2023 Frontier Conference Football Title on the Line as the No. 5 Yotes Travel to Southern Oregon

Football | 11/10/2023 11:20:00 AM

WHAT'S ON THE LINE: A win will secure the College of Idaho, an automatic bid into the 2023 NAIA Football Championship Series. The last time that College of Idaho advanced to the post season was in 2019 where the Yotes reached the quarterfinals.

SCHOFIELD FINDS END ZONE: Senior wide receiver Jon Schofield threw his first career touchdown pass to go along with a 44-yard touchdown recepiton in the 42-38 win over EOU. He has scored nine touchdowns on the ground and 10 through the air for a school record 19 touchdowns. The previous mark was 17 held by Ted Martin (1953), Tom Wingbler (1948) and Darius-James Peterson (2016). His 19 touchdowns leads the Frontier Conference and is third in the NAIA. 

22 - The No. 22 has dual significance, in addition to being the number wore by Jon Schofield. The College of Idaho offense has had 22 plays of at least 30 yards on the season.

PETERS - A DUAL-THREAT QUARTERBACK: Quarterback Andy Peters has moved ino the top 10 all-time in pass attempts (476, fifth) and pass completions (308, third) and passing TDs (32, tied for second with Boyd Crawford - 1951-53). 

Earlier this season, against Montana Tech, Peters completed 28 passes (4th) on 42 attempts (3rd) for 354 yards (6th) among the best single-game efforts in program history. Two weeks ago against Eastern Oregon, he threw for a career-high five passing touchdowns. He tied the program's single-game record with Darius-James Peterson, who threw five TD passes against Southern Oregon on October 26, 2019. Peters has earned Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week for five times in 2023. Furthermore, he has had a touchdown pass in 16 of his 17 games as a Yote.

GRINDING IT ON THE GROUND: College of Idaho holds a 5.7 to 3.2 advantage in average yards per rush, 177.4 to 102.3 in average yards per game rushing and 22 to 11 in rushing touchdowns. 

END ZONE VARIETY: To complement the 18 touchdowns by Jon Schofield, 12 other Yotes have found the end zone in 2023.

POTENT OFFENSE: College of Idaho has scored 54 TDs (leads the Frontier Conference; tied for 5th nationally; 2nd all-time in program history [2nd: 49; 1st: 57]) and 388 points (43.2 ppg / leads the Frontier Conference; 6th nationally / 2nd all-time in program history). 

RED ZONE ALERT: College of Idaho has reached the red zone on 46 occasions and scored 38 times - 34 touchdowns (21 rushing; 13 receiving) and four field goals for an 82.6% conversion clip. The 82.6% conversion percentage is the highest since the 2019 team converted 86.8% (46 of 53 opportunities). 

Opponents have reached the red zone on 24 occasions and scored 18 times - 13 touchdowns (9 rushing, 4 receiving) and five field goals for an 75% conversion clip.

TOUCHDOWN x 3: The three receiving touchdowns by Brock Richardson against Eastern Oregon was a career high for the Fallon, Nev. native. The last time that a Yote had three receiving touchdowns was when Marcus Lenhardt caught a trio against Rocky Mountain on October 17, 2015.

THIRD QUARTER SUCCESS: College of Idaho has outscored its opponents, 124-13 in the third quarter. In 2022, the Yotes scored a team-best 117 points against opponents in the third quarter. Every year since 2015, College of Idaho has outscored its opponents in the third quarter - 669 to 349. 

TRICK OR TREAT: With four returning starters and the strong play of junior center Liam Coppinger, the College of Idaho has allowed only six sacks and 24 tackles for loss. The Yotes defense has racked up 22 sacks on the season (7th most in program history) on its way to 53 tackles for loss (8th most in program history.

KICKOFF CHATTER: Caden Cobb returned a pair of kickoffs in back to back weeks against MSU-Northern and Arizona Christian for a touchdown in 2023. The last Yote to return two kickoffs for a touchdown in a season was Ted Martin (1953) and John Finlay (1974). Cobb holds the school record for kickoff returns (56) and kickoff return yards (1569).

SPECIAL SIMONS: Kickoff specialist Cameron Simons has recorded 16 touchbacks on the season. Based on information available, this is the most in a season in program history. 

PUNTING BOMBS: Punter Andrew McKague is averaging 37.7 yards per punt. The 37.7 average is the seventh best in program history. He tied a career-high with a 54-yard punt against Arizona Christian. McKague and the Yotes did not punt in the game against Montana Tech. Based on information available, this is the first time that College of Idaho not have a punt in a game.

TANNER TERROR: The College of Idaho features three individuals with the first name, Tanner. Tanner Leaf (#39) has made 48 tackles including 3.5 TFLs; Tanner Sackman (#82) has been involved in 16 tackles - including eight against Montana Western to go along with a pair of tackles for loss and a forced fumble; Tanner Steele (#31) has made 21 tackles with a sack and 1.5 TFLs to go along with 3 PBUs. 

PICKING UP THE FUN: Boise State transfer Chip Mitchell picked off leads the team with three interceptions. His 34-yard interception return for a touchdown against Arizona Christian was the Yotes second of the season. It is the second-straight year that College of Idaho has multiple interceptions for touchdowns. The last time that C of I had three interceptions for a touchdown was in 2019. The active career leader is Keegan Croteau, who had four interceptions as a freshman in 2022. With his next interception, Croteau would be one of 21 players in program history with at least five career interceptions. 

BRAINS and FOOTBALL: Tight end Ben Hruby (Boise, Idaho / Bishop Kelly HS) and wide receiver Brock Richardson (Fallon, Nev. / Churchill County) were named to the 2022 Academic All-America football teams selected by the College Sports Communicators. Hruby and Richardson are the sixth and seventh Academic All-Americans in the history of the program.  The program also had 47 student-athletes earn Academic All-Frontier Conference honors. To be eligible for the team, the student-athlete must be at least a sophomore in standing and maintain a 3.25 GPA or greater. Furthemore, 20 student-athletes on the 2022 Daktronics NAIA Football Scholar-Athlete list as announced by the NAIA National Office. In order to be named as a Daktronics NAIA Scholar-Athlete, a student-athlete must maintain a minimum cumulative grade point average of 3.5 on a 4.0 scale, must appear on the eligibility certificate for the sport and have attended one full year at said institution, and have achieved sophomore academic status prior to the start of the academic year. The NAIA Scholar-Athlete program is sponsored by Daktronics.

 POLL TALK: In Monday's announcement of the latest 2023 NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Coaches' Top 25 Rating, College of Idaho is ranked at No. 5. It is the fifth time in program history, College of Idaho has been No. 5 and first time since March 22, 2021. College of Idaho has been ranked 47 times since 1999. Three other Frontier Conference teams find itself in the top 25 including Montana Western at No. 10, Carroll at No. 16, and Montana Tech at No. 22. 

SINGLE-SEASON RECORD BOOK ALERT: 
Andy Peters 
- 1st in TD passes (25)
- 1st in passing yards/game (249.1)
- 2nd in total offense yards (2,853) - 1st - 3,155.
- T-2nd in attempts (294) - 1st, 301.
- 3rd in completions (168) - 2nd, 169; 1st, 182.
- 3rd in yards (2,242) - 2nd, 2,372; 1st, 2,423.

Caden Cobb
- 3rd in kick return yards (527), 2nd, 537; 1st, 613.

Jacob DeMott
- 2nd in PAT kicks made (51), 1st, 55.

Brock Richardson 
- 9th in receiving yards (603)
- 12th in receptions (38)