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Lights embrace rematch with Rocky

MSU-N begins second half of Frontier season at Blue Pony Stadium

Rematch Saturday in the Frontier Conference certainly includes a big one for the Montana State University-Northern Lights. After all, Northern began Frontier Conference play with a wild shootout at Rocky Mountain College and, now, the two teams are set to do it again.

Saturday afternoon, Northern (0-5, 1-5) and Rocky (1-4, 2-4) will meet inside Blue Pony Stadium, in a game that marks the halfway point of the 2019 Frontier season.

And, at least after Rocky's 53-34 win over the Lights back on Sept. 7, it's been a tail of similar seasons for the Lights and Bears.

The Lights certainly got the first half of 2019 off to a good start with their win over Arizona Christian, and a close call to begin Frontier play at Rocky. However, from that point, things have gotten increasingly more difficult for Northern, culminating with a 45-7 loss at Eastern Oregon last Saturday night.

For most of the season, turnovers have been Northern's biggest issue, and while the Lights' turnovers are down from last season, they are still struggling in that department with 14 on the year.

Scoring has become a big issue for the Lights as the season has wore on, too. Despite the likes of quarterback Brenden Medina, receivers Bryce Bumgardner, Marvin Williams Jr., and Damari Caul-Davis, as well as running back Jett Robertson, getting off to a hot start offensively, the Lights have really fell off the scoring pace as of late, and are now averaging just 16 points per outing, which is last in the Frontier.

Defensively, Northern has had its struggles, too. The Lights are allowing 41 points per game in league play, and despite a breakout season thus far from freshman safety Japerri Powell, the Lights have really struggled against the pass, allowing nearly 300 yards per contest. MSU-N has, however, improved this season against the run, as the Lights' defensive front, led by the likes of Joe Fehr and Justin Pfeifer, are doing a great job this season.

Still, while many defenders on Northern's young defense are putting up outstanding numbers, the Lights haven't been able to become the defensive team they need to be in order to make significant progress in the Frontier.

"We need to find that level of consistency," MSU-N head coach Andrew Rolin said, "in all three phases. For us, it's always about execution. We have to find a way to execute at a high level for four quarters."

Northern hasn't quite done that yet in Frontier play, but neither has Rocky. The Bears, the defending Frontier champions, haven't won a game since they beat the Lights last month in Billings.

And Rocky is having some of the same issues the Lights are having.

The Bears are dead last in the Frontier in turnover margin, they average just 17 ppg, and they allow 34 per outing on defense. With Drew Korf and outstanding receivers like Lucas Overton, as well as tough running back Sam Sparks, the Bears are fairly balanced offensively, but during their four-game losing streak, they just haven't been able to put the ball in the endzone.

Rocky, which has always hung its hat on defense, is certainly having its woes there, too. Rocky has been balanced on defense, and is led by DT Denton Wetherell, as well as star corner Jimmy Henderson, but the Bears just haven't been able to hold up in the redzone, and they have struggled in the takeaway department, an area they led the Frontier in last season.

So, with two teams having such similar streaks as the first half of the Frontier slate draws to a close, Saturday's game at Blue Pony Stadium should be an interesting one, and it's a game that's up for grabs.

For Northern, it's also a game that can set the tone for the rest of this season, especially considering the Lights play three of their final five games at home.

"We just have to capitalize on the team as individuals, do our jobs every play," Northern senior Morgan McCrary said ahead of Saturday's game. "Stay consistent and we'll get wins."

Saturday's game between Northern and Rocky Mountain kicks off at 1 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium. The Lights are back on the road next Saturday when they travel to Montana Western.

In the Corral

MSU-Northern Lights (0-5, 1-5) vs RMC Battlin' Bears

(1-4, 2-4)

Saturday, 1 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

Streaming: golightsgo.com

Radio: 92.5 KPQX FM

Twitter: Twitter/Havredaily

Game Day

Inside

 

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