Speedster Silva gashes RMC's defense

Speedster Silva gashes RMC's defense

George Ferguson, Havre Daily News sports editor

Numbers tell the tale.

And while the Montana State University-Northern football team was frustrated after its third straight loss of the season, a 34-23 setback at the hands of Rocky Mountain College Saturday in Havre, there are young Lights who are certainly proving to be stars in the making.

One of those is sophomore Stephen Silva, who rushed for a career-high 135 yards on 22 carries against the Bears. It was the third straight week in which Silva eclipsed his career high in rushing. He also caught two balls for 29 yards and did it while sustaining what looked to be a knee or leg injury in the third quarter. Silva returned to the game two series later and ran hard and tried to help the Lights stay in the contest.

"He (Silva) did have a good game," MSU-N head coach Mark Samson said. "He has been running really hard. He's been really close to breaking a lot of really long runs the last few weeks, and he just keeps getting better. And he did have a good day."

Silva, one of the fastest players in the Frontier Conference, is also proving to have some power. As a true freshman, he was an all-conference kick returner for the Lights, but he has bulked up some this season, and is proving he can run between the tackles.

Andrews doing it all

Junior defensive end Will Andrews is no doubt one of the best defensive players in the Frontier Conference, but Northern is finding plenty of ways to utilize Andrew's athleticism. Andrews is MSU-N's punter, and this season he's dropped back as a linebacker at times and has been flying around and making plays all season long. That was evident on Saturday when Andrews read a Kasey Peters screen pass, jumped the route and took an interception back 40 yards for a Northern touchdown in the third quarter of Saturday's game. The play was part of a 17-point MSU-N third-quarter rally.

Andrews, who missed all of the 2009 season with a leg injury is also seeing time in Northern's offensive backfield. When the Lights needed a critical first-down conversion Saturday, Andrews lined up in the "full-house" backfield and threw a lead block to help James Chandless pick up a key first down.

Turnovers as pesky as the bees

This time of year, the bees swarm at Blue Pony Stadium, and turnovers have seemed to be swarming inside the famed stadium as well.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lights had four miscues on offense, which upped their total to 11 in just two home games.

It was another rough day for freshman quarterback Derek Lear. Lear had two first-half fumbles, both of which resulted in points for the Bears, and ultimately a 20-0 lead.

Already down 14-0, the Lights were marching in the second quarter when Lear tried to make a play by scrambling away from pressure, but when he was tackled, the ball came lose and instead of being ruled down, or the ground not being able to cause a fumble, Rocky's Paul Palu picked up the ball and ran untouched 87 yards for a score which put the Lights in a 20-0 hole.

Lear was replaced on the next series by freshman QB Travis Dean, who threw a pick on his initial series in the second stanza. Dean wound up with two interceptions, but did throw his first career touchdown pass, a 40-yard strike to Matt Stuart in the fourth quarter.

Over the Pony hump

Rocky had its share of turnover troubles Saturday too. The Bears gave up 14 points as a result of turnovers to the Lights and star quarterback Kasey Peters was picked off twice, including Andrew's pick-six.

But what Peters, who has thrown for 300-plus yards in Blue Pony Stadium in all three of his trips to Havre will remember more is walking out of the stadium with a much-needed victory.

Last year, Peters went crazy, throwing for almost 400 yards and four touchdowns, and running for another score, but the Lights wound up winning a shootout behind a record-setting passing day from then-Northern QB Jeff van Nest.

"Northern is a good team, and we've had some crazy games with them in the past," Peters said. "When they were coming back on us today, and I made a couple of bad throws, the last two years, we would have folded. It's been like that for us against Northern. But we didn't fold today. Instead, we rallied and stepped up and overcame our mistakes and we beat a good team. We took a big step forward today and I'm proud of my team for that."Speedster Silva gashes RMC's defense

Numbers tell the tale.

And while the Montana State University-Northern football team was frustrated after its third straight loss of the season, a 34-23 setback at the hands of Rocky Mountain College Saturday in Havre, there are young Lights who are certainly proving to be stars in the making.

One of those is sophomore Stephen Silva, who rushed for a career-high 135 yards on 22 carries against the Bears. It was the third straight week in which Silva eclipsed his career high in rushing. He also caught two balls for 29 yards and did it while sustaining what looked to be a knee or leg injury in the third quarter. Silva returned to the game two series later and ran hard and tried to help the Lights stay in the contest.

"He (Silva) did have a good game," MSU-N head coach Mark Samson said. "He has been running really hard. He's been really close to breaking a lot of really long runs the last few weeks, and he just keeps getting better. And he did have a good day."

Silva, one of the fastest players in the Frontier Conference, is also proving to have some power. As a true freshman, he was an all-conference kick returner for the Lights, but he has bulked up some this season, and is proving he can run between the tackles.

Andrews doing it all

Junior defensive end Will Andrews is no doubt one of the best defensive players in the Frontier Conference, but Northern is finding plenty of ways to utilize Andrew's athleticism. Andrews is MSU-N's punter, and this season he's dropped back as a linebacker at times and has been flying around and making plays all season long. That was evident on Saturday when Andrews read a Kasey Peters screen pass, jumped the route and took an interception back 40 yards for a Northern touchdown in the third quarter of Saturday's game. The play was part of a 17-point MSU-N third-quarter rally.

Andrews, who missed all of the 2009 season with a leg injury is also seeing time in Northern's offensive backfield. When the Lights needed a critical first-down conversion Saturday, Andrews lined up in the "full-house" backfield and threw a lead block to help James Chandless pick up a key first down.

Turnovers as pesky as the bees

This time of year, the bees swarm at Blue Pony Stadium, and turnovers have seemed to be swarming inside the famed stadium as well.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lights had four miscues on offense, which upped their total to 11 in just two home games.

It was another rough day for freshman quarterback Derek Lear. Lear had two first-half fumbles, both of which resulted in points for the Bears, and ultimately a 20-0 lead.

Already down 14-0, the Lights were marching in the second quarter when Lear tried to make a play by scrambling away from pressure, but when he was tackled, the ball came lose and instead of being ruled down, or the ground not being able to cause a fumble, Rocky's Paul Palu picked up the ball and ran untouched 87 yards for a score which put the Lights in a 20-0 hole.

Lear was replaced on the next series by freshman QB Travis Dean, who threw a pick on his initial series in the second stanza. Dean wound up with two interceptions, but did throw his first career touchdown pass, a 40-yard strike to Matt Stuart in the fourth quarter.

Over the Pony hump

Rocky had its share of turnover troubles Saturday too. The Bears gave up 14 points as a result of turnovers to the Lights and star quarterback Kasey Peters was picked off twice, including Andrew's pick-six.

But what Peters, who has thrown for 300-plus yards in Blue Pony Stadium in all three of his trips to Havre will remember more is walking out of the stadium with a much-needed victory.

Last year, Peters went crazy, throwing for almost 400 yards and four touchdowns, and running for another score, but the Lights wound up winning a shootout behind a record-setting passing day from then-Northern QB Jeff van Nest.

"Northern is a good team, and we've had some crazy games with them in the past," Peters said. "When they were coming back on us today, and I made a couple of bad throws, the last two years, we would have folded. It's been like that for us against Northern. But we didn't fold today. Instead, we rallied and stepped up and overcame our mistakes and we beat a good team. We took a big step forward today and I'm proud of my team for that."Speedster Silva gashes RMC's defense