Carroll dominates all-conference awards

Frontier conference champion Carroll College dominated the end of the year awards in the Frontier Conference.

Carroll grabbed both player of the year honors while head coach Mike Van Diest was named coach of the year for the second year in a row.

Quarterback Tyler Emmert was named the offensive player of the year after completing 208 of 291 passes (71 percent) for 2,960 yards and 28 touchdowns this season while being intercepted only four times. The sophomore led Carroll's unstoppable offense with 289 yards of total offense a game.

Saint linebacker Marcus Atkinson was named the conference defense player of the year. He led the Saints with 82 total tackles on the season.

Montana State University-Northern placed only one player on the all-conference squad. Senior defensive tackle Bomont Somerfeld was named first-team all-conference for the third time in his career.

Somerfeld, a Power native, led the Frontier Conference with 18 tackles for loss this season, while finishing with 92 total tackles on the season. He was a four-time all-conference performer during his stellar career for the Lights.

There were several area players also earning all-conference honors.

Former KG standout Rhett Crites earned first-team honors at placekicker for Carroll. Crites, who was named to the second team last season, connected on nine of 11 field goals and made 57 of 60 extra points. Crites was all named to the second team as a punter.

Chinook's Michael Maddox joined Crites on the first team as a linebacker for Carroll. Maddox finished with 13 tackles for loss including four sacks.

All-Frontier Conference football team

INDIVIDUAL AWARDS

Coach of the Year - Mike Van Diest, Carroll College.

Offensive Player of the Year - Tyler Emmert, quarterback, Carroll College.

Defensive Player of the Year - Marcus Atkinson, linebacker, Carroll College.

FIRST TEAM OFFENSE

Quarterback - Tyler Emmert, Carroll College, 6-foot-2, 195 pound, soph, Helena.

Running backs - Josh Shrum, Montana-Western, 5-10, 185, jr, Boise, Idaho and Josh Johnson, Montana Tech, 5-7, 165, frosh, Frenchtown.

Tight end - Dallas Mock, Western, 6-1, 215, jr, Kuna, Idaho.

Wide receivers - BJ Charlton, Rocky Mountain, 6-3, 210, sr, Marietta, Calif.; Mark Gallik, Carroll, 5-11, 185, sr, Stevensville and Zach Zawacki, Carroll, 6-1, 198, sr, Powell, Wyo.

Offensive linemen - Mike Schmidt, Western, 60-4, 285, jr, Great Falls; Spencer Schmitz, Carroll, 6-2, 270, sr, Helena; Ben Snipes, Western, 6-3, 310, jr, Great Falls; Kyle Baker, Carroll, 6-0, 260, soph, Coeur d'Alene, Idaho and Wayne Butori, Tech, 6-2, 255, jr, Butte.

FIRST TEAM DEFENSE

Defensive linebackers - Marcus Atkinson, Carroll, 6-1, 215, sr, Boise, Idaho; Eric Stoverud, Western, 5-11, 190, soph, Great Falls; Mike Maddox, Carroll, 5-11, 186, jr, Chinook and Tucker Edmundson, Tech, 6-0, 231, soph, Harrison.

Defensive linemen - Bomont Somerfeld, Montana St.-Northern, 6-1, 275, sr, Power; Jereme Hess, Western, 6-1, 240, jr, Puyallup, Wash.; Nate Chiovaro, Carroll, 6-3, 230, sr, Frenchtown and Matt Stepan, Tech, 6-2, 235, sr, Butte.

Defensive backs - Enoch McKeague, Western, 5-10, 180, jr, Honolulu; Brett Bermingham, Carroll, 6-2, 190, sr, Helena; Todd Schlaebitz, Tech, 5-9, 190, sr, Frenchtown and Regan Mack, Carroll, 6-0, 190, soph, Emigrant.

FIRST TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS

Place kicker - Rhett Crites, Carroll, 5-11, 180, sr, Gildford.

Kickoff returner - Josh Shrum, Western, 5-10, 185, jr, Boise, Idaho.

Punter - Eric Zahler, Western, 6-0, 225, jr, Yakima, Wash.

Punt returner - Regan Mack, Carroll, 6-0, 190, soph, Emigrant.

SECOND TEAM OFFENSE

Quarterback - Travis Kirby, Western, 6-1, 205, sr, Lakewood, Wash.

Running backs - D.J. Dearcorn, Carroll, 6-2, 225, sr, Dayton, Wyo. and Jed Thomas, Carroll, 6-0, 195, frosh, Heyburn, Idaho.

Tight end - Ryan Dunn, Tech, 6-2, 233, jr, Lewistown.

Wide receivers - Jake Larson, Western, 6-1, 175, soph, Butte; Cory Creighton, Western, 5-9, 170, jr, Palmer, Alaska and Jon Owen, Rocky, 5-8, 190, jr, Geraldine.

Offensive linemen - James Ammar, Rocky, 6-3, 275, soph, Edmonton, Alberta; Paul Barnett, Carroll, 6-5, 285, jr, Hermiston, Ore.; Dan Mazurek, Carroll, 6-0, 250, soph, Helena; Abraham Apilado, Western, 6-3, 325, soph, Kekaha, Hawaii; Allen Linder, Tech, 6-3, 290, jr, Great Falls and Kyle Moore, Tech, 6-6, 299, sr, Great Falls.

SECOND TEAM DEFENSE

Defensive linebackers - Brian Arnston, Western, 6-1, 240, jr, Butte; Jade Small, Rocky, 6-0, 210, jr, Colstrip; Gary Cooper, Carroll, 6-2, 215, soph, Helena and Mark Nay, 6-2, 220, sr, Helena.

Defensive linemen - Nick Wichowski, Rocky, 6-1, 245, sr, Carlsbad, Calif.; Jeff Shirley, Carroll, 6-4, 225, soph, Stockett; Nick Rewerts, Western, 6-5, 240, jr, Libby and Leland Anders, Tech, 6-4, 261, sr, Seeley Lake.

Defensive backs - Cole VanHeel, Western, 5-11, 170, sr, Great Falls; Eric Reis, Rocky, 6-1, 205, jr, Glendive; Matt Peterson, Carroll, 6-2, 200, sr, Carroll and Ben Steele, Tech, 5-10, 180, sr, Bigfork.

SECOND TEAM SPECIAL TEAMS

Place kicker - Eric Zahler, Western, 6-0, 225, jr, Yakima, Wash.

Kickoff returner - Cory Albin, Rocky, 6-1, 215, sr, Sidney.

Punter - Rhett Crites, Carroll, 5-11, 180, sr, Gildford.

Punt returner - Ben Sanders, Rocky, 5-9, 175, sr, Colstrip.