NAIA voters take notice of Frontier

By SCOTT MANSCH

 

The word seems to be getting around.

Many of us in Montana have known for years that the Frontier Conference plays some of the finest small-college football in the land. And now apparently the coaches who vote in the NAIA poll are recognizing the fact.

For the first time in this scribe's memory, three Frontier Conference teams are in the NAIA top 25. Defending national champion Carroll is No. 1, while Montana Tech and UM-Western are tied at No. 25.

There are nine football-playing conferences and 96 teams that sponsor the sport in NAIA. Thus it's significant that three of the Frontier's five schools find themselves nationally ranked.

"People are recognizing how good the football is in this conference," said Carroll coach Mike Van Diest. "It's a battle every week. You don't see many blowouts in this league."

FANS KNOW to bring plenty of patience whenever Montana Tech and Carroll College meet on the football field. Carroll edged Tech 19-16 in double-overtime last Saturday in Butte, just the latest decision in this classic rivalry that couldn't be decided in 60 minutes.

In 2000, and again in 1999, the teams also met in games that two required two overtimes. Tech defeated Carroll 42-41 in the epic 1999 battle, while the Saints edged the Orediggers 37-34 in the long 2000 game.

MONTANA TECH lost more than a football game last week, for star inside linebacker Jay Deal suffered a broken leg.

Deal, a 6-0, 222-pound junior from Thompson Falls, was off to a fine start this year. "He's a playmaker," said Diggers' coach Bob Green. "He's physical and can run like the wind."

Green will look to Geraldine native Rory Clark, Lucas Paugh of Chinook and Kent Kansala of Sheridan, Wyo., to fill the void.

IT WAS a bit of a surprise last week when Carroll's Van Diest sent senior kicker Zac Titus in to attempt what proved to be a game-winning, 25-yard field goal in the second overtime. Titus shares kicking responsibilities with veteran Carroll kicker Rhett Crites. Titus is usually the long FG man, while Crites handles the extra points and shorter field-goal attempts.

"It was just a gut feeling," said Van Diest. "We've got two real good kickers, and Zac's been there in the shadows for a long time. But he hit that first one (a 35-yard field goal) that really got us going, and we just decided to let Zac go in there and win it for us."

UM-WESTERN coach Tommy Lee was highly encouraged two weeks ago when his Bulldogs went to Idaho State, competed well for four quarters and finished with three touchdowns.

But Lee was disappointed in his team's effort last week in a 21-14 home loss to Eastern Oregon. The Bulldogs, who entered the game ranked 14th, twice couldn't punch it in from the one-yard line in the final minutes.

"We didn't play very well. We had no emotion," said Lee. "I'll tell you what, the Frontier is an outstanding conference and on any given day anyone can win. Everybody has good players, and if you're flat or playing with no emotion, expecting to just show up and win, it's not going to happen."

GREAT FALLS native Cole Van Heel had a fine game for the Western defense, and Jereme Hess also played well.

"Josh Shrum did a real nice job at running back," said Lee, "and for the most part (quarterback) Travis Kirby did a good job."

But the not enough Bulldogs got the job done.

"We don't lack confidence," Lee said. "Maybe we've got too much confidence. Our kids need to learn that they have to continue to work hard and remember what got us where we were last year (a spot in the national playoffs)."

MONTANA TECH botched an extra point with 16 seconds left in regulation that in all likelihood would have provided a victory over Carroll.

But Diggers' coach Green refuses to assess any blame.

"The players involved that play are bitterly disappointed," he said, "but hey, there were a million plays that could have affected the game. There were many other places where we could have won the game. There were a lot of big plays on both sides, and Carroll is an awfully good team."

It says a lot about Green that following a bitter loss to a bitter rival, he maintains an optimistic outlook and friendly tone with the press. He's a living definition of the term "sportsmanship."

THE LIGHTS of Montana State-Northern lost 31-20 to seventh-ranked Dickinson (N.D.) State in a season-opening game last week in Havre, but it was certainly a successful start for freshman quarterback Neill Crandell.

The former Scobey-Peerless star earned Frontier player-of-the-week honors in his first college game by passing for 425 yards.

"He had a lot of poise for the first time out," said Northern coach Walt Currie. "We caught the ball extremely well and our pass-blocking was very good."

Crandell appears to have a bright future at Northern, which hasn't enjoyed much consistency at the all-important QB position since reviving the program five years ago.

"He's a real student of the game," Currie said. "Really spends a lot of time studying film and working on his reads. He throws it well and can scramble, too."

ROCKY MOUNTAIN also got a pretty fair performance from a quarterback in a losing effort last week.

The Bears of coach Clay Moose dropped a 34-9 decision to eighth-ranked Mary (N.D.), although Rocky quarterback Adam Sanchez passed for 243 yards.

However, the Bears turned it over a bunch, including three interceptions.

"I still believe in this team," Moose told the Billings Gazette. "The thing is, when we have a chance to make plays offensively and defensively, we've got to make them ... We're tired of hanging with these teams. We want to beat a few of them, but we can't by making mistakes."