George Ferguson Column: In Zach McKinley, we're witnessing greatness

There weren’t a lot of bright spots for the Montana State University-Northern Lights in their 55-13 loss to the Carroll College Fighting Saints.

But for No. 24 in maroon, it seems like every week is a bright spot and I, for one, hope Northern fans realize what they’re seeing each week.

Simply put, what Northern fans get to see and cheer for each week is the best running back in the Frontier Conference, and one of the best in the NAIA. And Zach McKinley is only a sophomore.

Against the Saints, McKinley racked up 142 yards on 20 totes, and I’m not sure the fans in the stands realized just how special that performance was. Carroll College doesn’t take kindly to running backs gaining yards on them. The Saints, under the defensive brilliance of Mike Van Diest, have always been built to stop the run, and so far in 2014, they have.

But they certainly weren’t ready for McKinley. Coming into the contest, Carroll was allowing a scant 118 yards per game, and the Saints had only surrendered 100 yards rushing to a running back twice this season. But McKinley went over 100 yards on Carroll’s vaunted defense, in the first half.

And that’s just one of a hundred reasons why McKinley is so special to watch, and so valuable to the Lights. He’s not a blazing speedster, and he isn’t overly huge, yet he runs with the power of a fullback and the speed of a small scat back. In other words, he’s the complete package.

Now, I know Zach well enough to know that winning is what matters most to him, and he’d trade yards for victories. I also know he wants to praise his offensive line for all of the work they do, and I’ll do that for him because for him to have the season he’s having, the Lights’ offensive line has to be good, and they have to be playing well, and they are.

But make no mistake, McKinley is becoming a premier back in all of the NAIA, and the numbers tell the tale.

He has rushed for 1,163 yards which breaks Stephen Silva’s single-season mark of 1,105 in 2011. He also holds Northern’s career record for rushing TDs with 27, and TDs in a season with his 14 this year.

And, he’s nowhere near done. McKinley is closing in on Justin Moe’s record for carries in a season. Moe set the standard with 207 in his magical year of 2008, and he’s certainly on pace to break Silva’s single-season record of 110.5 yards per game. With two games to go, McKinley is averaging 121 yards per contest.

But the big record McKinley is drawing closer to is the most remarkable. In just 18 games as a Light, McKinley has rushed for 2,263 yards. That’s only 593 yards short of Silva’s all-time Northern record of 2,856 yards, and it has him already second on MSU-N All-time rushing lost, ahead of Moe, and the great Kyle Samson and the great Don Saisbury.

Now those numbers are staggering, but what’s even more amazing is, McKinley really wasn’t the full-time starter until the third week of last season, and he was entrenched in a battle for the starting job last fall with Jai Johnson, who is no longer with the program.

It’s also remarkable because McKinley didn’t play football for the entire 2012 year, missing that fall and spring with a leg injury.

Yet, the former CMR High standout is here now, on the verge of becoming the greatest rusher in Northern football history. He’s making great defenses like Carroll’s look average, and he’s making bad defenses look even worse.

In other words, McKinley is great, no matter who he’s lined up against.

And what’s even better is the fact that Lights fans get to watch him for another two years.

So hang on, because just like he did to Carroll Saturday, Zach McKinley is taking us all for a big, wild ride.