October 12, 2026

HELENA, Mont. – The Frontier Conference announced its Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Football Players of the Week for the seventh edition of the 2026 season Monday.  Recipients from Simpson (Calif.), Dickinson State (N.D.), and Montana Tech were listed on this week’s honors.

Offensive Player of the Week
Ya'J Vance – Simpson (Calif.)
Quarterback I Junior I Fresno, Calif.

Vance delivered an impressive performance to lead Simpson (Calif.) to a thrilling 36-35 road victory over Southern Oregon.

He completed 21 of 32 passes for 346 yards and three touchdowns without throwing an interception. Vance finished with a 65.6 completion percentage and averaged 10.8 yards per pass attempt.

He also contributed 38 rushing yards on 15 attempts, including the game-winning 13-yard touchdown run on the final play of the contest. Vance accounted for 384 yards of total offense and four touchdowns in the victory.

This is Vance’s first career Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Player of the Week award.

Defensive Player of the Week
Brody Jenness – Dickinson State (N.D.)
Linebacker I Sophomore I Lewiston, Mont.

Jenness played a key role in Dickinson State's (N.D.) 20-19 upset road victory over No. 23 Dakota State (S.D.) in Madison, S.D.

He registered a team-high eight tackles, including three solo stops and five assisted tackles, to lead the Blue Hawks' defensive effort.

Jenness also forced a crucial fumble that led directly to a Dickinson State touchdown, helping the Blue Hawks secure the one-point victory over the nationally ranked Trojans.

This is Jenness’ first career Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Player of the Week award.

Special Teams Player of the Week
Casey Kautzman – Montana Tech
Kicker/Punter I Senior I Butte, Mont.

Kautzman turned in a perfect kicking performance despite cool and wet conditions in No. 6 Montana Tech's 62-0 homecoming victory over MSU-Northern.

The senior kicker converted both field goal attempts from 33 and 27 yards and was a perfect 8-for-8 on extra-point attempts. He accounted for 14 points in the Orediggers' shutout victory.

Kautzman also handled punting duties, recording three punts for 112 yards and an average of 37.3 yards per punt. His longest punt traveled 46 yards, and he placed one punt inside the 20-yard line while recording one fair catch.

He leads the NAIA with 62 kicking points and is tied for second nationally with 10 made field goals.

This is Kautzman’s second career Erck Hotels/Frontier Conference Player of the Week honor.
 

	Offense	Defense	Special Teams
No. 7 - Oct. 12	Ya'J Vance - Simpson (Calif.)	Brody Jenness - Dickinson State (N.D.)	Casey Kautzman - Montana Tech
No. 6 - Oct. 5	Javonte King - Rocky Mountain (Mont.)	Ryan Racht - Dickinson State (N.D.)	Eddie Ballanco - Carroll (Mont.)
No. 5 - Sept. 28	Kaden LaPlaunt - Montana Western	Tamareon Foster - Dakota State (S.D.)	Trezell Patterson - College of Idaho
No. 4 - Sept. 21	Caden Young - College of Idaho	Monte Pettichord - Eastern Oregon	Gage Norslien - Carroll (Mont.)
No. 3 - Sept. 14	Kallen Gutridge - Eastern Oregon	Kellan Beller - Montana Tech	Nik Halvorson - Dickinson State (N.D.)
No. 2 - Sept. 7	Eli Nourse - Montana Western	Christian Hansen - Montana Tech	Josh Horn - College of Idaho
No. 1 - Aug. 31	Tray Hettick - Dakota State (S.D.)	Asher Feddes - Montana Tech	Josh Horn - College of Idaho