Frontier Notebook: Yotes make Frontier, school history in 2019

It was official last week - but it bares repeating. The College of Idaho Yotes are the undefeated, undisputed Frontier Conference champions, and they did it in just six short years.

C of I's program laid dormant until the Yotes made their Frontier Conference debut in 2014. Now, in just their sixth year under head coach Mike Moroski, the Yotes not only claimed their first outright Frontier championship, but they also went 10-0.

The Yotes have also won 16 straight games dating back to the 2018 season and became just the second Frontier Conference team since 2010 to complete the league schedule with an unbeaten record. It was the fifth time in the 75-year history of the C of I program that the Yotes completed a regular-season without a loss (1908, 1910, 1919, 1953).

Now, C of I will turn its attention to its first appearance in the NAIA playoffs, which were announced Sunday night. The Yotes will host Ottawa (Arizona) Saturday at Simplot Stadium. C of I (10-0) will be making their third all-time postseason appearance - defeating Southern Oregon, 27-20, in the 1948 Pear Bowl, while losing to Sam Houston State, 14-12, in the 1953 Refrigerator Bowl.

As expected, the Yotes were the only Frontier team to reach the NAIA playoffs, marking yet another year that's happened to the league. Montana Western, with a final win over Southern Oregon, came the closest to joining the Yotes in the playoffs, but the Dawgs fell short after losing to C of I two weeks ago.

The playoff field is highlighted by a whopping seven undefeated teams including defending NAIA champion Morningside. The Mustangs are the No. 1 seed and will host former Frontier member Dickinson State in the opening round next Saturday. Other first-round games include, Rein-hardt (Ga.) at Marian (Ind), Baker (Kan.) at Kansas Wesleyan, Concordia (Mich.) at Grand View (Iowa), St, Francis (Ind.) at Lindsey Wilson (Ky.), Cumberlands (Ky.) at Kaiser (Fla.) and Saint Xavier (Ill.) at Northwestern (Iowa). The 2019 national champion will be crowned Dec. 21 in Ruston, Louisiana.

As for the remainder of the Frontier, their season is over.

Half of the league posted a .500 record or better with Carroll College making the best jump. The Fighting Saints went from 4-6 last season to 6-4 under new head coach Troy Purcell, Carroll's first winning campaign in four years.

As for how the standings shook out compared to the Preseason Coaches Poll, C of I lived up to the billing. The Yotes were picked first and finished first. Southern Oregon was picked second but finished at 4-6 and tied for fifth. Western was picked third but with a 7-3 records finished solo second, while Tech was picked fourth and finished tied with Carroll at 6-4 and in third place. EOU was picked sixth and finished tied with SOU, while Carroll was picked seventh and MSU-Northern eighth.

Final Leaders Including Lights

There were plenty of big individual numbers put up by players all across the Frontier this season.

C of I's Nick Calzaretta won the Frontier rushing title with a 107-yard average, and 1,070 yards on the season. Northern's Jett Robertson finished ninth in rushing with a 51 ypg average and 513 yards in his senior season.

Western QB Jon Jund averaged 274.6 passing yards per game and threw an incredible 31` touchdowns to just eight picks on the season. Jund also topped 3,000 total yards for the year. MSU-N freshman QB Brenden Medina was sixth in passing with his 190 ypg. He finished the year with 1,898 yards and 16 touchdowns.

RMC's Lucas Overton won the receptions title with 6.1 per game and 67 total receptions on the year for 790 yards and three scores. Montana Tech's Trevor Hoffman was the only Frontier receiver to top 1,000 yards with his 1,008 on 52 receptions. He and Carroll's Shane Sipes were tied with 101 receiving yards per game this season, while Western's Nate Simkins had the most receiving TDs in the league with 13. Northern's Bryce Bumgardner and Marvin Williams Jr. each averaged 46 yards per game.

On the defensive side of the ball, Western LB Jason Ferris racked up 119 tackles and 12 per game, while Northern's Jaren Maki was fifth with 88 stops this season. Tech's Carter Myers finished with a league-high 7.5 sacks and 18 tackles for loss. Japerri Powell led the Lights with eight TFL's, while Joe Fehr finished with four sacks.

MSU-N freshman safety Hunter Riley was one of four players to finish with a league-high four interceptions this season.

Final Poll, Last Notebook

In the final NAIA Coaches Poll of the regular season, released Sunday, C of I moved up one spot to No. 5, while Carroll also made it sfirst appearance in the Top 25. The Saints moved into the poll at No. 25. Western also moved back into the poll at No. 22, while Montana Tech received votes.

This will be the final Frontier Conference Notebook of the fall. We'll pick it back up again when basketball season is going for good in January.