Intercepted: Lights tame Bulldogs on a pair of big fourth-quarter defensive plays

Havre Daily News/Nikki Carlson

Montana State University-Northern receiver Orin Johnson (left) runs away from a UM-Western defender during Saturday's thrilling 24-17 Lights win at Blue Pony Stadium. The Lights beat Western in a Frontier Conference opener for the second straight season.

The Montana State University-Northern Lights' offense was firing on all cylinders in the first half, but it was the MSU-N defense which made the game-changing plays in what was a Northern season-opening victory.

With a resilient UM-Western team threatening to send the Lights' 2011 debut game into over...