Frontier football notebook

By Bill Foley of The Montana Standard - 09/07/2005

It's still a week away before the NAIA unveils its next top 25 football poll.

But Montana Tech gained some serious respect after Saturday's 11-8 non-conference win over Jamestown College.

The Orediggers, ranked No. 11 in the NAIA preseason poll, received the No. 9 ranking from naiafootball.net, which released its poll Sunday.

Not surprisingly, Carroll College, the preseason No. 1, holds the top spot.

Montana State University-Northern, unranked in the NAIA preseason poll, earned the No. 20 rank.

Montana Tech coach Bob Green put the honor into perspective.

"I'd be a liar if I told you I didn't look at them," Green said Tuesday. "But they really don't mean anything until the end." Playing it safe: Safety is the name of the game for the 2005 Orediggers.

In two games, the Oredigger defense has already chalked up a pair of 2-point plays en route to a 2-0 record.

According to the Orediggers, however, the safety number should actually be three.

Tech sophomore linebacker J.J. Perio appeared to tackle Jamestown College quarterback Tanner Kelting in the end zone one series before junior lineman Shane Hensleigh nabbed Kelting for two points in Saturdays' 11-8 non-conference win over Jamestown College.

But the officials ruled Kelting threw an incomplete pass before Perino's tackle, much to the chagrin of the Oredigger coaching staff.

KBOW radio play-by-play man Paul Panisko told his listeners in Butte that if they opened their windows they could hear Green yelling from Jamestown, some 700 miles east of the Mining City.

After the teams traded punts — the Oredigger punt was downed on the Jamestown 3-yard line — Hensleigh recorded the safety, the final score of the game.

In 12 games last season the Orediggers had just one safety, and it had as much to do with Mother Nature as it did the 'Digger defense.

See RESPECT, Page B6 Montana State University-Northern quarterback Neill Crandell fell down in the end zone in the second quarter of Tech's rainy 61-0 victory Sept. 18 at Alumni Coliseum.

Ring a bell?: If the name of Central Washington freshman quarterback Mike Reilly sounds familiar, it should.

Reilly, who completed 12 of 17 passes for 206 yards and four touchdowns — all in the first half — in Central's 56-0 win over the University of Montana-Western Friday, signed to play for Montana Tech during his senior year at Kalispell in 2003.

Green eventually released Reilly from his letter of intent so he could try to walk on at Washington State last season.

Reilly transferred from WSU before this season.

Not so fast: For those who thought the Frontier Conference was a three-team race — Tech, the University of Montana-Western and Carroll College — better think again.

MSU-Northern sent a serious message to the rest of the league in Saturday's season opener.

The Lights overcame a 14-0 deficit to beat Dickenson State, 32-17, in Havre.

Junior quarterback Kyle Samson passed for two touchdowns and ran for two more Saturday to knock off the perineal NAIA power.

Samson, who transferred from the University of Montana before last season to join his father, head coach Mark Samson, passed for 217 yards.

The Northern defense took advantage of five Dickinson fumbles and slowed down the always tough Blue Hawk running game.

Dickinson ran past Montana Tech in the first round of the NAIA playoffs last November.

"It's the wild Frontier," Green said. "It's like running barefoot on coals. You can't stand in one spot.

"You've got to play every week." Emmert's new weapon: Three-time defending NAIA national champion Carroll College unveiled a new weapon during Friday's 44-14 win at Eastern Oregon.

His name is Tyler Peterson, a speedy wide receiver who redshirted last season at Carroll after transferring from the University of Montana.

Peterson, a senior, hauled in five passes for 98 yards and three touchdowns.

He caught TD passes of 34, 10 and 31 yards from senior quarterback Tyler Emmert, who completed 17 passes for 250 yards.

Marchin' along: The Saints also showed off an impressive running attack Friday.

Carroll rushed for 269 yards on 42 carries.

Redshirt freshman Sean Herrin led the way with 88 yards on eight carries, while junior Jed Thomas rushed for 72 yards on 15 carries.

John Barnett, a back quarterback ran for 78 yards on nine carries.