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News you can use
Montana State University-Northern's Brenden Medina throws a pass during a game against Eastern Oregon as a freshman in 2019. That was the last time the Lights and Southern Oregon met in Havre, and it was on a frozen, snowy November day at Blue Pony Stadium. Medina and the Lights will make their home debut against the Raiders Saturday, but because of record Labor Day weekend heat, the game at Tilleman Field has been moved up to 11:30 a.m.
If the first Saturday of Frontier Conference football was any indication, fans around the league are in for a treat. That's because it was a wild first weekend.
Right off the bat, we've already had an earth-shattering upset as Carroll College knocked off nationally ranked Montana Western in Helena last Saturday. Many saw the Bulldogs as a heavy favorite to win the league this season, but Carroll's defense, coupled with an outstanding performance by quarterback Jack Prka, who threw for 148 yards and a touchdown won the game. The win was huge for the Fighting Saints as well, as they don't have to play at Western this season, so they'll already hold any tiebreakers over the Dawgs.
The crazy first Saturday also continued with Montana Tech going on the road and thumping Eastern Oregon, while Rocky Mountain College won for the first time ever at Southern Oregon. College of Idaho held serve at home by beating Montana State University-Northern 31-3 in the debut of head coach Jerome Souers.
The first week of the season also sets up a huge week two, especially in Butte as Montana Tech hosts Carroll, and in Billings where Rocky takes on College of Idaho. So, when the dust settles on the second week of league play, there will already be just two unbeaten teams left in the Frontier.
Hot, hot, hot
It was plenty warm for last Saturday's season-opening games around the Frontier, but, this weekend is shaping up to be even worse, and as a result, some schools have altered kickoff times, including for the Montana State University-Northern Lights.
With temperatures expected to reach 102 degrees Saturday in Havre, Northern has moved its home-opener with Southern Oregon up to 11:30 a.m. Normal kickoff times for Northern home games is 1 p.m.
And the Lights weren't the only ones. Rocky Mountain College also moved its kickoff time with College of Idaho up to 11;30 a.m. with a high temperature of 101 expected in Billings. As of press time, the Montana Tech/Carroll game had not been changed yet. The high for Saturday in Butte is forecast at 92. The Western/Eastern Oregon is also still set for 1 p.m. The forecasted high for Dillon Saturday is also 92.
Big Numbers
There were some exciting performances on day one of the Frontier season. Rocky's Zaire Wilcox rushed for 134 yards against SOU, while quarterback Nate Dick had over 300 yards of total offense. Montana Tech's Jett Campbell threw for 235 at EOU, while running back Blake Counts racked up 97 yards on the ground. C of I's Jake Gladly had 136 yards receiving against MSU-Northern, while on the other side of the ball, SOU"s Jake Regino had 12 tackles, and Northern linebacker Dylan Wampler took the early lead in sacks with 2.5 against C of I.
They meet again
Jerome Souers is about to make his home debut for the Lights, and he'll do it against an old friend. Before coming to Northern, Souers spent a season at Southern Oregon coaching the defense on Charlie Hall's staff. Sours and Hall have known each other for years in the coaching circle. Souers is originally from Eugene, Oregon, while Hall is an Ashland native.
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