What we saw, what we'll see

On the last weekend in September, the realization hit home that the fall sports season is already half over. It’s already getting to be crunch time in high school football season and volleyball season, and with that, the snow flakes won’t be far behind.

We also saw, or at least hear plenty of exciting and interesting things from this past weekend in sports in our area. And here a few things we saw that might not have been highlighted in Monday’s Hi-Line Sports Roundup.

At Saturday’s football game between the Montana State University-Northern Lights and No. 7 Southern Oregon Raiders, one thing was abundantly clear early on … the weather was going to be a big factor. And it was as a cool, stiff breeze blowing directly out of the east. Now, they say wind is not a kicker’s friend unless it’s directly at their back, but both kickers in Saturday’s game were impressive. Northern’s Jordan Rueschhoff made one field goal kicking right into the teeth of the wind, and he nearly drilled a 47-yarder in the same direction. That kick came up just inches short, and Rueschhoff was clearly disappointed, but it was still a tremendous boot given the conditions.

Meanwhile, playing on a team which has a high-powered offense, SOU kicker Aldrick Rosas doesn’t get many accolades. But he drilled a 41-yard field goal Saturday that probably would have been good from about 50 and his punts, in both directions were a thing of beauty.

Who says kickers can’t perform in bad weather?

Speaking of Northern, we didn’t physically see it in Havre, but the MSU-N volleyball team got its first Frontier Conference win of 2014 Saturday afternoon. The Skylights beat UM-Western in four sets, snapping a six-match losing streak in the process. Northern will return home to face rival Great Falls this Saturday night, and I can assure fans that this MSU-N team is much better than its record indicates.

And while there wasn’t a lot to see this past weekend in Havre, that will change this coming weekend.

It’s homecoming week at Havre High and the Blue Ponies have a huge Central A showdown with Belgrade Friday night. The game could determine the winner of the conference this season, and with Belgrade possessing a potent offense, it would sure help the Ponies out if a huge crowd packed Blue Pony Stadium and made lots of noise every time the Panthers had the ball.

The Havre High cross country teams are also home this weekend, and it’s the only time the Ponies race in Havre all year. The course at MSU-Northern is one of the toughest in the state, and it’s always fun to watch the Ponies run it. The HHS volleyball team will play its homecoming match Thursday night when the Ponies host the Class AA Great Falls Bison.

There’s also the Skylights playing UGF in volleyball Saturday night and the Glacier Nationals are back in the Havre Ice Dome for two games against the Yellowstone Quake this weekend.

So we’re certainly going to see plenty of exciting sporting events this weekend.