Lights excited for homecoming showdown

The Montana State University-Northern Lights and the UM-Western Bulldogs are heading in opposite directions right now. But on a given day, that can change in a hurry.

And that’s exactly what the Lights (0-2, 0-3) are looking to do when they host the No. 19 Bulldogs (2-0, 2-0) homecoming Saturday afternoon. Kickoff for the Frontier Conference clash is set for 1 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium, and Northern is looking to turn around a rough start to the season, and the Aaron Christensen era.

“Our guys will be ready to play,” Christensen said. “Any time you have a loss like we did, I think you just want to get right back on the field and shake that off. And that’s what we have an opportunity to do this week. So our guys are definitely excited for this game.”

The loss the Lights want to shake off against the Bulldogs is the 46-0 thrashing at Rocky Mountain College last Saturday. That left Northern at 0-3 on the season and certainly behind the eight-ball in the Frontier Conference race.

Offensively, MSU-N is really struggling, at least on the scoreboard. The Lights have scored just three offensive touchdowns all season, and are averaging just five points per game. Northern’s passing game, with new starter Jess Krahn, and a host of young, inexperienced wide receivers, has not found its rhythm yet, as the Lights average just 79 yards a game through the air. That has hurt what should be a ferocious MSU-N rushing attack, led by Zach McKinley, who leads the conference with his 117 yards per game, as well as fellow junior Mario Gobatto, who rushed for 77 yards last Saturday in Billings.

“I think, with the passing game, it’s a matter of continuing to get reps,” Christensen said. “We have a young quarterback, a bunch of new linemen and we’re playing a lot of receivers who don’t have much game experience. So it’s a combination of things. But it’s definitely something we’re concentrating on, and an area we are striving to get better.”

Defensively, the Lights have loads of talent, but they are still young there, too, and there has been growing pains. Still, with ends Tyler Craig and Jordan Brusio combining for 6.5 sacks so far this season, and tackle Pat Barnett off to a strong start to the 2015 campaign, Northern has the talent to hold opposing offenses down. It just needs to click, and Christensen is looking for more of that against Western.

“A lot of bad things happened in the game against Rocky,” Christensen said. “But I also think we can look at some things and use that game as a learning experience. Offensively, we got 83 snaps in, and that’s very positive. Defensively, I thought we made some strides, too. So I think we can take some things away from that game and get better this week.”

Of course, turning things around is never easy, and the Bulldogs are going to make it downright difficult. Western is arguably one of the hottest teams in the NAIA right now, and, after a 2-0 start to the season, optimism is certainly high in Dillon. Western opened the Frontier season by blasting RMC 49-6 two weeks ago, then the Bulldogs picked up a thrilling road win over College of Idaho last Saturday.

And while offense sells tickets, head coach B.J. Robertson has built a championship defense at Western. The unbeaten Bulldogs come to Havre allowing a stingy 13 points and 239 yards of offense per outing. And that stout defense is shining even after the graduation of All-American defensive end Phil Selin.

“Defense is definitely the strong point of their team,” Christensen said. “They are very good. They have seven or eight seniors who have played a lot of football on that defense. They are very good up front, they are really fundamentally sound and they execute really well. So that’s definitely something we’ve been focusing on this week.”

The Bulldogs do have a senior-laden defense, led by a pair of greats in the middle of their 3-4 scheme. Senior linebackers A.J. Wilson (6-1, 240) and Joe Coker (6-2, 215) are the anchors of the defense, and together, they have already combined for 30 stops and 11 tackles for loss. Outside LB Dakota Wainwright (5-11, 245) has another 18 stops, while defensive end Reno Ward (6-2, 255) has four sacks. Add in hard-hitting safety Ben Sulser (6-0, 17-5) and a host of others, and it’s no wonder the Bulldogs are hard to crack. They’re also opportunistic as they have nine takeaways on the season.

“They are a very good defensive team,” Christensen said. “But for us, the key is pretty simple right now. No matter who we play, we have to execute better than we have. We have to cut down the mistakes and just be more consistent offensively.”

While Western has a very veteran defense, the Bulldogs do have some things in common with the Lights offensively. They have a great running back from the Great Falls area, and a young quarterback, who’s still finding his way.

There’s no doubt the Bulldog offense is still a work in progress, with true freshman J.D. Ferris (6-0, 175) at quarterback and a bevy of young receivers. But, the Bulldogs, who are averaging 37 points and 351 yards of offense per game, will ride their bell cow of a running back, junior Sam Rutherford (6-1, 215). Like McKinley, Rutherford burst onto the scene two years ago, and he’s been terrorizing opposing defenses ever since. Also like McKinley, he has an outstanding backup, as Dylan Kramer (5-9, 160) is a speedster capable of going the distance every time he touches the ball. So there’s no doubt, stopping the run, which Western does well, with Ferris even leading the team in rushing so far, will be a big key for Northern’s defense on Saturday.

But stopping Western’s rushing attack, or figuring out ways to break through a brick wall of a Bulldog defense is only part of the battle the Lights will be facing in Saturday’s homecoming game. With a team with only four seniors, the Lights are very inexperienced, and after three straight losses to start the new season, they are also looking to not only gain experience, but confidence as well.

And there’s no better place to accomplish those things then Blue Pony Stadium, on homecoming, and on Festival Days, weekend.

“Our guys are excited about this game,” Christensen said. “They are excited to play at home and they want to play well at home. They have worked hard again this week to get ready for this game. This is a group that works extremely hard every day. And they’re very excited to play on Saturday.”

Saturday’s homecoming game between the Lights and Bulldogs kicks off at 1 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium. Northern is back on the road next week, traveling to Ashland, Oregon to play the defending national champion Southern Oregon Raiders.

Homecoming

MSU-Northern Lights (0-2, 0-3) vs No. 19 UM-

Western Bulldogs (2-0, 2-0)

Saturday 1 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

Streaming: http://www.msun.edu/athletics

Radio: 92.5 KPQX FM

Twitter: Twitter/Havredaily