Frontier Notebook: Lights look to end Nelson Stadium drought

There was a time, and not so long ago, that literally no one, and I mean no one, could find a way to win inside Nelson Stadium at Carroll College. Yes, the Fighting Saints were that dominant, and especially at home.

But as the old saying goes, nothing lasts forever and the Saints are once again struggling, and those struggles include playing at home. Just last week, the Saints were blown out by Rocky Mountain College in Helena, to fall to 2-5 on the season. And this fall, Carroll has won just once at home, against three losses. Overall, the Saints are also on a four-game losing streak.

So for the fourth straight year, things are not going well in Helena, and now Carroll will face the only team in the Frontier Conference that has never won at Nelson Stadium - the MSU-Northern Lights.

Northern and Carroll meet Saturday afternoon in Helena, with plenty of intersting dynamics on the line. Carroll is staring down the barrel of a fourth straight losing season, while the Lights, in full rebuilding mode, are desperately trying to win their first Frontier Conference game since September of 2016. Guess who that was against? Carroll College.

Northern has beaten Carroll just twice in the modern era of Lights' football, but both of those victories came inside Blue Pony Stadium. In Helena, however, the Lights are 0-13 at Nelson Stadium, including two really close losses there in 2006, one of which was Northern's only playoff appearance in school history.

This Saturday, the Lights get another crack at solving the Nelson Stadium riddle, and with Carroll's struggles it might be Northern's best chance to win in Helena in a long, long time. The Saints, who beat the Lights last month in Havre, come into Saturday's game averaging just 13 points per outing. Carroll is dead last in the Frontier in scoring offense, total offense and passing offense. Even Carroll's run game has really taken a hit again this season, as the Saints are seventh in the Frontier at just 121 yards per game. With how improved Northern's defense looked for a stretch against UM-Western last Saturday, the timing appears just right for the Lights to at least put themselves in a position to get the program's first win in Helena.

Going the Wrong Way

Speaking of struggles, Southern Oregon is certainly having its share of them right now. The Raiders were dumped by College of Idaho last Saturday, their third straight loss. Now, not only is SOU pretty much out of Frontier title contention, the Raiders are going to be on the outside looking in at the NAIA playoffs, though with how muddled the Frontier is right now and with SOU still having to play Western the last game of the season, all hope is not lost, as a three-loss team could conceivably win the league title this year.

SOU and Carroll aren't the only stalwarts riding losing streaks this week either. Montana Tech, after getting thumped by Eastern Oregon last Saturday, has lost three straight and is indeed out of contention for anything this season. The Orediggers started strong this fall, even with a young quarterback, but youth and inexperience at QB and on defense have caught up to the Orediggers in recent weeks and any hope they had of winning the Frontier title, or getting back to the playoffs, is all but gone.

Howling Again

Just when it looked like College of Idaho was dead in the water, the Yotes have come back to life. C of I got off to a disastrous 0-5 start to the season, but now the Yotes have won three straight, including their first-ever win over SOU last weekend.

The secret to the Yotes' recent success has been the increased production of quarterback Darius James-Peterson. Through his first two games, James-Peterson was averaging just 231 yards of total offense, and a year ago, he was fourth in all of the NAIA in total offense. But in C of I's last three wins, James-Peterson is averaging 266 yards passing and another 131 yards on the ground, and that formula has helped C of I join Western, Rocky and Eastern Oregon as teams on a hot streak in the second half. While C of I and Western have each won three straight, Rocky and EOU have won four straight.

Frontier Honors

James-Peterson was named the Frontier Offensive Player of the Week. In last week's win over SOU, he threw for 286 yards, rushed for 100 yards and accounted for five touchdowns. C of I's Nik Lyons was named Defensive Player of the week. In last week's win over SOU, the junior defensive back had nine tackles and an interception. C of I kicker Kyle Mitchell was also named Frontier Special Teams Player of the Week.

NAIA Coaches Poll

Rn. Prv. Rec. Pts.

1 1 Morningside (Iowa) 8-0 366

2 2 Marian (Ind.) [1] 7-0 352

3 5 Reinhardt (Ga.) 6-1 334

4 7 Grand View (Iowa) 6-1 314

5 8 Bethel (Tenn.) 8-0 304

6 3 Northwestern (Iowa) 6-1 296

7 9 Kansas Wesleyan 8-0 277

8 11 Benedictine (Kan.) 7-1 258

9 12 Saint Francis (Ind.) 6-2 238

10 4 Lindsey Wilson (Ky.) 5-2 233

11 6 Evangel (Mo.) 8-1 224

12 13 Langston (Okla.) 6-1 209

13 15 Rocky Mountain 6-2 197

14 17 Cumberlands (Ky.) 8-1 182

15 16 Baker (Kan.) 5-2 179

16 18 Montana Western 6-1 166

17 10 Concordia (Mich.) 6-2 157

18 19 Eastern Oregon 5-2 139

19 20 Dickinson State (N.D.) 6-2 112

20 21 Georgetown (Ky.) 5-3 94

21 23 Siena Heights (Mich.) 6-1 79

22 24 Saint Xavier (Ill.) 6-3 67

23 14 Southern Oregon 4-3 60

24 25 Avila (Mo.) 6-1 55

25 NR Keiser (Fla.) 6-2 29

Others Receiving Votes: Midland (Neb.) 16, Ottawa (Kan.) 7

Havre Daily News Week 9 Frontier Power Rankings

1. UM-Western

2. Rocky Mountain

3. Eastern Oregon

4. Southern Oregon

5. College of Idaho

6. Montana Tech

7. Carroll College

8. MSU-Northern