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HELENA — The 2024 All-Frontier Conference football teams and individual awards have been announced. The award recipients are selected by the nine head coaches in the conference, who are not permitted to vote for their own players.
Running back Gunner Yates of Southern Oregon was voted as the Offensive player of the year. This is the fifth time since 2012 that the Red Raiders had a player named Frontier football offensive player of the year. It was the first time since 2016 that a running back was named to the league’s offensive player of the year (Nolan Saraceni from Montana Tech won the award in 2015 and 2016).
As of Monday, Yates leads the NAIA in total rushing yards (1,488) and ranks second in rushing yards per game (135.3). He is also second in the nation in rushing touchdowns with 27.
Hunter Peck of Carroll was chosen as the defensive player of the year. It is the second time in the past three seasons that the Fighting Saints had a defensive player of the year (Garrett Kocab in 2022).
Peck tallied 50 tackles as a defensive lineman for the Saints, accumulating 132 career tackles. He also recorded 6.5 quarterback sacks for 47 yards lost, as well as 12 tackles-for-loss for 61 yards. He had a forced fumble.
Ryan Nourse was the conference coach of the year after guiding Montana Western to back-to-back outright Frontier Conference titles. The Bulldogs are 9-1 overall record prior to their NAIA Football Championship Series second-round home contest versus Dickinson State (N.D.) on Saturday. UMW had won six straight games to conclude the regular season and earned a No. 4 ranking in the final NAIA Football Coaches’ Top 25 national poll.
Montana Western landed nine selections on the first-team all-conference list, and Montana Tech registered eight. The Orediggers had a Frontier-best 15 combined selections on the first and second teams.
The honorable mention selections and Champions of Character are also listed below.
2024 Frontier Football Postseason Awards
Frontier Most Valuable Player Offense: Gunner Yates, Southern Oregon.
Frontier Most Valuable Player Defense: Hunter Peck, Carroll.
Frontier Coach of the Year: Ryan Nourse, Montana Western.
