Monday's Regional Briefs

Frontier teams move up in NAIA poll

The Frontier Conference had three teams move up in the NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 Poll released Monday even though the entire league was on bye last weekend.

Carroll College moved up one spot to No.4 while Montana Western and Montana Tech moved up to No. 16 and 17, respectively.

Southern Oregon stayed put, ranked second. Rocky Mountain College also received votes.

All four teams are currently tied for the Frontier lead.

The Frontier boasts the most Top 25 representatives in the NAIA.

Carroll runners earn league honors

Carroll College runners swept the Frontier’s weekly cross country awards with Leah Esposito and Lyle Pocha each taking fifth in their respective fields for the Saints at the Montana Invite in Whitefish. The Saints’ men finished in third place and the women took fifth.

The Montana-State Northern spikers earned two conference player of the week winners, as Cassie Krueger won Attacker of the Week and Jacy Vining took home the Defender award.

Callie Hanson of Montana Western received Setter of the Week honors.

Grizzly star Kidder honored by Big Sky

University of Montana defensive tackle Caleb Kidder was named the Root Sports Big Sky Defensive Player of the Week for his role in the Griz victory over UC-Davis on Saturday.

Kidder posted five solo tackles, a sack, fumble recovery and interception for a Montana defensive unit that didn’t allow the Aggies to reach the end zone in the second half.

The junior from Helena is the second Grizzly defender to win the award in as many weeks, as fellow defensive lineman Tyrone Holmes took home the honors last week for his efforts against Northern Arizona.

Northern Arizona halfback Casey Jahn, who ran for 175 yards against Montana State, earned Big Sky Offensive Player of the Week honors. The special teams award went to North Dakota kicker Reid Taubenheim.

Griz up, Cats down in FCS polls

The University of Montana moved up in the Football Championship Subdivision polls with its victory over UC-Davis while Montana State dropped several spots after falling to Northern Arizona in Flagstaff, Ariz.

The Grizzlies (3-2, 2-0 Big Sky), 27-13 winners at UC Davis, are ranked 11th in the FCS Coaches poll and No. 12 in the FCS Stats poll. The Bobcats, 49-41 losers at Northern Arizona, are No. 18 in the Stats poll and No. 19 in the Coaches poll.

Also representing the Big Sky are Eastern Washington, ranked seventh and eighth in the two polls, and Portland State, 23rd and 25th. North Dakota is No. 25 in the Coaches poll.