Frontier: Western’s Beccari 1st team; Tech’s Anderson 2nd team

HELENA — The Frontier Conference released its all-league football team Monday, and two offensive linemen from Kalispell — Rocco Beccari and Max Anderson — were honored.

Beccari, a Glacier High product and senior at Montana Western, was named first-team all-Frontier. Anderson, a Flathead product and senior at Montana Tech, was a second-team selection. 

Beccari was second-team all-Frontier last fall; Anderson was honorable mention for the Orediggers in 2023. 

Both will be playing Saturday: Western, the two-time Frontier champion, plays host to Dickinson State Saturday at noon in Dillon; Montana Tech takes on Northwestern (Iowa) College at 1 p.m. in Butte. 

Dickinson State —  the 10-1 Bluehawks boast 40 Montanans on their active roster — beat Kansas Wesleyan 27-20 this past Saturday to advance. Northwestern, like Tech and Western, had a bye through the first round. 

You can’t run an offense with a solid offensive line and Tech (9-2) boasts the No. 9 scoring offense in NAIA at 44.6 points a game. Western, 9-1 this season, is No. 12 at 43.3.  

The Bulldogs are No. 7 in total offense at 482.8 yards per game, led by a passing game that is sixth in the country at 299.1 yards an outing. Tech is No. 18 in total offense at 444 yards and No. 13 in rushing at 216.6. 

Earning honorable mention was MSU-Northern linebacker Lucas Thacker, a senior out of Columbia Falls. Thacker tied for second on the Lights in tackles with 61; his 11 tackles for loss and 6.5 sacks led the team. He also had a couple carries on offense, for 6 yards. 

Running back Gunnar Yates of Southern Oregon was named the offensive player of the year. He piled up 1,488 yards and 27 touchdowns for the 8-3 Raiders, who didn’t make the postseason. 

Carroll College D-end Hunter Peck was the MVP on defense, with 6.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss among his 50 stops this season. He also forced a fumble for the 7-3 Saints, who didn’t make the postseason. 

Western’s Ryan Nourse was named coach of the year by the league. His team landed nine first-team all-Frontier selections. 

Montana Tech registered eight first-team picks, including senior tailback Landers Smith out of Charlo, who has 1,289 yards and 22 touchdowns rushing. The Orediggers also had a league-best 15 combined selections on the first- and second teams. 

Northwestern College is 8-2. The Red Raiders are out of Orange City, Iowa, and won the 2022 NAIA championship.