MSU-N Notebook: Lights show flashes in the snow

A few weeks ago, when the Montana State University-Northern football team lost to Montana Tech, in somewhat embarrassing fashion, it would have been easy for the Lights to throw in the towel.

Shortly after the loss that garnered national attention, former head coach Aaron Christensen resigned. But even with everything stacked against them, the Lights didn't quit. They kept fighting and that was evident in Saturday's 38-17 loss to seventh-ranked Southern Oregon

Northern got down 38-3 in the third quarter and the game could have easily gotten away from the Lights. However, they refused to let it. In fact, Northern scored twice, once in the third quarter and once in the fourth. After recovering an onside kick, MSU-N had a chance to make it a two-score game. College teams aren't out for moral victories, but still a competitive game against the conference champion is nothing to be ashamed of.

The day was also filled with seniors making plays, seniors like Beau Wilhelm, who caught three passes for 22 yards and a touchdown, or Garet Fowler, who had eight tackles, a tackle for loss and a pass breakup. Fowler also aided a strong defensive effort that held the Raiders to just seven points in the second half.

"I don't think it's quite real yet," Fowler said of his final game at Blue Pony Stadium as a Light. "It's not really settling it. I am just here with the team and this team fought. It was a great effort. I think this was our biggest effort playing together as a unit. Like when you make a play, you turned around and the whole team was there celebrating with you."

Winning one phase of the game

Southern Oregon may have won the game 38-17, but when it came down the battle of special teams, a case could be made that Northern came out ahead.

Not only did the Lights connect on a field goal, they also generated 165 yards on kickoff returns and blocked a punt, which MSU-N recovered at the Southern Oregon two-yard line, setting up the Lights second touchdown. In addition to that, the Lights attempted and recovered an onside kick, which gave Northern the ball, near midfield, 38-17 early in the fourth quarter.

"The effort on special teams has been great all year," Eldridge said. "We knew with the weather conditions that there would be some bad snaps and holds and things like that and there would be opportunities for to capitalize on stuff like that and that came true."

Northern wasn't able to take advantage of the onside kick, but still, the Lights were able to match one of the best NAIA teams in the nation, in at least one phase of the game.

Quarterback carousel

If you got a little confused about who was playing quarterback for Northern Saturday against Southern Oregon, you weren't alone. And after senior Jess Krahn got a snap at quarterback late in the fourth quarter, the Lights played four different signal callers in the 21-point loss.

Bryce Missey got the start for the Lights, but Tommy Wilson threw the most passes with 20 and the only touchdown pass. However, the most successful backup in the game was Dylan Cook, who ran the ball at the quarterback 10 times for 50 yards. He also scored a touchdown.

"Coming in, we knew that we were going to rotate our quarterbacks," Eldridge said. "We had a plan and we stuck to it. Each guy has different abilities and we wanted to try and take advantage of that."

Eldridge said you can expect to see all three quarterbacks for the rest of the season and after the success Cook had running against the Raiders, you can certainly expect to see more carries in the regular season finale against the College of Idaho.

"It's something that he does well," Eldridge said. "And when the quarterback runs the ball, it gives you the advantage of an extra blocker. But he can do more than just run as he has shown, but that's one thing he does well and we will continue to utilize that skill set."