Montana Tech and Carroll College are the preseason favorites to win the Frontier Conference football championship this fall.
Both teams received 43 points in the vote of league coaches, but defending co-champion Montana Tech received four first-place votes. Carroll received three. Southern Oregon, which shared the league title with Tech last year, was picked to finish third with 40 points. The Raiders received one first-place vote.
Coaches are not allowed to vote for their own teams.
Rocky Mountain was picked to finish fourth, followed by Montana State-Northern, Eastern Oregon, Montana Western and Dickinson State.
The NAIA coaches’ spring poll varied from the Frontier predictions. NAIA coaches had Southern Oregon ranked fifth, Tech ranked No. 11 and Carroll at No. 18.
Last season both SOU and Tech finished with 8-2 conference marks and advanced to the national playoffs. Tech lost in the first round while Southern Oregon lost in the quarterfinals. Carroll finished 7-4 but failed to make the playoff for the first time in 12 years.
Columbia Falls’ Nate Thompson emerged as a leader on Tech’s defense, snatching four interceptions in 11 games, including one that he returned for a touchdown. Kalispell native Pat Hergesheimer also had four interceptions on defense as a senior for Montana Western.
Defending national champion Marian (Ind.) claimed the No. 1 rank in the NAIA coaches’ poll. Marian defeated Morningside (Iowa) in the 2012 title game.
Carroll opens the season Sept. 7 at home against MSU-Northern. The Fighting Saints host Montana Tech on Sept. 14 for its homecoming game; Dickinson State, Oct. 12; Southern Oregon, Nov. 2; and Rocky Mountain, Nov. 9. Carroll hits the road to play Rocky, Sept. 21; Eastern Oregon, Sept. 28; Montana Western, Oct. 19; MSU Northern, Oct. 26; and Dickinson State, Nov. 16.
Montana Tech is holding a special ceremony on Sept. 21. The school is honoring its former longtime coach with the official dedication of Bob Green Field at the Orediggers home opener against Montana Western. The weekend will feature an all-class football reunion as well as a banquet on Friday night before the game.
The longest tenured coach for the Orediggers, Green started his college head coaching career with Montana Tech in 1987. He retired in 2011. In 24 years with Tech, Green amassed a 140-116-1 overall record, becoming the winningest coach in the school’s history. He led his teams to three Frontier Conference championships and reached the NAIA post season five times including a 1996 National Championship runner-up. He was named Frontier Conference Coach of the Year six times.
Tech opens the season on the road, playing at Eastern Oregon on Sept. 7 and at Carroll on Sept. 14. The team’s other road games are at Southern Oregon, Oct. 5; MSU Northern, Nov. 2; and Montana Western, Nov. 9. Tech’s home games are against Western, Sept. 21; Rocky Mountain, Sept. 28; Dickinson State, Oct. 19; Eastern Oregon, Oct. 26; and Southern Oregon, Nov. 16.