No. 20 Montana Tech gears up for rematch with upset-minded Montana Western

BUTTE — With the ultimate two weeks of the topsy-turvy Frontier Convention soccer season about to unfold, there’s a number of eventualities that would result in No. 20 Montana Tech incomes a playoff bid and even someway rising as convention champions relying on how No. 23 Carroll School and Twelfth-ranked School of Idaho’s closing two video games go down.

However the 6-2 Orediggers are being aware to concentrate on the duty at hand — aiming for a sweep of a Montana Western crew (5-4, 4-4) that is been eradicated from postseason rivalry however is lower than two weeks faraway from pulling out the most important upset within the Frontier this 12 months after upending the then No. 7 Yotes 40-35.

Tech and Western are slated to kickoff at 1 p.m. at Bob Inexperienced Subject.

“We will solely management what’s in entrance of us, and that is Western this week,” stated Tech head coach Kyle Samson. “There’s numerous issues that may occur the following two weeks with the convention and the championship stuff. However we simply gotta concentrate on ‘hey, we have a heckuva crew coming into Butte.’ If we wish to have the ability to obtain our targets of probably profitable a championship and making the playoffs, we have to beat them.”

Even with C of I — which has a one-game lead over each Tech and Carroll — in place to say the convention crown, the Orediggers are nonetheless on observe for an at-large bid the playoffs. With that in thoughts, Tech’s message to its gamers has been apparent.

“The coaches have been telling us just about each week although we’re not within the playoffs, each recreation is a playoff recreation,” stated redshirt senior linebacker Ben Windauer.

The Orediggers dealt with the Bulldogs 33-24 of their September assembly to begin Western on what ended up being a three-game slide to fall out of the convention title and playoff race.

However that was a month earlier than Western delivered its beautiful win over C of I to make the Yotes inside observe towards the league championship a bit narrower.

“Each week you have to be able to go due to the parity and the extent of competitiveness is at an all time excessive,” Samson stated of the Frontier. “It makes for a heckuva league.”

Montana Western head coach Ryan Nourse stated his crew’s upset of the Yotes got here all the way down to utilizing the bye week to recalibrate and get again to enjoying their model of soccer.

“We simply reset this system again to the issues that acquired us to being aggressive each week,” stated Nourse. “Taking part in for championships yearly. Getting one final 12 months, I feel we acquired a bit success illness and thought we did not should do perhaps the issues that had been essential to make these issues occur.”

Western’s win over the Yotes was adopted up by a 66-0 drubbing over winless MSU-Northern. The Bulldogs have completed an about-face since falling to Southern Oregon 49-14 within the closing lack of their three-game skid. However in a convention the place it appears something can occur on a Saturday, each Western and Tech are being cautious to not overlook their opponent.

“We will not be too assured going into this recreation, Tech beat us the primary time,” stated Western redshirt senior quarterback Jon Jund. “They seem to be a good ball membership, they have been enjoying effectively all 12 months so we simply gotta put together prefer it’s every other different week. Put together prefer it’s C of I and go in there and try to beat them at Bob Inexperienced Subject.”