Frontier teams well-rested, ready

• Montana Tech travels to Rocky Mountain
• MSU-Northern plays host to College of Idaho
• E. Oregon in Helena to tackle Carroll
• UM Western clashes with S. Oregon in Dillon

The Frontier Conference is the only football league around where teams meet each other twice the same season.

It’s also the only conference that features the same bye weeks for its members.

What it means on Saturday is that all eight teams should be well-rested.

The entire conference was idle last Saturday and the league championship race resumes on Saturday afternoon. Eastern Oregon travels to Carroll College, College of Idaho is at Montana State-Northern, Montana Tech travels to Rocky Mountain, and Southern Oregon is at Montana Western.

Southern Oregon is No. 2 and Carroll is fourth-ranked among NAIA teams. Western is ranked 16th and Tech is No. 17. Rocky Mountain received votes in the last national poll.

IN HELENA, host Carroll (3-1 overall, 3-1 in Frontier) takes on Eastern Oregon (1-4, 1-3).

The Saints of coach Mike Van Diest are led by senior quarterback Mac Roche, who is averaging 237 yards passing. He has eight TD tosses this fall.

Dylan Green and Ryan Walsh share the ball-carrying responsibilities, while freshman Connor Fohn has emerged as a big-play specialist. The Saints’ exceptional defense is led by leading tackler James Dowgin and Beaugh Meyer, who has seven sacks.

Eastern Oregon’s offense has fine performers in quarterback Zach Bartlow, who is averaging 204 yards passing and has 10 TD passes, and Jace Billingsley, who averages 95 yards rushing.

IN DILLON, the Western Bulldogs (3-1, 3-1) of coach BJ Robertson will be tested by the high-scoring Southern Oregon Raiders (3-1, 3-1).

Western has a fine running game led by halfback Sam Rutherford, who averages 92 yards on the ground, and freshman quarterback JD Ferris, a run-pass threat averaging 162 yards of total offense.

The Dogs’ defense is tough, led by Reno Ward (eight tackles for loss), Dakota Wainwright (three sacks), and AJ Wilson (five tackles for loss, four interceptions, two fumble recoveries).

Southern Oregon, the NAIA’s defending national champion, is led by quarterback Tanner Trosin and halfback Melvin Mason.

IN BILLINGS, Montana Tech (3-1, 3-1) and Rocky Mountain (3-2, 2-2) both need victories to stay in the championship hunt.

Tech is hopeful starting quarterback Quinn McQueary will return to the lineup. He’s missed several weeks with a shoulder ailment. If he can’t go, Dawson Reardon will get the start. The Orediggers have talent offensively in halfback Nolan Saraceni (580 yards in four games) and receiver Alec Bray.

Tyler Gavlak and David Meis are team leaders defensively.

The Rocky Mountain Bears are receiving solid play at quarterback from Shelby native Chase White. He’s averaging 263 yards passing and has thrown for eight scores. All-American receiver Andre McCullouch has 37 receptions for 531 yards and four TDs, while Kodee Varner and Jade Olson are both capable halfbacks.

IN HAVRE, winless Montana State-Northern (0-5, 0-4) will seek some improvement against College of Idaho (1-4, 1-3).

The Lights haven’t mustered much offense, but sophomore halfback Zach McKinley (473 yards rushing) has been a bright spot. The Northern defense has received eight quarterback sacks from Tyler Craig. Jesse Morales and Logan Sprouse are the unit’s top tacklers and on Saturday will try to limit the effectiveness of talented College of Idaho quarterback Teejay Gordon, a dual threat who is averaging 244 yards of total offense.