Frontier Notebook: Tech's Saraceni running wild on the league

Two games are all that stand between one of the biggest Frontier Conference matchups in a while. But for that game, in Ashland, Oregon, to be as big as it can be, the Montana Tech Orediggers and Southern Oregon Raiders must make sure and win this Saturday.

Yes, the No. 1 Raiders and No. 12 Orediggers, who sit tied atop the Frontier standings, are on a collision course toward each other, and they’ll meet Nov. 7 at SOU. But first things first, for that game to become the de facto league championship game, both teams need to avoid an upset.

SOU, which has won six straight games, and has ascended to the No. 1 ranking in the NAIA, will have to take care of pesky Rocky Mountain College Saturday in Billings to make sure it’s still in first place when Tech comes calling. The Battlin’ Bears have lost three straight, though, so beating SOU, even at home, would be a huge undertaking.

Tech however, needs to avoid a huge letdown. The Orediggers wrapped up their first sweep of Carroll College in over three decades when they crushed the Fighting Saints 42-7 last Saturday in Helena. Now, Tech is just one win away from playing SOU for most likely, the league championship. But two things stand in Tech’s way. First, a home date with Eastern Oregon, which is coming off a 70-point outburst at MSU-Northern last week. And secondly, Tech may be without the services of star quarterback Quinn McQueary, who was said to be injured in last week’s win over Carroll.

Still, there’s no denying that the Orediggers are playing great football, and they have a chance to do even greater things when they visit SOU next Saturday. Tech and SOU play each other just once, so that game could ultimately decide everything this Frontier season. First however, both teams need to avoid a letdown the week before.

Running Wild

Everybody knew that Montana Tech had a great one in junior Nolan Saraceni. But it’s doubtful anyone knew he’d be this good, this fast.

Saraceni, a former Billings Senior star, sat behind Tech’s All-time leading rusher, Pat Hansen, for two seasons. But the star running back is sitting behind no one anymore. Last Saturday, Saraceni rushed for 287 yards and four touchdowns on just 24 carries against what is supposed to be a vaunted Carroll College defense. That performance earned him NAIA Player of the Week honors.

However, Saraceni has been doing that to opposing defenses all season long, and it’s a season that looks like he’s headed towards All-American honors. Saraceni now has 1,041 yards on the season, and he’s averaging 175 yard per game, though he didn’t play at all in a Tech win over MSU-Northern two weeks ago. He’s by far leading the Frontier in rushing, and he’s now leading the NAIA in that category, too. In fact, Saraceni ranks first among NAIA running backs in four different categories, and he’s still got three games to go in the regular season.

Playing for Pride

It isn’t often that both the MSU-Northern Lights and Carroll College Saints have nothing to play for when they meet this late in the season. In fact, there was a time when Northern/Carroll matchups in October and November had plenty at stake.

But that isn’t the reality for either team this season. Northern has yet to find the win column, heading into its showdown with the Saints Saturday, though the Lights have showed marked improvement the last two outings.

Meanwhile, Carroll is experiencing a season unlike any the Saints have had in the past two decades. And last week’s 42-7 beating at the hands of Tech was something Carroll fans simply aren’t used to seeing, at all.

The Saints are currently on their first three-game losing streak of the Mike Van Diest era, and, are going to miss the NAIA playoffs for only the third time in the head coach’s brilliant career.

Still, Saturday’s Halloween contest will mean plenty to both teams. And it should be an interesting matchup. Both teams have star-studded defenses, but those defenses have struggled mightily in recent weeks. For the first time in eons, Carroll doesn’t rank first in any defensive category in the Frontier, and in fact, the Saints are fourth or worse in every defensive category in the league.

And that should bode well for a Northern offense that is trying to hit its stride, in particular junior running back Zach McKinley, who averages 111 yards per outing. But, the Northern defense needs to find itself too, and it will be tough against Carroll senior Mac Roche, and a bevy of passing standouts.

However, this could be a breakout game for Northern’s run defense. A big part of Carroll’s woes this season is that the Saints are dead last in the Frontier in rushing. Carroll is averaging just 98 yards per game, and the Saints’ leading rusher, Dylan Green, is averaging just 45 yards per outing.

So it’s more than unusual to see a Carroll team struggle to run the football as much as this one does, and it looks like, whoever is better at stopping the run, could come out on top Saturday at Nelson Stadium.

Frontier Honors

Saraceni’s performance obviously earned him Frontier Offensive Player of the Week honors. Meanwhile, SOU’s Julius Rucker was named the Frontier Defensive Player of the Week.

In then No.2 Southern Oregon’s 63-21 conference win over College of Idaho, Rucker recorded six unassisted tackles, two assisted tackles and one tackle for loss. He also had a 94- yard fumble-recovery-return for a touchdown.

EOU’s Calvin Connors was named Special Teams Player of the Week after a record-setting day against Northern. In the 72-30 conference road win at Northern, Connors had 150 yards in punt returns and had an 89-yard kick return for a touchdown, and he totaled 379 all-purpose yards for the game.