Frontier Notebook: McKinley is now MSU-N's top rusher

Now it's official. Montana State University-Northern running back Zach McKinley is indeed Northern's all-time leading rusher.

Last Saturday, McKinley rushed for 103 yards against the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears, and when he reached the 85-yard mark in the game at Herb Klindt Field in Billings, he officially became Northern's all-time leading rusher.

McKinley now has 350 yards in three games this season, which gives him 2,875 yards in his career. That mark surpasses former Northern great Stephen Silva, who rushed for 2,856 yards from 2009-2012.

Becoming Northern's all-time leading rusher is a big feat, but what makes it more amazing is, McKinley did it in just 24 games. That gives him a career average of 120 yards per game, and it also shows that no Frontier Conference team has really ever been able to slow down the former Great Falls prep standout. And, with eight games left in his junior season, and another 10 or 11 at least in his senior year, McKinley will leave a rushing mark at Northern that will likely never, ever be equaled. Not to mention, the Frontier Conference rushing record might just be in jeopardy, too.

McKinley now holds 12 different Northern rushing records, and he'll look to add to his total this Saturday in MSU-N's annual homecoming game.

But, that feat will be difficult as Northern comes into the game struggling mightily on offense, and now has to face a stout UM-Western defense. In the Bulldogs' 2-0 start, they're allowing just 13 points and 133 yards on the ground per game. A big part of that is Western's talented linebacking core, led by seniors A.J. Wilson and Joe Coker. The former Helena Capital duo have been wreaking havoc on opposing offenses for years, and they did so again last weekend, when they held the potent College of Idaho rushing attack to a mere 141 yards on the ground.

So no doubt, if Northern is going to get its offense on track, it will have to do so against one of the best run defenses, and one of the best all-around defenses in the Frontier Conference.

Welcome to the Poll

Speaking of the Bulldogs' early-season success, they're not alone, and they're being rewarded for it. The Bulldogs and Montana Tech have started a surprising 2-0 in the Frontier, and both teams made leaps into the first NAIA Coaches Poll of the season.

While Western moved in at No. 19 after beating Rocky Mountain College and C of I, Montana Tech, which was picked to finish seventh in the league this season, moved into the poll at No. 15. Tech opened its season to weeks ago with a win at Northern, but the big blow came last Saturday when the Orediggers knocked off then No. 4 Carroll College, 19-10 in Butte. The win was just Tech's second against Carroll in the last 21 meetings, and it put the Orediggers and the Bulldogs atop the Frontier standings together.

Carroll and Southern Oregon however, are still the top Frontier teams in the new poll. The Raiders lost to Carroll to open the season, but survived a scare from Eastern Oregon last Saturday. SOU started the season ranked No. 1 in the NAIA, but dropped to No. 4 in the new poll. Following the loss to the Orediggers, Carroll dipped to No. 7 in this week's poll.

Eastern Oregon, which started the year ranked No. 13, dropped out of the Top 25 after a third straight loss to open the season. But the Mounties are still getting respect in the NAIA poll, as they, and the Rocky Mountain College Battlin' Bears received votes in this week's poll.

Needing a W

Speaking of the Mounties, they certainly didn't think they'd find themselves looking for their first win of the season this late into September. But that's where EOU sits heading into Saturday's home game with Montana Tech.

Of course, two of EOU's three losses came at the hands of some pretty darn good teams. Two weeks ago, the Mounties moved up to play Big Sky Conference member Sacramento State, then, they lost a heartbreaker to arch rival SOU last Saturday.

Still, EOU's once high playoff hopes are already fading, and an 0-4 start would be a disaster. But to avoid that start, the Mounties will have to beat the hottest team in perhaps the NAIA, the Orediggers. Tech comes to Community Stadium in LaGrande, Oregon Saturday riding high after its stunning win over Carroll, and while Quinn McQueary and the Oredigger offense is shining right now, it's the Tech defense that's really braking through.

After two wins to start the season, Tech is leading the Frontier in nearly every defensive category. The Diggers are allowing a meager nine points per game, they are giving up just 233 yards of offense per outing and are allowing just 84.5 yards rushing. And those rushing numbers come having already faced Northern's McKinley and Carroll, which is known to be a great running team with a great offensive line.

So, if Tech's trend continues, it could spell trouble for the Mounties this Saturday, and trouble for the rest of the Frontier all season long.

Early Leaders

While McKinley once again leads the Frontier in rushing, others are starting to shine early this season as well.

Despite a rough outing last Saturday, Carroll's Mac Roche leads the conference with 225 passing yards per game, while Tech's Alec Bray leads the league in receiving with seven catches per outing. EOU's Gary Posten leads the Frontier in tackles with 40, while Northern's Tyler Craig and Western's Reno Ward each have four sacks, which is tops in the Frontier.

Awards

UM-Western freshman quarterback J.D. Ferris was named the Frontier Offensive Player of the Week.

In Western's 24-20 season conference win over College of Idaho, Ferris was 15 of 30 passing for 144 yards, one touchdown and two interceptions. His lone touchdown pass was the game-winner thrown with just 18 seconds remaining in game. He also rushed 19 times for 166 yards and one touchdown.

Also nominated and listed in alphabetical order; Calvin Conners of Eastern Oregon, Teejay Gordon of College of Idaho, Jade Olsen of Rocky Mountain College, Nolan Saraceni of Montana Tech and Tanner Trosin of Southern Oregon.

Western senior linebacker A.J. Wilson was named the Defensive Player of the Week. Wilson recorded nine unassisted tackles, two assisted tackles, two tackles for loss and an interception.

Also nominated and listed in alphabetical order; Tyler Gaviak of Montana Tech, Jared Jensen of Eastern Oregon, Jordan Kessen of Rocky Mountain College, Nate Moore of College of Idaho, Kyle Smith of Carroll College.

SOU kicker Marcus Montana earned Special Teams Player of the Week. In Southern's 38-35 come-from behind win, Montano, a true-freshman, kicked the game-winning 27-yard field goal with just four seconds remaining in the game. It completed a come-back where SOU had trailed 35-14 with a minute left to play in third quarter.

Also nominated: Matt Berg of Montana Tech, Hartvig Bondo of College of Idaho, Evan Connolly of Rocky Mountain College and Colter Hamel of Carroll College.