College of Idaho Football Begins Postseason Play at Montana Western

Football | 11/24/2023 5:00:00 PM

RETURNING TO THE PLAYOFFS: Saturday's mark will mark a return to the post season for the Yotes, who made their last appearance in 2019 where the Yotes reached the quarterfinals.

HONORS START TO ROLL IN: Selected to the first team all-Frontier Conference were offensive lineman Garrett Rehberg, who picked up his second all-conference selection. Joining Rehberg were linebacker Willie Nelson and defensive back Chip Mitchell. The trio was joined by kickoff return specialist Caden Cobb. College of Idaho was well represented with seven selections on the second team. Among those receiving recognition were offensive lineman Brett Gydesen and Ryan Halford, quarterback Andy Peters, wide receiver Jon Schofield, running back Allamar Alexander, tight end Ben Hruby and defensive back Brady Frame. On the honorable mention team were defensive ends Tanner Leaf, Kobe Roberts and wide receiver Brock Richardson.

SCHOFIELD FINDS END ZONE: Senior wide receiver Jon Schofield 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 tied for fourth in the NAIA. 

PETERS - A DUAL-THREAT QUARTERBACK: Quarterback Andy Peters has moved ino the top 10 all-time in pass attempts (511, fourth) and pass completions (326, second) and passing TDs (34, second). 

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. 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 17 of his 18 games as a Yote.

GRINDING IT ON THE GROUND: College of Idaho holds a 5.5 to 3.3 advantage in average yards per rush, 170.8 to 105.2 in average yards per game rushing and 22 to 12 in rushing touchdowns. 

END ZONE VARIETY: To complement the 19 touchdowns by Jon Schofield, 13 other Yotes have found the end zone in 2023.

POTENT OFFENSE: College of Idaho has scored 56 TDs (leads the Frontier Conference; tied for 5th nationally; 2nd all-time in program history [1st: 57]) and 404 points (43.2 ppg / leads the Frontier Conference; 6th nationally / 2nd all-time in program history [1st: 446]). 

RED ZONE ALERT: College of Idaho has reached the red zone on 49 occasions and scored 39 times - 35 touchdowns (21 rushing; 14 receiving) and four field goals for an 80% conversion clip. The 80% conversion percentage is the highest since the 2019 team converted 86.8% (46 of 53 opportunites). 

Opponents have reached the red zone on 25 occasions and scored 18 times - 13 touchdowns (9 rushing, 4 receiving) and six field goals for an 76% conversion clip.

THIRD QUARTER SUCCESS: College of Idaho has outscored its opponents, 133-27 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 - 678 to 363. 

TRICK OR TREAT: With four returning starters and the strong play of junior center Liam Coppinger, the College of Idaho has allowed only eight sacks and 24 tackles for loss. The Yotes defense has racked up 25 sacks on the season (6th most in program history) on its way to 60 tackles for loss (6th 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 38.1 yards per punt. The 38.1 average is the sixth 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 62 tackles including 6.5 TFLs; Tanner Sackman (#82) has been involved in 19 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 39 tackles with a sack and 1.5 TFLs to go along with 6 PBUs. 

PICKING UP THE FUN: Boise State transfer Chip Mitchell picked off leads the team with four 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 2015 when Nate Moore went on to pickoff six passes. 

CHAMPION OF CHARACTER: Linebacker Joey Calzaretta (Larkspur, Calif.) was the C of I recipient of the NAIA Champions of Character Award. Off the field, Calzaretta is involved with the Campus Programming Council and co-producer of the Steel Show with teammate and long snapper Devon Long.

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. Furthermore, 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 the announcement of the latest 2023 NAIA Football FirstDown PlayBook Coaches' Top 25 Rating, College of Idaho is ranked at No. 10 along with Morningside and Saint Xavier (Ill.). College of Idaho has been ranked 48 times since 1999. 

SINGLE-SEASON RECORD BOOK ALERT: 
Andy Peters 
- 1st in TD passes (27)
- 1st in passing yards/game (251.3)
- 1st in total offense yards (3,160)
- 1st in attempts (331)
- 1st in completions (186) 
- 1st in yards (2,513)

Caden Cobb
- 1st in kick return yards (623)

Jacob DeMott
- 2nd in PAT kicks made (53), 1st, 55.

Brock Richardson 
- t-6th in receiving yards (619) with brother, Connor.
- t-10th in receptions (40)  - 9th (41); 8th (42); 7th (43) t-5th (44); 4th (47) t-2nd (48)

STATISTICAL ANALYSIS OF SEASON: 
Outscoring opponents, 404 to 230
FIRST DOWNS: 7 of 10 games; 97 by rush; 117 by pass
RUSHING: 8 of 10 games; season high: 237 at Arizona Christian
PASSING: 7 of 10 games; season-high 354 vs. Montana Western
TOTAL OFFENSE: 8 of 10 games; season-high 515 by MSU-Northern

YOTES SIBLINGS: Linebacker Joey Calzaretta - brother: Nick and wide receiver Brock Richardson - brother: Connor were teammates on the last Yotes team that played in the postseason in 2019.

YOTES SIBLINGS II: There are four sets of brothers on the College of Idaho roster including twin brothers: Cooper and Tanner Leaf; brothers: Ryan and Tyler Halford; brothers: Jayce and Tucker French; brothers Jonah and Jovan Sowell.  

BRONCOS turned YOTES: Three members of the College of Idaho football team - Allamar Alexander, Chip Mitchell and Andy Peters - started their college careers at Boise State University before transferring to College of Idaho.  

UNPRECEDENTED SUCCESS: All six College of Idaho fall sports teams (men's and women's cross country; men's and women's soccer; football and volleyball) secured spots in the postseason to go along with the 2022-23 NAIA Men's Basketball national champion team that started the season at No. 1 for the first two polls. The only other team in the NAIA with this similar feat is Indiana Wesleyan. Last Friday, the College of Idaho women's cross country team became the fourth team in school history to win a national title. 

AERIAL ASSAULT: In all 10 games, College of Idaho has had multiple passing touchdowns with a six-touchdown game against Eastern Oregon on October 28. The Yotes rank third in the NAIA with 30 passing touchdowns (first: 36 - Bethel [Tenn.]; second: 33 - Grand View [Iowa]. The 30 passing touchdowns shattered the previous school record of 23 from 2019. 

NEARLY PERFECT: Place kicker Jacob DeMott has made his last 51 point-after attempts on the season. He missed his only PAT on the fourth touchdown of the season in the season-opening win over Lincoln. The 54 point-after attempts by DeMott is one shy of the school record held by Kyle Mitchell (2019).

BACK TO BACK LOSSES: College of Idaho has not lost back-to-back games since 2018 when they started the season with five-straight losses before coming back with a six-game winning streak.

PROUD ALUMNI: On the Yotes coaching staff are five former Yotes including linebackers coach/special teams and recruiting coordinator Austin Nelson, offensive line coach, Braden Bale, defensive backs coach James Silva and defensive line coach Carlos Murana. Also on the College of Idaho roster are six members of the team - Hayden Dondero, Cade Flint, Ryan Halford, Ben Hruby, Chip Mitchell and Garrett Rehberg - who are all working on a graduate certificate in sports administration.

TWO-SPORT STARS: Keegan Croteau, Hunter Gilbert, Liam Hays, Ryan Halford and Tanner Sackman are also members of the College of Idaho football team; Matthew Iwamizu has seen time on the Yotes baseball team and Gavin Ozuna is also a member of the lacrosse team. 

MONTANA NATIVES: Three members of the Yotes football team are from the state of Montana including freshmen Tanner Macy and Jesse Hughes and sophomore wide receiver Jase Applebee.

CAPTAINS: The Yotes have been represented by quarterback Andy Peters, offensive lineman Garrett Rehberg, linebacker Willie Nelson and defensive back Jacob Arms as captains for the coin toss.