Frontier Notebook: Samson set to make Havre head coaching debut

It wasn't that long ago that Montana Tech head coach Kyle Samson was back on the Montana State University-Northern campus. He and brother Marc, were inducted into the MSU-Northern Hall of Fame back in July. But, when Samson is once again on campus this Saturday, things will be much, much different.

Samson has coached against the school he was an NAIA All-American once before, but, when Montana Tech beat Northern in a blinding September snowstorm in 2019, Samson was Tech's new offensive coordinator, and that game was played at Blue Pony Stadium. This Saturday, Samson will be the man in charge of the Orediggers, and on top of that, he'll do so inside a football stadium that wasn't even there when he was a player and assistant coach for his father Mark back in the day.

Still, Samson won't be too nostalgic on Saturday afternoon when he brings the Orediggers to Tilleman Field. He allowed himself that this past summer. Instead, he'll be bent on helping his team beat a much-improved Northern squad, and if they do, the Diggers will snap an early season trough patch that has them off to just a 1-3 start.

So, while the return to Havre, and to Northern will always be emotional for Samson, his first game as head coach inside Tilleman Field, he'll be focused on nothing more than trying to lead his Diggers to victory over a Northern squad that came oh so close to beating Rocky Mountain College just last week.

Yotes Back in Front

Just when you thought the Frontier Conference couldn't get any closer, it did. That's thanks in large part to College of Idaho's huge win over then Top 10 Eastern Oregon last Saturday.

While EOU had rode a hot start to the season, C of I announced on Saturday, and in dominant fashion that, the Yotes, who won the 2019 Frontier championship, are here to stay.

Of course, EOU is by no means out of the race4, and Montana Western is going to have plenty to say about the next month having won four straight games, but, behind a newfound quarterback, and the combination of star running Nick Calzaretta and receiver Hunter Juarez, the Yotes now look like they're certainly the team to beat as October dawns.

Changing the Poll

With C of I's win over EOU last week, the Frontier now doesn't have team in the NAIA Top 15. EOU, which was ranked No. 11, dropped to No. 18 with the loss to the Yotes. Western jumped up to No. 20 in the new poll, while C of I reentered the poll at No. 23 after not being ranked last week.

Frontier Honors

Southern Oregon's Bryce Goggin was named Frontier Offensive Player of the Week. Goggin is a 6-3 sophomore. In Southern Oregon's 34-33 come-from-behind conference win over Carroll College, Goggin caught 10 passes for 132 yards and two touchdowns. Eight of his 10 catches, including the two scoring catches, came during the Raiders' fourth quarter comeback. Goggin caught the game winning pass with 37 seconds remaining in the game.

SOU's Drew Schüler was named Frontier Defensive Player of the Week. In Southern Oregon's 34-33 come-from-behind conference win over Carroll College, Schuler recorded a career-high nine solo tackles, three tackles for loss (-9 yards),one quarterback sack (-3 yards) and one pass breakup. He was instrumental in the SOU defense holding the Carroll offense scoreless in their final four possessions.

Rocky Mountain College kicker Riley Garrett was named Special Teams Player of the Week. He was also named the NAIA Football Special Teams Player of the Week. In Rocky Mountain College's 31-28 conference road win over MSU-Northern, Garrett was 4 for 4 PAT's and 1 for 1 field goals. His 34-yard field goal midway through the fourth quarter proved to be the game winner. He had eight punts for 329 yards for an average of 41 yards per punt.