Frontier Conference Notebook: Showdown in Caldwell to decide Frontier's fate

It all comes down to one Saturday in the Frontier Conference, and really, one game in Caldwell, Idaho.

After College of Idaho and Carroll College both won last Saturday, the showdown is set for the Frontier championships as C of I meets the Fighting Saints at home. A Yotes' win will lock up the regular season championship alone, while a Carroll win would give the Saints a share of the Frontier championship, and the Saints would likely punch a ticket to the playoffs as well. C of I already has the league's automatic bid to the playoffs locked up via several tiebreaker scenarios should they lost to the Yotes. One of those includes a 31-20 win over Carroll back on Oct. 1 in Helena.

As for the rest of the league, Montana Tech's chances at sharing the league title, and possibly getting into the playoffs were blown away with a 27-21 loss to arch rival Western at home last Saturday. In windy conditions, the Bulldogs took away any scenario in which Tech could tie C of I, and possibly Carroll for the Frontier championship.

The win pushed Western back above .500 in league play. Rocky Mountain College is also above .500 in the league, and the Battlin' Bears had to survive a scare from winless MSU-Northern in 50 mile per hour winds last Saturday in Havre. The Lights' defense played their best game of the season, but a late fourth-quarter score by RMC clinched the win, and another winning season for the Bears, who also saw their playoff hopes dashed two weeks ago.

The final numbers

Going into the last week of the regular season, Southern Oregon's Blake Asciutto leads the league in passing with 230 yards per game. Montana Tech's Blake Counts is tops in rushing at 89 yards per game, while C of I's Brock Richardson is first in receiving yards at 86 per game, and Tech's Trevor Hoffman is first in receptions at six per outing.

On defense, Southern Oregon's Jake Regino leads the Frontier at 11 tackles per game, while he also has 103 stops for the season. MSU-N's Dylan Wampler is second at 83 tackles and Hunter Riley is third at 71. Montana Tech's Keyshan James-Newby leads the league with eight sacks and 14.5 tackles for loss, while RMC's Kaysawn Barnett is first in the Frontier in interceptions with five.

On special teams, Montana Tech's Kyle Torgerson averages a league-high 128 all-purpose yards, while Tech's Andrew Almos is the top punter, and teammate Ryan Lowry has a league-best 11 field goals.

Offense or defense?

It looks like, when all is said and done, the Frontier Conference will have been more of a defensive struggle this fall.

Compared to 2021, scoring is down this fall, and so is rushing. Interestingly, the Frontier has always been known for rushing, and yet, the league will most likely not produce a 100-yard per game rusher this season, and might not even produce a 90-yard per game rusher, or a 1,000-yard individual season. Passing honestly isn't much better. Only four teams throw for over 200 yards per game, while no teams is above 250. Total yards see three teams over 400, but not one comes close to anything more than that.

On the other side of the coin is how good defenses are playing. Carroll and Rocky allow under 15 ppg, while Tech and C of I allow fewer than 20. Western comes in at 25 ppg, so six of the eight teams in the league are yielding less than 25 ppg. Takeaways are up as well. Three teams are on double digits in interceptions this year, while Tech and Northern are also in double digits in fumble recoveries.

Kyle goes home again

Saturday's regular season finale between Montana Tech and MSU-Northern at Tilleman Field marks the second year in a row that Northern Hall of Famer Kyle Samson will coach a game at Tilleman Field. Samson, who played and coached for the Lights, made his Tilleman Field debut last fall when Tech beat the Lights 23-13. The game will kick off at noon Saturday in what will be the last game of the season for both teams.