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Top-ranked
Carroll favored at MSU-Northern By SCOTT MANSCH |
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The Frontier Conference
football rivalry between Carroll College and Montana State-Northern has been
one-sided. And that's an
understatement. But the undefeated Saints
insist that complacency will never shake their collective resolve. "You only play one
game a week," said Carroll quarterback Tyler Emmert. "There's no
problem with us getting mentally prepared to play." The top-ranked Saints and
youthful Lights kick it off in Havre this afternoon at 3 in a game slated to
be televised throughout the state on cable TV (channel 70 in Great Falls). Meanwhile, Rocky Mountain
visits UM-Western this afternoon at 1 in a Frontier Conference battle. And Montana
Tech takes on Eastern Oregon this afternoon at 2 in a nonconference game in
La Grande, Ore. CARROLL owns eight
straight victories over MSU-Northern, which resurrected a dormant program
five years ago. None of the games has really been very close, as the Saints
have outscored the Lights by an average of 43-8. Included were several
shutout victories in Havre. But the past means
nothing as far as Northern head coach Walt Currie is concerned. "This team's
attitude has been so great," he said. "They bounce right back every
week and get after it." The Lights got their
first victory of the season last week in Butte, knocking off Montana Tech
29-22 behind freshman quarterback Neill Crandell and frosh fullback Tanner
Cochrell. "This kid's the real
deal," Carroll coach Mike Van Diest said of Crandell. "He's quick
and throws well on the run." Emmert does the same for
Carroll. He's also surrounded by fine talent, including running back D.J.
Dearcorn and receivers Kevin McCutcheon and Mark Gallik. "We've got to play
almost perfect football," said Currie. "You can't make any mistakes
against a team like this. ... Their overall quickness is something that other
teams don't have. "Emmert is a
tremendous football player," Currie said. "He's got it all -- he
can throw, he's smart, he can run well and he's hard to get ahold of. We're
scratching our heads trying to get a plan to stop him." The Saints' defense is
led by safety Mike Maddox and linebacker Marcus Atkinson. Defensive backs
Jarrod Wirt and Brett Bermingham played especially well last week in
Carroll's 56-6 trouncing of Rocky Mountain. Northern will try to
control the clock with Cochrell's running. When Crandell goes up top,
receivers Nick Arnold and Tanner Woodward will get opportunities downfield.
The Lights' defense has been hit hard by injuries at linebacker, but
All-American noseguard Bomont Somerfeld could cause problems for Carroll's
running game. IN DILLON, two talented
quarterbacks will be on display as UM-Western takes on Rocky Mountain. Western's Travis Kirby
ranks fourth among NAIA passers with a 282-yard average, while Rocky QB Adam
Sanchez ranks eighth in the land at 244 yards per game. Western has a huge
offensive line to protect Kirby, who threw for 354 yards last week in the
Bulldogs' 37-24 victory over Whitworth College. Dallas Mock and Jake Larson
are key pass-catchers. The defense has also been
playing well for Western coach Tommy Lee, who said Great Falls native Eric
Stoverud is among several defenders playing well. Safeties Nick Prinzing and
Cole Van Heel of Great Falls will start in the Western secondary today. Rocky Mountain has lost
three out of four, including last week's setback at Carroll. But the Bears of
coach Clay Moose are far from discouraged. "What separates
winners from losers is that winners are able to learn from mistakes, and
losers are defeated by them," said Moose. "I think we're learning
each week, but we're still looking for that one total team effort where we
put it together in all three phases of the game for four quarters." Sanchez leads Rocky's
spread offense, which features receiver B.J. Charlton and running backs Mike
Vicards and Justin Venn. Swift receiver Jon Owen is a fine deep threat for
Rocky, which defeated MSU-Northern 57-3 a few weeks ago. Western swept the season
series last year, winning 45-6 and 31-28. MONTANA TECH will have a
new starting quarterback today as freshman Justin Kegel of Havre opens under
center. He becomes the third starting QB this season for the Orediggers, who are
0-4 for the first time in the 17-year reign of Tech head coach Bob Green. Aaron Johnson, who opened
the season as the Tech quarterback, is out for the year with an injury.
Starting linebackers Tucker Edmundson and Jay Deal are also hurt, and
halfback Adam Cotton has been dealing with a lingering rib injury. The Eastern Oregon
Mountaineers are 0-3, including a 21-14 loss to UM-Western in Dillon several
weeks ago. Eastern Oregon dropped a 29-12 decision to NCAA III Willamette two
weeks ago, and was off last Saturday. The Mountaineers are led
by quarterback Aaron Hazel. Originally published Saturday, October 4, 2003 |
