By Tiffany L. Rehbein
The MSU-Northern Lights football team travels to Billings to take on top-ranked Rocky Mountain College Saturday.
When the two met on Sept. 23, the Bears (4-1, 5-2) rolled to a 62-0 whitewash over the Lights.
However, five games can seem a lifetime in the Frontier Conference.
Northern (1-5, 3-5) boasts the No. 2 quarterback in the conference in freshman Chris Jackson. Jackson has notched 1,766 total offensive yards for the Lights this season.
Adversely for Northern, senior David Short, Rockys quarterback, is No. 1 in the league, averaging 361.1 total offensive yards. He also tallies a 158.4 pass efficiency, which leads the conference.
Davids brother Dennis leads the conference in receiving with 60 receptions for 694 yards in six games. Dennis is fourth in the conference, averaging 125.6 all-purpose yards for the Bears.
Sophomore Andy Smith is third in the conference with 66 receptions for 984 yards this season. Smith is also the eighth leading scorer in the league, with 48 points.
Smith and freshmen Travis Crawford and T Artis are all in the top 10 in the league in all-purpose yards for Northern.
Junior Travis Hille leads the Lights in rushing, with 81 carries for 315 yards. Crawford has 51 carries for 235 yards this season.
Northerns Jeff Burt leads the Frontier Conference in punting, with 52 punts for 2,145 yards.
At wide receiver, Forest Hurlbert poses a threat for the Bears. Hurlbert is third in the league with 1,079 all-purpose yards and leads the league in punt returns, with 240 yards, including one touchdown.
Defensively for the Lights, Bill McGuire and Joel Onsager are a threat at defensive back. McGuire has snatched three interceptions this season, while Onsager snagged two.
Kino Detrick leads the defensive line and the conference with four forced fumbles on the year. Josh Fike, Darren Fike and Onsager are tough on the ground defensively with Detrick.
With the Short boys, Rocky Mountain College leads the league in total offense, passing offense, rushing defense and offensive scoring.
Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. in Billings.
