Frontier Notebook: MSU-N's L'Tia Lawrence earns Frontier honors

Now the race is really on.

Two weeks is all that remains in the Frontier Conference football season, and with College of Idaho knocking off Montana Western two weeks ago, and Montana Tech's upset of Rocky Mountain College last Saturday, once again, the league standings are, shall we say, muddied.

Rocky and C of I are now tied atop the league standings at 6-2, while Western is back in play for the league title, just one game behind the Battlin' Bears and the Yotes. Rocky's win back in September at C of I gives the Bears the tiebreaker, but, the remaining schedule gives, the Yotes' path to their second Frontier title in three years is a bit more clear. They host Eastern Oregon Saturday, and the Mounties have lost four straight. Then, C of I does finish with a tough game at Carroll Nov. 13. Meanwhile, Rocky will play struggling Montana State University-Northern this Saturday in Billings, followed by a huge showdown with Western on the final day of the regular season, Nov. 13 in Dillon.

So, a lot is yet to be determined. If the Bears and Yotes win out, Rocky gets the league's automatic bid to the playoffs, and, while they will have lost just two games, the Yotes are probably out of the playoff hunt. If Rocky loses even once, and C of I wins out, C of I would win the league title outright. And of course, Western is still in the hunt, but to have any chance, not only will the Bulldogs have to win their last two games just to force a tie for first, they need the Yotes to drop at least one.

In other words, the Frontier title is going to come down to the last day of the season either way.

Digging In

Montana Tech won't make the playoffs this year, but the Orediggers have been the league's hottest team in recent weeks. It was a rough start to head coach Kyle Samson's first full season at the helm, but he quickly got Tech's ship pointed the right way.

After building a 21-3 lead against the Bears, Tech's defense held on to help the Orediggers win 21-17 in Butte. It was Tech's second straight win, following their 34-14 blowout at Southern Oregon two weeks ago.

And defense has been the key. In their last two outings, the Diggers are allowing just 13 points and 257 yards of offense. Tech will finish the season with a rivalry game at Western this Saturday, and a home finale against Northern Nov. 13.

Frontier Honors

Montana State University-Northern freshman guard L'Tia Lawrence has been named Frontier Women's Basketball Player of the Week. In last week's win over Dickinson State, Lawrence recorded a double-double with game-high's in both points and rebounds. Lawrence, from Harlem, is in her second season as a Skylight. UP's Marcus Stephens was named Men's Player of the Week.

In football, Tech quarterback Jett Campbell was the Offensive Player of the week. EOU's Sage DeLong was named Defensive Player of the Week and C of I's Cole Schmidt was named Special Team's Player of the Week.