CALDWELL One hundred and forty seven miles and three hours from immortality.

The College of Idaho football team is so close to the goal of clinching a conference title that it can reach out and grab it today. The Yotes (7-0, 7-0 Frontier Conference) travel to La Grande, Oregon, for a 2 p.m. MDT game against Eastern Oregon. With a win, the College of Idaho will match a 66-year-old program record with its 14th straight win and at least a share of the Frontier Conference title, its first league title since winning its fourth-straight Northwest Conference championship in 1955.

It feels like all the work weve been putting in over the past four years is paying off, said senior offensive tackle Josh Brown. We dont want to look too far ahead, we want to make sure we focus on one game at a time, one play at a time and keep what weve been doing going.

The one-game-at-a-time mentality has been a focus for the Yotes during their 13-game win streak, dating back to when it started with a 28-7 win against Carroll on Oct. 6, 2018. After starting last season 0-5, they ended the season on a six-game winning streak, then have methodically knocked off one opponent after another through their first seven games of the year.

For the No. 6 Yotes, that focus needs to remain intact today, as they focus on the Raiders, trying not to look at the matchup next week against Montana Western which could propel them into the NAIA Playoffs for the first time in program history.

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We always have to be humble, said senior defensive tackle Demetreus Taua. Our main focus is just one day at a time, one play at a time, one game at a time. We just have to focus on ourselves and out-prepare everyone out there. Keep working harder than every opponent that we go up against.

Perhaps theres no better example of the Yotes keeping focused on the task at hand than coach Mike Moroskis response to a question this week about the 1953 team, which started the season 8-0 to extend its winning streak to 14 games.

When posed the question, Moroski was curious about the interest in that team, seemingly being surprised by the connection between that teams run and the current one the Yotes are on.

Thats one of those records thats just cool when you figure it out, Moroski said. We have more important things, mainly to win the game and to put ourselves in contention for a conference championship, which would be the first in a long time and first ever in the Frontier Conference. So thats huge for the program. But the 14 (wins), I think that speaks to the growth of the program, the hard work thats been put in by so many people.

Todays game will be the second time this season the Yotes have faced the Mountaineers (2-6, 2-5). The College of Idaho opened the season with a 48-12 win against Eastern Oregon at Simplot Stadium. In that game, the Yotes rushed for 377 yards, jumping out to a 27-0 lead.

See the article here:
Yotes closing in on Frontier Conference title - Idaho Press-Tribune