Gold Mined: Lights 37, Orediggers 34

From the moment the Montana State University-Northern Lights walked off the field victorious against the Dickinson State Blue Hawks back on Sept. 5, to the time the clock struck zero Saturday afternoon, it must have felt like ages in between to the Lights. And, those final tense seconds Saturday probably felt like an eternity.

But as Montana Tech kicker Matt Berg’s game-tying field goal attempt wobbled wide right of the goal post, the wait was finally over. The Lights were finally able to taste victory again.

Berg’s miss with just :20 left in Saturday’s Frontier Conference game at sunny Blue Pony Stadium secured a 37-34 win for the Lights, their first win in well over a month, and their first conference victory of the season.

“I love my team,” said an elated sophomore running back Zach McKinley. “I couldn’t really look at that last field goal. I was just kind of hiding my head. But it didn’t go in and we won. I’m just so proud of this team. We are the best team in this league at staying in close games, but we just hadn’t been able to get over the hump. But we never quit today. Offense, defense and special teams, we just fought together, and we won.”

The lights did have to fight, every step of the way, as they watched an early 23-9 lead evaporate, with Tech scoring four straight times in the middle quarters to lead 34-23 deep into the third period. But, a resilient and opportunistic Northern defense, and huge plays down the stretch, helped lift the Lights to a much-needed, and well-deserved win.

“It’s a testament to their will,” Northern interim head coach Jake Eldridge said. “They keep going to work every day, they continue to believe, and you know, they never quit. They continue to believe in each other, and they ended up getting the W at the end of the day. I’m just excited for them. They’ve worked so hard, they’ve overcome so much, and they deserve it.”

The Lights had to overcome plenty late in Saturday’s contest.

Included in the adversity was a series of tough plays in the third quarter, which helped Tech take an 11-point lead. However, Northern never wavered, and the MSU-N defense would turn the Diggers’ away time-and-time again in the final stanza. Included in the key stops was a forced fumble on Tech quarterback Dawson Reardon, an interception by Kyle Cochran in the endzone on a play that would have put the Diggers up by two scores, and a fourth-down stop with 5:15 to play.

The last stop gave the Lights’ offense one last chance, and they took advantage.

Northern started what would be the game-winning drive on its own 15-yard-line, and two big pass plays to Jake Messerly, and a pass interference call on Tech, quickly moved the Lights into scoring position. Then, with just over two minutes to go, lightning finally struck when Travis Dean found a wide open Messerly streaking up the middle of the field. The result was a 32-yard score and a 3-point lead for Northern with just 2:07 left.

“To be honest, I actually ran the wrong route,” Messerly said. “I don’t know why, but I saw the ball and everything looked so pretty. I caught it and realized I’m in the endzone. Happy man, I guess. But it was a great throw from Travis, and we’re a happy bunch right now.”

But the happy times were short-lived, at least for the moment. MSU-N’s defense had given the Lights chances the entire fourth quarter, but now leading by three, the Lights had to make one last stand.

And it wasn’t easy. Tech quarterback Dawson Reardon made some big throws, while tailback Pat Hansen charged forward, and quickly, Tech was all the way down to the Northern 9-yard-line. From there, the Lights stood tall, including a great play in the endzone on third down as Garet Fowler broke up what would have been a game-winning Ordigger TD. On fourth down, Tech head coach Chuck Morrell sent out Berg, an outstanding kicker, for a game-tying 30-yard field goal, and overtime seemed likely. But a high snap threw off Berg’s timing, and his kick missed badly to the right. Northern and Lights’ fans exploded in celebration, and the Lights were able to run out the clock in victory formation.

“Very proud of the defense,” said sophomore Tyler Craig. “I thought we played a pretty good game. We did make some mistakes today. But when we needed to, we flew around and made plays, especially in the fourth quarter, and we got the job done.

“We didn’t put ourselves in very good situations defensively at times,” Eldridge said. “We kind of put ourselves behind the eight ball, and we kind of had to fight and claw our way back into it defensively. But again, when the plays were there, we had to make them, and our defensive ended up making them. There was no quit in our defense today, and I’m proud of them for that.”

Tech did amass 470 yards of offense, but the Northern defense stiffened when it mattered most. And a Lights’ team which came into the game last in the Frontier in takeaways, forced four Saturday, including three fumbles.

And turnovers and special team’s follies turned Saturday’s tilt into a wild affair right from the start.

Northern forced a Reardon fumble on the opening drive of the game, and Craig pounced on it. On the very next play, McKinley broke free for a 40-yard TD run, and the Lights were off and running. However, what happened next was a glaring example of how quickly tides would turn throughout the day. Jordan Rueschhoff’s PAT was blocked, and Tech’s Andre Cornell wound up running it all the way down field, before fumbling the ball forward and into the endzone, where it was recovered by a Tech lineman for two points.

And that’s how quickly momentum would change. The Orediggers added a Clay Cavander TD reception covering 45 yards near the end of the first quarter, and they had a 9-6 lead.

But as wild as the first quarter was, it was nothing compared to the next two.

The Lights quickly seized control of the game as McKinley finished off a long drive with a 6-yard TD run early in the second stanza. On Tech’s very next offensive play, Alec Bray coughed up the ball, and the Diggers’ second turnover of the half led to more Lights points as Rueschhoff finished off a short drive with a 22-yard field goal, and the Lights were up 16-9. And MSU-N wasn’t done. With 7:27 left in the half, McKinley found paydirt for the third time, as he powered his way in from 14 yards out, giving the Lights a commanding 23-9 lead.

“This is a team with a lot of fight inside of them,” Dean said. “Only the people here really understand how great this football team (is). It was tough to get going at times today. But there’s just no quit in this team, and we showed that today.”

The Lights did show it, but so did the Orediggers, who came to Havre mired in a five-game losing streak. And there was no better example of that than in the final minutes of the second period.

Tech answered McKinley’s third TD with an 11-yard scoring strike from Reardon to Bray. Then, after forcing a quick 3-and-out, the Diggers got the ball back with 1:48 left in the half. And in just three plays, Tech was in the endzone again, as Reardon hit Bray from 30 yards away to pull Tech to within 23-21 at the break.

And Tech wasn’t finished. The Orediggers capped a 70-yard opening drive of the third quarter with Reardon finding Cavander for a 30-yard TD, giving them a 28-23 lead. And on the ensuing Northern possession, Dean was picked off, and Tech took advantage as Hansen capped the next drive with a one-yard plunge on third down, and all of a sudden, the Diggers led 34-23.

But momentum is an ever-changing factor in football, and the Lights, especially on defense, were about to grab it back. With their backs against the wall, and Tech driving again after a McKinley fumble, Will DeVos dropped Reardon for a big loss, forcing a Tech punt. Northern then methodically marched down the field, going 79 yards on just six plays, and pulling to within one score when Dean hit Trevor Baum on a corner route from eight yards away.

The TD, with just 1:32 left in the third period pulled the Lights to within 34-30 and set up and intense and nerve-racking final 15 minutes.

“I think one of the main reasons why we pulled this out is because we really stuck together today,” said Messerly, who caught six passes for 104 yards, and the game-winner. “We decided to really come together and play this game as a family. No worrying about the individual stuff. We trust each other as a family, and that’s what we did today, and we were able to pull out the win.”

Indeed, Northern hasn’t quit this season, and the Lights certainly didn’t quit Saturday. Once again, they found themselves painted into a corner, but they fought all the way through.

McKinley was again sensational, rushing for 190 yards on 22 carries, to go along with three scores. He also caught two balls for 20 yards, while Baum had five grabs for 62 yards and the important score that got the Lights within a touchdown late in the third.

Dean, who came into the game averaging over 300 yards passing per contest, had a rougher day, but he never wavered, leading the Lights all day long, and throwing the game-winning strike when everything was on the line. He finished 13-of-26 for 186 yards, with two TDs and one INT.

“It’s a testament to Travis Dean,” Eldridge said. “He’s the vocal leader of this team, it all comes back to him. And he led us today. And when we needed it the most, he stepped up, in the clutch and made a really big play.

“It’s phenomenal, we never quit,” Dean said. “A lot of people in our situation would kind of roll over and die, but that’s not this team, and that’s not how this team played today. We just kept fighting, to the last whistle, and there’s nothing better than seeing that clock roll down while taking a knee. It’s a great feeling, and I’m so proud to be part of this team.”

And the Lights had to fight all the way. Northern, which averages 500 yards of offense, was held to 384 yards Saturday. Meanwhile Tech rode the hard running of Hansen, who gained 180 yards on 31 carries, and the heady plays of Reardon, who passed for 199 yards and ran for 57 more, to four unanswered scores in the middle portion of the contest. Cavander also hauled in six passes for 107 yards, while Bray grabbed eight balls for 98 yards.

But when it mattered most, the Lights’ defense didn’t back down. Linebacker Kaimi Kanehailua racked up 14 tackles and recovered one of Tech’s three fumbles, which he forced. Butch Hyder added 13 stops and big tackle for loss, while Craig had seven stops two TFL’s and a sack to go with his fumble recovery. Patrick Barnett also had seven stops, while Hunter Chandler forced a fumble and Malcolm Manuel added a key pass breakup in the third quarter.

And at the end of the day, no matter how much they had to fight, how much they had to come from behind, and how much adversity they faced, the Lights did it, they grabbed a much-needed, and well-deserved win. Northern improved to 2-5 overall and 1-5 in the Frontier, while Tech dipped to 1-6 overall and 1-6 in conference play.

“Not only did we not quit, but we never panicked either,” Eldridge said. “And that goes back to all the hard work this team has put in. They have put in the work, and we have been preaching to them that it will pay off if they continue to believe in each other. And that’s what happened today. Even when we got behind, and things weren’t going our way, against a really good Montana Tech team, we didn’t press, we didn’t think we had to do anything overly special. We just knew we had to execute, and when we needed it the most we were able to execute.

“So again, I’m just really happy for these guys,” he continued. “They knew they had what it takes to win these types of games, against good football teams, and that hard work and belief finally paid off for them today.”

The Lights will look to start a new winning streak when they travel to LaGrande, Ore., for a matchup with the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers this Saturday. Northern is back home Nov. 1 to battle Carroll College. And the Lights will finish the season with two of their last three games at home.

But for now, the Lights are going to savor not just a victory, but an exciting and hard-fought one at that, and one that was a long time coming.

“It’s the best feeling ever,” Craig said. “To go to work every week, to put in the hard work and all the hours like we have been, to have it pay off with a win like this, there’s no better feeling.”

Finishing

Lights are 2-5 overall and 1-5 in the Frontier; Next Up: at Eastern Oregon

Lights Notes: Saturday's win was Northern's first against Tech in its last four attempts, and it avenged last year's loss on a hail-mary pass in the final seconds at Blue Pony Stadium. McKinley has now rushed for over 100 yards five times this season, and needs just 32 yards to reach 1,000 for the season. In four seasons at Tech, Hansen has rushed for over 100 yards five different times against the Lights. Not only did MSU-N force four turnovers, they also blocked a PAT, forced another missed PAT and saw Berg miss to FG attempts.