For the second straight week, a Montana State University-Northern player has earned Frontier Conference Special Team’s Player of the Week.
Northern kicker Juan Garcia earned the honor this week after senior defensive end Will Andrews won it a week ago. Garcia is a 6-foot, 185-pound junior, punter/kicker from Pacifica, Calif. In MSU-Northern's 41-14 loss to Eastern Oregon, two of Garcia's three punts were downed inside the 20-yard line. He was also 2-of-2 in extra points.
From the same game, Eastern Oregon’s Chris Ware earned offensive player of the week honors. Ware is a 6-foot-1, 215-pound senior quarterback from Rainer, Ore. In Eastern's 41-14 victory over MSU-Northern, Ware was 21-of-29 passing for 297 yards, four touchdowns and no interceptions. He also rushed for 84 yards and one touchdown on 12 rushes. Other players nominated: Dustin Rinker of Carroll College and Stephen Silva of MSU-Northern.
Montana Tech’s Connor O’Neill earned defensive honors this week. O'Neill is a 6-foot, 205-pound senior linebacker, from Butte, Mont. In Montana Tech's 34-14 win over No. 24 Rocky Mountain College, O'Neill had nine solo tackles, two assisted tackles, one tackle for loss and an interception returned 33 yards for a touchdown. Also nominated, Howard McDonald of Eastern Oregon and Thomas Robison of Carroll College.
In the latest NAIA Coaches Poll, just two Frontier schools remain. Carroll College stayed at No. 3 after its easy victory over UM-Western last Saturday. EOU’s win over Northern moved the Mountaineers up to No. 21 this week. The top two teams, Saint Xavier of Illinois and Marian of Indiana face off this Saturday. For the complete NAIA Poll, see Page A7.
The Lights return to action on Friday night when they host Rocky Mountain College at 7 p.m. at Blue Pony Stadium in Havre.
NAIA Football Poll
The Associated Press
Rec. Pts Pvs
1. Saint Xavier (Ill.) (14) 8-0 340 1
2. Marian (Ind.) (1) 9-0 326 2
3. Carroll (Mont.) 8-1 313 3
4. Georgetown (Ky.) 8-0 303 4
5. MidAmerica Nazarene 7-1 289 5
6. Morningside (Iowa) 7-1 275 6
7. Missouri Valley 7-1 253 7
8. William Penn (Iowa) 8-1 241 8
9. Benedictine (Kan.) 8-1 232 10
10. Azusa Pacific (Calif.) 7-2 218 11
11. Saint Francis (Ind.) 6-2 210 12
12. St. Ambrose (Iowa) 7-1 203 13
13. Ottawa (Kan.) 7-2 175 14
14. Cumberland (Tenn.) 7-1 171 15
15. Valley City State (N.D.) 8-1 162 16
16. St. Francis (Ill.) 7-2 148 9
17. Bethel (Tenn.) 6-2 127 19
18. Southern Nazarene 7-2 115 20
19. Langston (Okla.) 6-2 110 21
20. Northwestern (Iowa) 7-2 108 22
21. Eastern Oregon 6-3 65 25
22. Doane (Neb.) 6-2 55 17
23. Grand View (Iowa) 6-3 54 —
24. Bethany (Kan.) 7-2 44 18
25. Baker (Kan.) 5-3 27 —
