By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The Carroll College Saints scored early and often when MSU-Northern met them in Helena on Sept. 9.
Back then, Northern was 0-3, a fledgling group of young athletes beginning a college football career.
That game was historic in the fact that it was the first Frontier Conference game to be televised in history.
This time around, however, Northern (3-4 overall, 1-4 conference) has risen from the basement of the Frontier Conference.
The Lights have notched a win at home. They have tallied a win on the road, two wins, to be exact. And, they have defeated an NAIA Frontier Conference team.
That win most recently came at Dillon last weekend when Tanner Smith booted a 12-yard field goal through the posts to lift the Lights to a 3-0 overtime victory over the Western Montana Bulldogs.
But, Carroll College is not Western Montana.
The last time these two teams met, Carroll stormed the field and whitewashed Northern, 69-0.
Carroll quarterback Nate Martinson threw three touchdown passes by halftime to open the first half of the game.
Quarterback J.D. Emmert stepped into the game and connected with Justin Thomas for a score in the second half, including five rushing touchdowns and a 55-yard punt return for a score.
The Saints amassed 745 total offensive yards against the Lights.
Wed like to play them a little better than last time, head coach Walt Currie said. This time, its at home, so hopefully we can do that.
The Lights defense has shown improvement.
Kino Detrick and Josh Fike have each been named players of the week due to outstanding defensive efforts.
Last week, Fike notched six unassisted tackles three assisted tackles, one tackle for loss and more than two quarterback sacks. Fike is ranked third in the league, averaging 9.1 tackles per game.
Detrick, originally from Great Falls, leads the league with four forced fumbles.
Detrick and Matt Schumacher are both ranked for the number of fumbles recovered.
Detrick has also tallied five sacks this season, averaging nearly one per game.
Troy Martin and Joel Onsager each have two interceptions on the year, while Darren Fike has three pass deflections marked on his belt.
Offensively, Andy Smith at wide receiver leads the league with 841 receiving yards. He was also named player of the week earlier this season.
Quarterback Chris Jackson has passed for 1,392 yards this season.
Travis Hille is the teams leading rusher with 73 carries for 284 yards.
Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. at Blue Pony Stadium.
