Welcome Home Lights

In football, it’s not often that a team gets to start its season over. But, thanks to playing an earlier than usual non-conference game, that’s exactly what the Montana State University-Northern Lights are getting this weekend.

A chance to start over.

Northern opened its 2015 campaign, and the Aaron Christensen era with a 17-7 loss at Dickinson State back on Aug. 22. The Lights then had a bye week, and another six days to get ready for their home debut, which also happens to be their Frontier Conference opener.

That opener is Saturday when the Lights (0-1) take on the Montana Tech Orediggers (0-0) at 1 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium.

And like the season-opener at DSU, the Lights are excited to get on the field against the Orediggers. In fact, they’ve been waiting for Saturday for a full two weeks now.

“Any time you lose a game, you really can’t wait to get to the next game,” Christensen said. “But I think the bye week really helped us. I think we used it well. But there’s no questions the guys are excited for this game. It does kind of feel like we are starting from the beginning.”

During the bye week, Christensen said the team focused on things that didn’t go its way in the loss to DSU, and not so much on getting ready for Tech. Northern needed to shore up what Christensen called minor mistakes and miscues during the game against the Blue Hawks, things he said were very correctable.

But, when Monday rolled around, the Lights were ready to turn their attention to the Orediggers, who are making their season debut after going a dismal 1-9 a year ago. In that tough season, in which the Diggers finished last in the Frontier Conference, their lone win came against MSU-N, ironically in the Frontier opener last August. Tech and head coach Chuck Morrell would like to duplicate that magic Saturday, but Northern is hoping things turn out much more like the thrilling 37-34 victory the Lights grabbed last October in Blue Pony Stadium.

“The hard part is, we have to go off of last year pretty much to prepare for them (Orediggers) because they haven’t played a game yet,” Christensen said. “So we’re just kind of guessing off what we saw last year from them. But at the same time, we feel like it’s to our advantage that we’ve already played a game.”

Going off of last year will help Northern prepare for the schemes the Lights will see from Tech, but not so much the personnel. The Orediggers have a few key guys back at key positions, like linebacker David Meis (6-3, 225), a two-time NAIA All-American, and safety Gunnar Kayser (6-4, 200) on defense, as well as four-year starting wide receiver Alec Bray (5-11, 180) on offense. But at two very key positions, the Diggers are going to look very different come Saturday.

For the first time in four years, Northern will not have to try to defend running back Pat Hansen, Tech’s all-time leading rusher. His graduation leaves the bulk of the carries to talented junior Nolan Saraceni (5-10, 195). And perhaps the biggest change will be at quarterback. During Morrell’s tenure, Tech has really struggled to cement a true starter and leader at the position, but he just may have found one in sophomore transfer Quinn McQueary (6-3, 205). The former Montana State Bobcat won the starting job in a heated battle with returning starter Dawson Reardon, and he brings a different skill set to the table. McQueary, who led MSU to its only touchdown in last year’s Cat-Griz game in Missoula, is tall, fast and strong, and he’s certainly going to give Frontier Conference defenses fits for years to come. And Northern’s defense is the first to face McQueary in an Oredigger uniform.

But even with new personnel in key areas, Christensen says he doesn’t expect Tech to change its identity much.

“On offense, they’ll be a team that runs multiple formations,” Christensen said. “But, they’re a team that ultimately wants to find ways to run the football as much as possible. So our defense has to recognize that.

“Defensively, they have about half their starters back so they’re experienced there,” he continued. “They are a 3-man front, and they do some things to try and confuse the offense. So it’s important for us to identify what they’re doing correctly. It’s going to be very important for our offense to be on the same page.”

Indeed, the Lights’ offense is really hoping to get going after scoring just seven points and failing to crack 200 yards against the Blue Hawks last month. Defensively, the Lights held up at DSU, led by a monster effort from both ends Tyler Craig and Jordan Brusio, as well as another strong performance from tackle Pat Barnett.

Offensively, however, the Lights just couldn’t get going. In horrible wind, quarterback Jess Krahn was able to complete just four passes, but even Northern’s stout running game, led by All-American candidate Zach McKinley, and fellow junior Mario Gobbato, really couldn’t get the head of steam it needed.

And that’s something that will have to change this week if Northern wants to start conference play with a victory.

“Hopefully, we got some things corrected over the bye week,” Christensen said. “Hopefully, we took full advantage of that week.”

Either way, it’s a new week for Northern and a new chance to shine. The Lights are making their 2015 home debut, including debuting brand new home uniforms, and a new-old look to their helmets. It’s an exciting time for the Lights, and a chance to not only put the loss to DSU in their rearview mirror, but also get off to a 1-0 start in the rugged Frontier.

“The kids have been working hard,” Christensen said. “It’s already been a long time since we played a game. So they’re excited. They’re excited to play their first game at home, and they’re looking forward to getting back out there on the field.”

Saturday’s game between the Lights and Orediggers will kick off at 1 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium. The Lights are on the road next Saturday, traveling to Billings to face the Rocky Mountain College Battlin’ Bears.

Home Opener

MSU-Northern Lights (0-1) vs Montana Tech Orediggers (0-0)

Saturday 1 p.m.

at Blue Pony Stadium

Streaming: http://www.msun.edu/athletics

Radio: 92.5 KPQX FM

Twitter: Twitter/Havredaily