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LA GRANDE, Ore. -- The No. 16 Eastern Oregon University football team welcomes Montana State-Northern in the 2012 home opener. The weekly notes are now available.

Date: Sept. 8
Time: 1 p.m.
Location: La Grande, Ore.
Venue: Community Stadium
Playing Surface: Natural Grass
Series vs. EOU: 10-5 (EOU leads)
Live Stats:EOUSports.com
Live Video: EOUSports.com
Live Radio: KCMB 104.7 FM
Forecast: Sunny and Clear, 88 degrees, 0% Rain, Wind ENE 6 MPH

GAME COVERAGE
Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Pacific Time at Community with a live video stream on EOUSports.com. It is a free video stream. A live radio broadcast will also be available on KCMB 104.7 FM in La Grande and Baker City.  A live television broadcast will be on Charter Channel 3 in La Grande. Live stats will be available on EOUSports.com.

THE SERIES
* Eastern Oregon has won 10 of the 15 meetings all-time versus the Lights.
* EOU has won the last seven meetings with the Lights.
* The Mountaineers have won only three times in Havre, Mont.
* The Lights last defeated Eastern Oregon on Sept. 13, 2008.
* Montana State-Northern has won only once in their seven trips to La Grande.
* Eastern has averaged scoring 44 points in the last five games with MSU-Northern.
* The Mountaineers seven straight wins over MSUN is the longest streak against a team in the Frontier Conference.
* Two of the last three meetings between MSU-Northern and EOU have been between teams appearing in the NAIA national poll.

QUICK HITS
- Eastern's No. 16 ranking is the highest preseason start in program history.
- The Mountaineers have been ranked in 13 straight polls, the longest in program history, climbing as high as No. 9 in 2011.
- EOU is 5-5 in its last 10 season openers, including a win last year over UMW.
- The Mountaineers have rotated wins and losses each year in the past 10 home openers, last year EOU won.
- Eastern Oregon has won six straight conference road games.
- EOU has a one-game win streak in Community Stadium.

MCDONALD RECEIVES NATIONAL AWARD
Not only did Howie McDonald receive the Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Week honor, but he he was named the NAIA Defensive Player of the Week. McDonald is the first EOU player to receive the award since Chris Ware was named Offensive National Player of the Week last season following the upset at No.1 Carroll. McDonald had one of the best performances ever by a Mountaineer in the come-from-behind season-opening win at Montana Tech. The senior had the second-most tackles in a single game in EOU history. The senior's 20 unassisted tackles and one assisted tackle were the most for the Mountaineers since Nick Hannah had 26 against Montana Tech on Sept. 25, 2004.

EASTERN NAMES ITS 2012 CAPTAINS
Emory Jones, Nate Rudder, Howard McDonald, and Jared Van Beek were all named captains for the 2012 Mountaineers. The captains are named after a vote by every player on the team. “I am so excited for these fine young men,” EOU head coach Tim Camp said. “We will have great leadership from these players, on and off the field. I believe that they understand what the job description is and to represent Eastern Oregon University as a student-athlete.”

TACKLING CLINIC COMES TO LA GRANDE
The NAIA's top two tacklers take the field Saturday at Community Stadium. Eastern Oregon's Howie McDonald leads the country with 21 tackles through the first game, while Montana State-Northern's Matt Reyant had 17 tackles in the Lights' season opener, the second best mark in the nation. McDonald had 20 unassisted tackles, while Reyant had 14. MSUN's Jared Rohrback is sixth in the NAIA with 14 total tackles, that's also the third best mark in the conference. So the top three tacklers in the Frontier will be on the field Saturday.

THE NEW FRONTIER HAS A MIXED START
New Frontier Conference members, Southern Oregon and Dickinson State, had different openings to their conference debuts. Southern excelled in its win over Montana Western at home, easing past the Bulldogs, 54-21. SOU racked up 585 yards of offense, behind Austin Dodge's 359 yards through the air. DSU struggled at home in a 30-19 loss to Rocky Mountain. The Blue Hawks outgained RMC 359-300 in total offense, but turned the ball over twice and committed seven penalties.

LET'S GET OFF TO A GOOD START
The Mountaineers have won their last seven games when they have scored first, and had the lead at halftime. EOU is also 6-1 in its last seven games when it has led after the first quarter. Eastern is 17-3 under Tim Camp when leading at halftime, 13-5 when leading after the first quarter, and 13-6 when scoring first. Last season, Eastern Oregon scored first in both meetings against Northern. The Mountaineers had a 28-0 halftime lead in the game in Havre, and a 28-14 halftime advantage in La Grande.

I REMEMBER THESE GUYS
Eastern Oregon begins the 2012 home schedule, just as it ended the 2011 home schedule. EOU's final home game last season was against Montana State-Northern. The Mountaineers controlled the game and went onto win on Senior Day. The teams combined for 1,069 yards of offense, with Eastern amassing 577. Eastern Oregon jumped out to a 21-7 lead and didn't look back. Chris Ware threw for 327 yards, and Kevin Sampson ran for 178 yards in their final games at Community Stadium.