Frontier season opens in Havre, Miles City

When considering the Frontier Conference football race, is it possible Montana Western and Montana State-Northern might be in the running?

They’ve sure got the running backs.

The Frontier season kicks off Saturday afternoon at 1 in Havre as Northern, winless a year ago under new coach Aaron Christensen, meets Rocky Mountain College. Then Saturday night at 6 in Miles City, Western and new coach Ryan Nourse takes on Dickinson (N.D.) State in a nonleague game.

The MSU-Northern Lights are led by senior halfback Zach McKinley of Great Falls, while the UM Western Bulldogs rely heavily on former Centerville star ball-carrier Sam Rutherford.

McKinley, a former C.M. Russell High star, has had three straight 1,000-yard seasons.

“When you have a guy like Zach,” Christensen said, “you’d be foolish not to use him. He’s definitely a guy we’re going to try to get the ball to.”

The Western game plan also revolves around its star halfback. Rutherford last year rambled for 738 yards and eight touchdowns. In 2014 he rushed for 1,061 yards and 11 scores. And the year before that he gained 815 yards on the ground and scored 11 times.

“Sam has been such a big part of our program for four years,” said Nourse, who returns to the Western sideline after spending the last three seasons as the school’s athletic director. “Sam is ready to go and excited to get going. He’s been banged up a little – it seems like he’s had a broken hand about four years and it’s never slowed him down before. But he’s healthy now and we’re excited to get him moving.”

Western was 7-3 last year under previous coach BJ Robertson, who is now on the staff at Montana State. Nourse, who coached the Dogs before Robertson’s three-year run, hopes to keep the ball rolling. His Bulldogs are ranked No. 25 in the NAIA preseason poll.

Dickinson State, coached by Baker native Pete Stanton, and coming off an 8-3 year, is ranked 21st.

“They have a great tradition,” Nourse said. “They know how to win.”

Western will open with Dillon native JD Ferris at quarterback. He’s a dual-threat because of excellent elusiveness.

“What I like is he’s a real calm, cool and collected guy,” Nourse said. “And he’s got a lot of moxie. He’s a guy who can make plays if something breaks down.”

Former C.M. Russell High star Dylen Atchison is a key player on the Western defense.

“Dylen, as much as any player, has had a great spring and fall camp,” Nourse said. “He’s come a long way. He’ll be playing noseguard for us and we expect he’ll make a big impact on our defense.”

Meanwhile, Northern faces a Rocky Mountain team that was 4-6 a year ago under coach Brian Armstrong, who like Robertson is now an assistant at Montana State. Jason Petrino, a former Kalispell prep star and Carroll College defensive back and assistant coach, is the Bears’ new head coach.

Among Rocky’s top players is veteran quarterback Mike White of Shelby.

“There are a lot of unknowns,” said Christensen. “We don’t have much of an idea of what they’re running, so the focus is on us. We have to make sure we execute and that we’re fundamentally sound.”

Mario Gobbato has moved from halfback to receiver in hopes of giving the Lights more playmaking ability.

The Northern defense is led by down linemen Pat Barnett, Lane Urick, Jordan Brusio and Great Falls native Tyler Craig.

“Tyler has great work ethic,” Christensen said. “He’s a guy we’re going to lean on.”

The Lights will start Jess Krahn at quarterback. He threw for 1,638 yards and eight touchdowns in last year’s 0-11 season.

“He’s improved drastically since I first got here,” Christensen said.

He hopes that’s the case for his entire team.

“We’re better than we were last year,” Christensen said. “Looking forward to it. And we’re excited for it.”