It's game time for eager Lights

This is the moment the Montana State University-Northern Lights, new head coach Andrew Rolin, all of Northern's assistants and all Light's fans have been waiting for. Yes, it's finally game day for the Lights, and they want to not only kick off the Rolin era with a bang, but also complete their first goal and that's to be 1-0 in 2018.

Northern gets that chance Saturday when the Lights take on Mayville State at 1 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium. It's the second straight year the Lights have played the Comets of the North Star Athletic Association. Northern's only win of the season came via a 44-29 victory last September in Mayville, North Dakota.

But it's a new year, and a lot about both the Lights and Comets is a new.

"I'm excited, but more so I'm curious," Rolin said of his first game as Light's head coach. "I know what we're capable of. I know and have a lot of confidence in the guys we have on this team. But until you play a game, you always wonder what you're going to be like. So it's going to be exciting to watch our guys go out there and execute on Saturday."

The Lights have been grinding to get ready to execute for nearly three weeks now. Fall camp started Aug. 4 for Northern, and everything has been pointing toward improving each day, and then getting ready for the Comets, who are riding a 13-game losing streak dating back to 2016 and who are a bit of an unknown to Rolin as well.

"We have a game plan, we've scouted them as best we can," Rolin said of the Comets, who are under the direction of head coach Sean Thom. "I think we know what they want to do offensively, and defensively, but they have a ton of new personnel, so maybe they will be different schematically than they were last year. So we have to be prepared for anything, and we have to be ready to adjust to what they do."

As much as the Lights have been trying to prepare for the Comets, Rolin also notes that success Saturday will come down to more what his team does than what the Comets do.

Offensively, the Lights are going to lean heavily on experienced quarterback Tommy Wilson, standout running back Jett Robertson and a big and tough offensive line. The Lights will also look to get the ball into the hands of playmakers like Fotios Jordangolou, Marvin Williams and others.

Mayville, which gave up nearly 400 yards rushing to the Lights last season, will try to counter Northern's offense with a 4-3 defense, led by DE Tyler Gay (5-10, 225), massive nose tackle David Lemeto (6-3, 330), and linebacker Ricky Flowers Jr. (5-11, 230), among others.

On the other side of the ball, a young Northern defense will be put to the test right away, especially its secondary. While Northern will look to defensive leaders up front, like Joe Fehr and Justin Pfeifer on the line, as well as a talented group of linebackers that includes Alec Wagner, Jake Norby, Ace Morgan and Jaren Maki, the Comets love to throw the ball, so the secondary, with Devariej Criss and Caymus Thomas at CB and Morgan McCrary at safety, will certainly get a workout, with the return of Mayville standout quarterback Creighton Pfau (6-4, 210), who threw for 343 yards against the Lights a season ago. Pfau has a great WR in Trent Momon (6-5, 205), as well as a bruiser of a running back behind him in Preston Hamlette (5-10, 240).

"Offensively, we know they like to spread the ball around," Rolin said. "Their quarterback is back this season, and they have a big tall receiver on the outside who is a very good football player. So I think they'll be pretty similar to what they were last year offensively. But again, with a first game and them having so many new guys, you never know. So we have to hang loose and be ready to adjust defensively. We've got to be prepared for anything and be ready to handle anything they might throw at us."

Being prepared is something the Lights have been working on for some time now, and that's why Rolin believes Saturday will be more about the Lights executing in all three phases, than what the Comets try to do against them.

"From day one, we've been focused on us," Rolin said. "We game plan for our opponent, but honestly, for us, it's going to come down to execution. It's going to come down to every player on that field doing his job and us as coaches doing our jobs as well. It's about us and what we do. That's been something we've talked about and drilled on from the first day of winter conditioning. When we step out on that field, it's about us."

And make no mistake, the Lights are more than ready to step out on that field. They're ready to do it with their charismatic new head coach, and they're ready to not only go play Mayville State, but also to usher in a new era of Northern football.

There's indeed been a buzz surrounding the Lights since Rolin was hired, and with three weeks of fall camp now in the books, that buzz, that excitement and that intensity has built to a fever pitch, and the Lights are anxious and excited to go out against the Comets and show their fans and their school what the new brand of Northern football looks like.

"The excitement for this moment has been building since January," Rolin said. "Now, these guys just have to go out and execute. They have to just go out and do their jobs and everything else will take care of itself. But there's no doubt they're excited, they're focused and they're eager. You can feel it on the practice field, in the locker room, in meetings. You can feel it pretty much everywhere. These guys are excited and ready for this game."

Saturday's home and season-opener against Mayville State will kick off at 1 p.m. in Blue Pony Stadium. It's the first of back-to-back home games for the Lights, who begin Frontier Conference play on their home field Sept. 1 against nationally ranked Rocky Mountain College.

Opener

MSU-Northern Lights (0-0, 0-0) vs Mayville State Comets (0-0, 0-0)

Saturday, 1 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

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

Radio: 92.5 KPQX FM

Twitter: Twitter/Havredaily

GAME DAY INSIDE