind.) 5-2 180

17 17 Reinhardt (Ga.) 7-2 149

18 19 Southeastern (Fla.) 6-1 131

19 20 Montana Tech 5-2 122

20 21 Baker (Kan.) 6-2 105

21 13 Dickinson State (N.D.) 6-2 91

22 22 Langston (Okla.) 5-2 81

23 23 Sterling (Kan.) 6-1 73

24 24 Montana Western 5-2 45

25 25 Waldorf (Iowa) 6-2 25

Others Receiving Votes: Valley City State (N.D.) 5, Dordt (Iowa) 3, Indiana Wesleyan 3, Carroll (Mont.) 3.