Mountaineers named preseason favorite
By Paul Hall on Thursday, July 29th, 2021 in More Top Stories Northeastern Oregon News
LA GRANDE – (Information provided by EOU Athletics) The Frontier Conference has released its 2021 Preseason Football Coaches’ Poll and Eastern Oregon University was picked as the favorite to win the conference crown.
It was a close ballot in terms of points as just nine points separated the top-five. The Mountaineers tallied 39 points and had three first-place votes to grab the No. 1 spot. College of Idaho racked up two first-place votes and had 36 points to tie for second with Montana Western. The Bulldogs had just one first-place vote.
Sitting fourth is Carroll College with 33 points followed by Southern Oregon in fifth with 30 points. Montana Tech picked up the other two first-place votes and had 26 points to sit sixth. Rocky Mountain is tabbed seventh with 15 points, while Montana State-Northern was picked eighth with eight points.
The Mountaineers are coming off a 3-1 record in the modified 2020 season that was played in the spring of 2021. EOU’s record helped them win a share of the Frontier Conference Title with both Carroll and C of I. For the season, the Mounties had 15 All-Frontier Conference selections, including the Offensive & Defensive Player of the Year and the Coach of the Year. EOU also finished the 2020 season ranked No. 21 in the NAIA.
Earning Offensive Player of the Year honors was Kai Quinn, while Chase Van Wyck was tabbed the Defensive Player of the Year. Head Tim Camp was named the Co-Coach of the Year after leading the Mounties to their first ever Frontier Conference Title in program history. Van Wyck was later named an AFCA First Team All-American, while PJ Schubert was named a Second Team All-American at Offensive Line. Quinn garnered Honorable Mention All-American status as well.
Eastern kicks off the 2021 campaign on Aug. 27 when the Mountaineers head to Butte, Mont. to take on the Montana Tech Orediggers. Kickoff is set for 5 p.m. PT/6 p.m. MT. The first EOU home game is set for Sept. 4 inside Community Stadium. EOU will take on Montana Western with kickoff set for 1 p.m. PT.
Frontier Conference Preseason Coaches’ Poll (1st Place Votes)
1. Eastern Oregon (3) 39 points
T2. College of Idaho (2) 36 points
T2. Montana Western (1) 36 points
4. Carroll College 33 points
5. Southern Oregon 30 points
6. Montana Tech (2) 26 points
7. Rocky Mountain College 15 points
8. Montana State-Northern 8 points
PLAYERS MENTIONED
QB-6′ 0″, 220 lbs, Redshirt Senior
OL-6′ 4″, 325 lbs, Redshirt Junior
#41 Chase Van WyckDL-6′ 2″, 250 lbs, Redshirt Senior
