The Western Address Volume 2 Issue 12

Covering the games through November 16, 2024

The regular season across the NAIA, Division 2, and Division 3 has ended, which tends to be a bittersweet feeling.

There were some great performances today, though the closest games may have come from unlikely sources, along with some sweet revenge for a result from this time a year ago.

I am already excited for next season, but before I can talk about that, there's one thing left to take care of…PLAYOFFS?!

Carroll College Fighting Saints 14 | Montana Tech Orediggers 42

This was a must-win for Carroll if they were to sneak into the playoffs, and after having already lost to the Orediggers at home earlier this season, the Fighting Saints could not have been more motivated for this game.

The game started out well enough for them, opening with a 13-play drive finished by a Jack Prka to Chris Akulschin touchdown and they would carry that 7-0 lead into the second quarter.

But the Orediggers' excellent play at home would not be slowed so easily as a few minutes into the second quarter Blake Thelen found Wyatt Alexander for a 43-yard touchdown. From that point forward the ground game would dominate as two Landers Smith scores in the final 5 minutes would give the home side a 21-7 halftime lead.

The second half would get going on another Prka to Akulschin score, 73 yards this time, but that would be the end of the visiting threat as Montana Tech scored touchdowns on their next 3 drives to run away with the game.

After Carroll had shown their defensive strength against Montana Western last week, it was quite impressive that Tech ran the ball for 241 yards, led by the indomitable Landers Smith with 170 yards and 4 TDs on 33 carries.

Nearly as impressive is the fact that Blake Thelen continued his incredible streak of efficiency as he once again completed 15/17 for 196 yards with 2 TDs and an interception but no sacks taken.

The Carroll ground game was suffocated to the tune of only 37 yards. I can't help but wonder how differently their season may have gone if Xzavier Ford had stayed healthy for the Saints, but Prka gave everything he could in what I believe was his final game as he threw for 301 yards with 2 TDs and an interception on 24/37 passing.

Ending the season with 2 losses isn’t anything to be happy about, but I still believe that the program is back to the level where they can be considered in the playoff hunt to start the season next Fall.

Southern Oregon Raiders 24 | College of Idaho Yotes 27

Last season, the Yotes ended their season traveling to Southern Oregon and were upset by the home side, losing their bid for a conference championship and forced to stay on the road all the way through the NAIA semifinals.

This year, a late season swoon had dropped them from playoff contention while Southern Oregon came to town needing a win to stay in the playoff picture.

The game started well for the Raiders as Gunner Yates scored a 40-yard touchdown on their first drive, but the rest of the game would not be so easy as he finished with 118 yards and 2 TDs on 21 carries. Still a solid performance, but nothing close to the 293 yards he put up against the Yotes in September.

The Raiders would take a 10-0 lead into the second half, but then QB Caden Young - starting in place of an injured Andy Peters - would take over with his legs.

He would lead his side to a 21-10 4th quarter lead on the back of 3 rushing touchdowns and although they would give up their lead down the stretch to go to overtime, he would walk it off in front of the home crowd with his 4th TD of the game.

In addition to those scores he had 24 carries for 165 yards and completed 16/31 pass attempts for a surprisingly anemic 56 yards.

Although the weather seemed like perfect football conditions, Southern Oregon QB Blake Asciutto struggled as well as he could only complete 9/32 for 160 yards with 2 INTs and took 3 sacks. The majority of that production would come on their 4th quarter comeback.

As dangerous as the Raiders looked to any opponent when playing at home, they struggled on the road, losing all their key games down the stretch as they will go into the offseason with a very bitter taste in their mouth.

Montana Western Bulldogs 29 | Eastern Oregon Mountaineers 19

This was always going to be a dangerous game for the Bulldogs as they had shown some struggles in their two previous trips to Oregon this season.

Fortunately, it has been their defense which has stepped up down the stretch and kept Eastern Oregon off the scoreboard until late in the 3rd quarter after the Bulldogs had built a 22-0 lead.

It was not a comfortable game as Michael Palandri was sacked 5 times while completing 18/25 for 253 yards with 3 TDs and an interception while struggling to find Eli Nourse for any significant gains, though Dylan Shipley got to lead the crew on this day with 5 receptions for 97 yards which included a 51-yard touchdown.

The running game was without Jake Humphrey who must have sustained an injury last week that I hadn’t noticed, but Pete Gibson filled in well enough with 16 carries for 75 yards as the ground game accumulated just 115 net yards on 42 carries due to the sack yardage.

Quincy Glasper was actually able to hand the ball off in this game as Brody Macmillan had 11 carries for 33 yards, but Glasper still led the team with 15 attempts for 40 net yards which included 4 sacks. His passing numbers were solid, though too little too late, with 281 yards and 3 TDs on 28/51 passing. As usual, his primary receiver was Malachi Spurrier with 12 catches for 106 yards but only a single touchdown.

Montana Western will be thankful to no longer have to travel to Oregon this season with 3 of their 5 road games taking them westward. Travel has been difficult for the programs of the Frontier this season and eventually somebody is going to need to win a road game to reach their goals.

Rocky Mountain Battlin’ Bears 13 | Montana State-Northern Lights 19

Lights win! Lights win!

For Montana State-Northern, this is their first conference since 2021 (Eastern Oregon) and only their 3rd total in recent recorded history as they defeated Carroll College in 2016.

Last season, the Lights were on the road at Arizona Christian and had a 20-7 lead early in the 4th but lost 21-20, so apprehension was high as the Lights took a 19-7 lead early in the 4th in this game.

A year ago, QB Graedyn Buell and the Battlin' Bears had their way with the Lights as MSU-N was down to the last healthy guy on the bench to man their secondary, but this game felt like a light at the end of a difficult 3-year tunnel as this is only their second win in that time frame.

The keys to take away from this game are that the Lights are building their ability to execute from the Flexbone as well as demonstrating enough depth on defense to perform through the end of the season.

And they were flying around in this one, showing up as the more physical team and dragging down Buell for 8 sacks, 5 of which were attributed to redshirt freshman Michael Watkins.

The game could have easily been lost to Rocky Mountain as they scored to make it a one possession game with under 2 minutes remaining and the ensuing onside kick was muffed by the Lights and recovered by the Battlin' Bears.

Fortunately for the home side, Watkins’ 5th and final sack of the game also knocked the ball loose with a Lights’ recovery and they could kneel it out for the win.

The final line for Buell had him completing 17/34 for 264 yards with 2 TDs and an interception, but he was nearly the entire offense as the running game was ineffective for the Battlin' Bears.

Mason Dionne once again ran for over 100 yards for the Lights with 106 on 26 carries while the total ground attack came to 242 yards and 2 TDs on 54 carries while QB Zach Brooks had a solid day passing, completing 6/9 for 97 yards and a touchdown.

With only 4 home games this season, I am quite happy for head coach Jerome Souers, the rest of the coaching staff, roster, and fans who showed up to this game. With the shift to a new Frontier next Fall, I believe that the Lights will be more consistently competitive moving forward.

Simpson (CA) Red Hawks 27 | Arizona Christian Firestorm 71

Though both programs will be able to take a deep breath after difficult seasons, their offenses got to show off in this one as they combined for nearly 1100 yards.

Simpson QB Kaleb Anderson had a strong game, opening the scoring with a 57-yard touchdown to Talan Ramirez and finishing with 313 yards on 22/47 passing with 2 TDs and no interceptions or sacks taken. Although his completion percentage could improve, he only threw 4 INTs in 9 games for the fledgling program and that could be his highlight of the season.

Mikah Kindell led the ground game for the Red Hawks with 61 yards and a TD on 10 carries as the unit totaled 112 yards and 2 touchdowns.

For the Firestorm, RB Jon Wilson had a career game against the overmatched defense, turning 13 carries into a whopping 261 yards and 4 TDs. Even QB Beau Devens had a fun day completing 8/11 for 203 yards and 2 TDs as the offense ran up and down the field for 659 yards.

A positive way to finish the season for Arizona Christian as they look to add talent and build on concepts within their uncommon scheme.

Dakota State Trojans 7 | Dickinson State Blue Hawks 38

Dickinson made this game as quick and painless as possible, finishing the game in only 2 and a half hours and dominating on the ground.

Braden Zuroff returned to the lineup and scored twice, gaining 78 yards on 10 carries while Jackson Simonson has been an explosive revelation with 126 yards on only 9 carries of his own.

Will Madler has been more of a boom or bust quarterback this season and in this game completed 8/18 passes for 143 yards and 2 TDs but also took 5 sacks.

I have to imagine that the Blue Hawks have felt a little bored by North Star opposition and hopefully they can rise to the occasion in the playoffs.

On the other side, the Trojans were largely hapless with only 128 total yards in the game as they are one of a number of programs looking within for some positivity ahead of what will be a very different season next fall.

Valley City State Vikings 17 | Jamestown Jimmies 28

After a strong first half and a 17-6 halftime lead, the Vikings were shut out down the stretch.

Noah Chambers was given the start at QB but completed only 13/30 for 143 yards and 2 INTs while being sacked 5 times. Without Avery Thorsgard at quarterback, RB Laggarius Marshell had the opportunity to be the primary ball carrier and he scored twice on 18 carries for 70 yards.

Jamestown can end their season feeling reasonably good about themselves, but after significant struggles against D2 opposition, they have a long way to go to be competitive next season.

Johnny Grann threw for 262 yards and 2 TDs on 23/36 passing while RB Zach Hammett led the ground game with 55 yards on 13 carries.

I won't miss Jamestown moving forward, but I hope they and Valley City State can find a way to schedule each other to open the season for years to come.

Linfield Wildcats 34 | Whitworth Pirates 7

While I have been touting Linfield as the superior team for most of the season, I expected a closer game on the road for the Wildcats.

Whitworth opened the game with an efficient attack, taking the early 7-0 lead, but they would fail to score again as they could only muster 221 total yards against tough and balanced defense.

While RB Luis Salgado was limited to 48 yards on 11 carries, QB Ryan Blair had a disappointing 180 yards on 24/34 passing though his touchdown did go to his favorite target, Evan Liggett, while his sole interception was returned for a touchdown in the 4th quarter as the final score and an exclamation point on the game.

There was nothing exceptional about the offensive effort for Linfield, they're just a low stress unit with little wasted effort as they have rolled through the conference.

Luke McNabb was less involved than usual with the offense, completing only 1/4 passes for 6 yards and carrying the ball 10 times for 37 yards, but QB Blake Eaton had his struggles as well with 2 interceptions and a touchdown on 19/26 passing for 229 yards.

While Whitworth has the more explosive offensive potential on offense, Linfield finds success in dragging their opposition into the mud and playing the role of a wet blanket on their way to victory.

George Fox Bruins 11 | Pacific (OR) Boxers 39

Quarterback play for George Fox has hit rock bottom. DeMontre Thomas II and Kameron Spencer combined to go 8/26 for 54 yards with an interception and I am thankful their season is over.

The most interesting takeaway from this game is that the Bruins scored twice on returned PATs. I'm sure it has happened somewhere in recent history, but it does feel quite uncommon.

As for the Boxers, Braeden Titus had a solid outing of 290 yards on 25/36 passing with 2 TDs and an interception while Brody Bantolina finished his season with 133 yards and 2 TDs on 23 carries to bring his season total to 1,533 in 10 games.

While George Fox will be seeking a new identity on offense, Pacific will be excited to get one more season from Bantolina and hope to improve enough around him to make a playoff push.

Puget Sound Loggers 21 | Pacific Lutheran Lutes 34

This game had one of the wilder first quarters of the year in the Northwest, but then it all fell off.

Hayden Teeter was starting in place of Mason Binning at quarterback for the Loggers, and he had a manageable day against the strong front of the Lutes, but 23/42 for 285 yards with 2 interceptions and taking 3 sacks isn’t going to cut it when your sole touchdown was a 98-yarder to Joe Gallagher. In some ways, that one long play to Gallagher may have cost him a shot at the single-season receptions per game record as he finished with 11 catches for 161 yards while needing 6 more.

It is unfortunate to see a quarterback who I have enjoyed as much as Mason Binning miss out on the final 6 quarters of his collegiate career, but perhaps he will be able to transfer somewhere in the NAIA or D2 ranks for one last tour of duty next season.

Darius Chaffin had 2 touchdown passes and a 17-yard touchdown run as the Lutes finished the first quarter with a 21-14 lead, but they would struggle for the next two quarters as Henry Hernandez would punch it in to tie the game for Puget Sound before halftime.

Coming out of the break it appeared that Chaffin had been pulled, finishing with a concerning 6/15 line for 126 yards with those 2 TDs and and an interception. He also added 79 yards on 12 carries, and it was quite a surprise for him to be removed in what may have been his last game. It is hard to say for sure with how eligibility has been manipulated in recent years, but he is an excellent athlete who has flashed the arm talent that made me feel like he could find a way to keep playing football past this year if he was so inclined and the right opportunity came up.

But time marches on, and it would be Anthony Mahaffey who finished the game for the Lutes, going 8/12 for 113 yards and a touchdown as he led the team to two 4th quarter scores while the defense shut out the Loggers in the second half.

Outside of Chaffin, the running game was still strong as Raysen Motoyama scored in the final quarter along with carrying the ball 18 times for 89 yards while Jacob Schuh added 60 yards on 12 carries.

I don’t know how to project how this team will be next season, but they beat everyone in the NWC that wasn’t Linfield or Whitworth, and with some regression from those programs, they’re on a short list of mid-tier programs who could make a push next season.

Willamette Bearcats 7 | Lewis & Clark Pioneers 35

While the Pioneers moved the ball with ease, they had trouble finishing drives which led this game to be closer than it should have been.

Oa Kamakawiwoole once again started the game and threw for over 300 yards, totaling 328 with 2 TDs on 19/28 passing. He was joined by former starter Trey Morris who scored twice on the ground while also completing 13/17 for 162 yards but also threw 2 interceptions.

The running game also looked great with Jordan Lahusky gaining 123 yards and a TD on 13 carries while Chili Stephens had 55 yards on 12 attempts. The two of them give the Pioneers all sorts of options to be explosive in almost any personnel package.

Ben Burnham led the receivers with 119 yards on 7 receptions though Lahusky had 104 yards and a TD on only 4 catches as he has forced himself into the conversation to be a focal point for the offense next season.

Willamette is definitely improving, even if they don't look competitive in the box score. They made Lewis & Clark fight for their scores, and the game was far from settled after the Bearcats scored their touchdown early in the second half to make the score 21-7.

The offensive numbers are still hard to look at as Pres Juarez started at quarterback again and completed only 7/27 for 139 yards and 2 interceptions while the running game could only net 6 yards thanks to the 5 sacks against him.

Perhaps I’m being overly optimistic, but I do think the foundation is there for Willamette to win a conference game next season with some incremental improvements and a key addition or two on offense.

The ceiling for the Pioneers next season could be as high as 9 wins if their offense continues on this trajectory. The key will be consistency and finishing their drives to get their points per game over 40.

Chapman Panthers 34 | Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens 37

A year ago, Grady Russo threw 6 interceptions in this game as Chapman won 41-20. He had shown the potential to be a playmaker in the conference but was extremely raw as he turned the ball over too often.

This year, the Sagehens had already been the only SCIAC program to defeat the Panthers, but things did not look promising early.

By 4 minutes into the 2nd quarter Chapman lead 21-0, and would make that 28-7 seconds before the end of the half as the Sagehens could not find anything consistent on offense.

That would change after the break as Russo would lead his squad to 22 unanswered to lead 29-28 with 8:19 remaining in the 4th quarter. Chapman retook the lead with just over 3 minutes remaining, but this looked like a new Grady Russo who deftly came back down the field to drop in a perfect pass to Quinten Wimmer with 28 seconds remaining to take a 3 point lead. The Panthers had an opportunity to tie the game as time expired but the 51-yard field goal attempt would drift short and wide right as the Sagehens celebrated in front of the home crowd as they will return to the playoffs.

Russo was everything for the Sagehens, carrying the ball on 21/23 of the team’s rush attempts, which included absorbing 6 sacks, while passing for 397 yards and 4 TDs on 36/49 passing with no turnovers. He is only a true sophomore and offers huge potential for the Pomona-Pitzer program for the next two years.

As for Chapman, they were only bested by the Sagehens in conference play and probably should have won this game but could not finish drives in the second half.

Joey Yellen started the game at quarterback and went 17/22 for 186 yards and 2 TDs while Luke Peterman also got in on the action to go 5/8 for 61 yards as well as a rushing TD. The ground game was productive as well, totaling 126 yards and 3 TDs led by Gio Ursino and the always valuable Tyler Pacheco, who each had a score. Pacheco also led the team in receiving yards with 51 as Yellen distributed the ball around the field to 7 different receivers.

But Russo simply had his greatest game of his career at the right time and hopefully this performance will extend the leash the coaching staff has on him as they will only go as far as he will take them.

Redlands Bulldogs 0 | CMS Stags 24

The Stags may have found the Justin Edwards they had been missing the past 18 games, but unfortunately it was too late to get them to the playoffs.

I will maintain that Redlands is a solid program, but they just do not have the firepower to overcome a defense like CMS though they did get 100 yards on the ground from Isaiah Alvarado’s and Taylor Bowie’s 21 combined carries. That was about it for positives as QB Will Reid was smothered for 6 sacks and threw for only 86 yards on 12/22 passing, though he didn’t throw any interceptions.

As for the aforementioned Justin Edwards, he ran for 208 yards and 2 TDs on 24 carries, taking the pressure off of a gaggle of quarterbacks who got into the game for the Stags. Unless there’s a clerical error involved, it appears that he will finish his senior season with 227 carries for 1228 yards, 532 of which came in his final 2 games. His career totals include 4312 yards and 55 touchdowns as he was a strong 4-year starter and it will be interesting to see if his name appears in a spring football league one day.

La Verne Leopards 14 | Cal Lutheran Kingsmen 38

The bad news is that the La Verne run defense was back to its sieve-like state, allowing a pass-first Cal Lutheran offense to flip the script and run the ball 47 times for 268 yards, led by Gabe Landless with 134 on 20 carries.

Quarterback Jaden Casey had an exciting day in limited action, throwing for 3 touchdowns and 2 interceptions on only 9/15 passing for 152 yards, most of which went to the reliable Cade Cadam, who had 109 yards and 2 TDs on only 3 receptions.

So where does La Verne go from here after an 0-10 campaign? I have to imagine both they and Whittier will be searching for a refresh on their coaching staff page sooner rather than later, but there’s nothing easy about resurrecting or rebuilding a D3 program.

NAIA Football Championship Series | Round 1

Saturday, November 23

Kansas Wesleyan at #14 Dickinson State | 1PM MT

This is the only matchup of the day as the Frontier Conference was reduced to 2 bids with Southern Oregon's loss to College of Idaho.

Both Montana Western and Montana Tech will be hosting on November 30th in the second round as they are seeded #4 and #7 but we will have to wait until next weekend to find out their opponents.

If Dickinson State is victorious I expect them to travel to Montana Western while the most likely opponent for Montana Tech is Northwestern (IA). Even though they're the closest non-Dickinson playoff participant, Northwestern is over 900 miles from Butte which would require a flight.

Another possibility is that if OUAZ defeats Friends in Wichita, they could fly to Montana Western while Dickinson would be able to bus to Montana Tech.

The round of 16 is looking to be quite expensive for the NAIA with two host teams in Montana and two host teams in Florida with the core of the participants located in the central time zone in and close to Kansas.

As for the game in Dickinson, at this time it appears that temperatures will be below freezing all day with a chance of snow. That's shouldn't be too unwelcome with rosters generally familiar with the seasonal weather of the region.

The key for the Blue Hawks will be how do they handle their running back situation. Do they lean towards loyalty in Braden Zuroff, or look to the hot hand and fresher legs of Jackson Simonson?

The Henry Biesiot Activities Center will be as raucous as it can be with the Blue Hawks hosting a playoff game for the first time since 2004 as they celebrate a legacy of NSAA Football dominance.

NCAA-Division 3 Playoffs | Rounds 1&2

Saturday November 23

Pomona-Pitzer at #22 Whitworth | Noon PT

This is a game which has the potential to be a lot of fun.

Pomona-Pitzer QB Grady Russo hails from Dover, Massachusetts so he should be reasonably comfortable with the likely cold drizzle of Spokane. He will need to be careful with the ball as the Pirates are unlikely to turn the ball over - they led the country with only 5 in 10 games this season.

It will be interesting to see how balanced the Sagehens strive to be but this game could turn into a shootout if Russo is passing at the same level as he was this past weekend.

Saturday, November 30

Victor of Pomona-Pitzer / Whitworth travels to #1 North Central (IL) | Noon CT

Texas Lutheran at #14 Linfield | Noon PT

Final Standings | Regular Season

Frontier Conference [Final Ranking]

1. #4 Montana Western Bulldogs (9-1, 7-1)

2. #8 Montana Tech Orediggers (9-2, 6-2)

3. RV Carroll College Fighting Saints (7-3, 6-2)

4. #22 Southern Oregon Raiders (8-3, 5-3)

5. College of Idaho Yotes (7-4, 5-3)

6. Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (5-6, 4-4)

7. Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears (2-8, 1-7)

8. Arizona Christian Firestorm (2-8, 1-7)

9. Montana State-Northern Lights (1-9, 1-7)

North Star Athletic Association [Final Ranking]

1. #14 Dickinson State Blue Hawks (9-1, 8-0)

2. Dakota State Trojans (6-4, 4-4)

3. Mayville State Comets (4-6, 3-5)

4. Jamestown Jimmies (3-7, 3-5)

5. Valley City State Vikings (3-7, 2-6)

Northwest Conference [D3football.com rating]

1. #14 Linfield Wildcats (9-1, 7-0)

2. #22 Whitworth Pirates (9-1, 6-1)

3. Pacific Lutheran Lutes (7-3, 5-2)

4. Lewis & Clark Pioneers (5-5, 4-3)

5. Pacific Boxers (5-5, 3-4)

6. George Fox Bruins (4-6, 2-5)

7. Puget Sound Loggers (2-8, 1-6)

8. Willamette Bearcats (2-8, 0-7)

Southern California Intercollegiate Athletic Conference

1. Pomona-Pitzer Sagehens (8-2, 7-1)

2. Chapman Panthers (7-3, 6-2)

3. Claremont-Mudd-Scripps Stags (8-2, 6-2)

4. Redlands Bulldogs (3-7, 3-5)

5. Cal Lutheran Kingsmen (2-8, 2-6)

6. La Verne Leopards (0-10, 0-8)