2019 MSU-N Football: LIGHTS WILL SHINE, TOGETHER

To say the last three or four years have been rough inside, and around, the Montana State University-Northern football program would be putting it mildly.

Bright spots, like a 2017 win over Carroll College, or last year's season-opening blowout of Mayville State, have been few and far between. So, it was stand to reason, given just how few games the Lights have won since 2014, that, there would be negativity and despair, in other words, a black cloud hanging over the entire program.

But, that's not the way second-year head coach Andrew Rolin operates.

Rolin came to Northern to make a difference, on the field and off it, and while success may come slowly, and progress can't always be measured on the scoreboard, that's exactly what Rolin is doing - making a difference.

When Rolin arrived on campus, early in 2018, the Lights had just finished a 1-10 season, again, with their only win coming at Mayville State that year. The rest of that season turned into a nightmare for Northern, and it made the rebuilding job Rolin took on that much more difficult.

However, with his infectious attitude, his relentless pursuit of improvement, and just his overall enthusiasm for Northern football, Rolin is quickly turning the tide, in the locker room, on campus, on the the practice field, and in the community.

And now, as the Lights get set to embark on year two of Rolin's tenure at Northern, he wants to see his team start doing the same thing on Saturday's.

"It's hard to start over, I know it's been hard for all the guys that were still here when I got here," Rolin said. "It's hard work to change the culture in a football program. But that was our very first goal. We needed to establish a culture that this school, this community and this program would be proud of, and I really believe we're doing that. I actually feel like, going into this season, we're ahead of where I thought we'd be right now."

It was easy to see the culture shifting even as the Lights lost 10 straight games in 2018. On the practice field, and on game days, an extremely young Northern squad hung in to the bitter end. The 2018 team never stopped trying to win, in fact, the Lights never stopped believing they were going to win, and that's because of the buy-in they've had under Rolin.

"You can feel it now, you can see it, it's a different culture, a different mind-set with this team," Rolin said. They love each other and they love playing football, and those are two things you have to have in your locker room in order to be successful. And this team has that. Even with all the new faces, this team is a very tight-knit football team. Every one of them is all in, with football and beyond football. There's a real brotherhood on this football team right now, and it's a lot of fun to be around."

Helping with the bonding is the fact that, some of the Lights' best players are also great leaders. Senior running back Jett Robertson, senior wide receiver Bryce Bumgardner, junior WR Marvin Williams, veteran offensive linemen Trenton Woodward and Darius-Alexander Jones are all back for Northern's offense, while stalwarts on defense like Jaren Maki, Jake Norby, Morgan McCrary, Joe Fehr and Justin Pfeifer are expected to have a big impact on the Lights this season, but have also all assumed great leadership roles.

And that group, along with so many others, makes the coming 2019 campaign an intriguing one.

Sure, the Lights are picked to finish last in the Frontier. Sure, they haven't won a league game in over two years, and with a schedule that includes two games against Rocky Mountain College, two against Carroll College, two against Montana Western, road trips to College of Idaho and Eastern Oregon, and a home bout against high-powered Southern Oregon, climbing back into the Frontier race will be daunting.

But again, the attitude the Lights are carrying with them into 2019 suggests anything but a team expecting to be a pushover for the rest of the league.

"We preach continuous effort and continuous improvement every single day," Rolin said. "That's in our winter conditioning, our offseason workouts, spring ball and every day in practice. And, that's one thing we've had from day one. I believe we got better with every game last season. I believe we got better in the offseason, and with those 15 spring practices, and I know we're a better football team right now than when the season ended last year. And that's a credit to the guys and how hard they've worked and to our coaching staff for working hard to make sure we keep getting better."

And getting better is the plan, starting Saturday night in Phoenix, but, even more long-term. And while Rolin doesn't let his squad dwell on the past, the Lights also have no intention of letting history continue to repeat itself.

"It's been fun to see this team come together," Rolin said. "It's been fun to see the guys sacrifice for each other, but also demand the best out of each other. And it's really happened on its own, it's not something that we as coaches have had to force on them.

"So where the culture is at right now, and the mentality this team has, I'm really excited," Rolin continued. "Now, we just have to go out and execute on Saturdays. We've got the personnel to compete and win football games. We have the pieces in place. I really believe that. So, the next step is, we have to execute at a high level. Everybody has to do their jobs on game day. If we do that consistently, you're going to see us take off."

The Lights, while still a young team, are certainly hoping, and are going to do everything in their power to take off in 2019. It won't be easy. Northern has an uphill battle in the Frontier, which is considered the SEC of NAIA football.

But, no matter what happens this fall, the Lights have already, and will continue to leave the past behind them. When Rolin arrived in Havre, a new era of Northern football began, and while it's still evolving, and progress can be painfully slow at times, Northern is pointed, and will continue to move, in the right direction.

Rolin himself, won't settle for anything less.

"This place is special," Rolin said. "I've felt that way since the first day I got here. Havre is special, this university is special, and I want people to feel the same way about our football program. My goal from day one has been for everybody to be able to be proud of this program. It's a process, it's not always easy, it takes time, and I know we're not there yet. But it's going to happen. We're going to get there, and that march so to speak, that continues with this year's team.

"And I'm excited about this team," he added. "I really love these guys. And they're a team that's going to continue to work hard, continue to sacrifice, play hard on Saturdays and most of all, compete. I've already seen it. It's something I'm very proud of already. And I think our fans are going to have a lot of pride watching these guys play every week."

The 2019 Lights kick off their season Saturday at Arizona Christian. For a full preview of their season-opener, see Friday's Havre Daily News.