Lights out to spoil Yotes' first visit

It’s no secret, the Montana State University-Northern Lights want to win, and they want to win badly. Five-game losing streaks will make a team even hungrier for that W. But the Lights aren’t alone in their quest. And Saturday’s opponent, the College of Idaho Yotes come to Havre equally as hungry.

The Lights (0-4, 0-5) and Yotes (1-3, 1-4) have a combined one win this season, and C of I’s came all the way back on Aug. 29. So something will have to give when the Yotes make their historic first visit to Blue Pony Stadium Saturday. Kickoff is set for 1 p.m.

And while both teams come into the game having not tasted victory in quite some time, it’s the Lights who are really struggling. Before a bye last week, Northern was beaten 82-9 at defending national champion Southern Oregon. And in all phases of the game, MSU-N is hoping to show marked improvement against the Yotes.

“It’s pretty simple, on offense, defense and special teams, we have to play better, we have to execute better,” Northern head coach Aaron Christensen said. “A lot of times this season, we put a couple of good plays or good drives together, and then we take two or three steps back with mistakes. That comes from being a young football team. And it will get better with more experience and more reps. But yeah, there’s no question, we have to play better, and that’s been an emphasis this past week.”

The Lights are a young football team, and they do need more experience. But, in the difficult Frontier Conference, the numbers Northern is putting up so far this season have left the Lights way behind.

Offensively, MSU-N averages just five points and 216 total yards per game. Defensively, Northern is allowing over 40 points and nearly 500 yards per game, so on both sides of the ball, MSU-N has certainly struggled.

However, there are bright spots, and the Lights will try and expose those in Saturday’s return to Blue Pony Stadium. The Lights are fifth in the league in rushing with Zach McKinley averaging 97 yards per outing and a solid 4.7 yards per carry. On defense, MSU-N has gotten good pressure on the quarterback, with ends Tyler Craig and Jordan Brusio combining for 6.5 sacks and 12 tackles for loss. MSU-N is also better against the run, while linebacker Jesse Morales has really come on strong as of late, and is among the league leaders in tackles with 41.

And those aforementioned bright spots could certainly helped the Lights against the Yotes, who beat Northern in a thriller 35-31 last year in Caldwell, Idaho.

The Yotes are a spread team that likes to run the ball on offense. They have a dangerous, dual-threat quarterback in TeeJay Gordon (5-10, 180) who was among the league leaders in rushing a season ago. But this season, due to the emergence of running back Zach Garzoli (5-8, 170), Gordon hasn’t had to use his legs as much. Fellow tailback Kyle Merritt (5-10, 220) also adds to a C of I squad that averages 180 yards on the ground. However, Gordon can hit the big play from the passing game, too, and he has the best tight end in the Frontier in Marcus Lenhardt (6-4, 225).

“You have to be disciplined defensively against them (Yotes),” Christensen said. “They run a lot of power and zone read, and the quarterback can really hurt you with his legs. They have some really good weapons, too, a couple of strong running backs and their tight end is a really good football player. They do some things that make you have to choose out there, so you have to be really disciplined, and that’s something we’ve been working a lot on this week.”

Defensively, the Yotes have struggled at times, much like the Lights. C of I gives up 30 points and over 400 yards of offense per outing. And despite having a big front four, led by defensive tackle Josh Price (6-2, 295), the Yotes have been susceptible to the run. They allow 242 yards on the ground, which is seventh in the Frontier.

Conversely, C of I’s defense is built to keep everything in front of it. Head coach Mike Moroski employs a 4-2-5 defense, and it’s an opportunistic one. The Yotes are strong against passing teams, and cornerback Nate Moore (5-9, 170) and safety Cory Brady (6-0, 185) are as good as it gets in coverage. Moore has five interceptions and a team-high 37 tackles coming into Saturday’s game, while Brady led the Frontier in INTs a year ago.

“They are a four-man front and they’re big up front,” Christensen said of the C of I defense. “They like to bring pressure, and they’re really athletic in the secondary.”

So, that means sophomore quarterback Jess Krahn and his young group of Lights’ receivers will have to be on alert against one of the better pass defenses in the conference. But Christensen said, with the Yotes’ pressure up front, his offensive line must play better in order to give Krahn time to find his receivers.

“We need to protect the quarterback a little bit better than we have been,” Christensen said. “Our passing game needs more consistency, and part of that is, we’re just really young. But we also need to be better in pass protection than we have been, especially against a good defense like theirs (Yotes).”

Consistency is something both teams will be looking to find Saturday. Both teams indeed have their perceived weaknesses, as well as their strengths, but the bottom line is, neither has found a way to get in the win column enough. C of I, which had a breakout first season in the Frontier in 2014 is now starting to feel the growing pains of not only being a young team, but of being a new program.

Meanwhile, on the other side, Northern is feeling the growing pains of not only being a young team as well, but also being a program that’s rebuilding. And for the Lights, attitude and execution will go a long way toward making strides, not only Saturday, but for the remainder of the season.

“We talk a lot about this, are we on the fence or are we all in?” Christensen said. “We have to have guys that are all in, all of the time. Those are the guys we’re going to win with. And with how it’s gone so far this season, it has been hard. But I think we have a lot of guys here with the right attitude. We have a group of guys who are willing to put in the work to win games. So, with that, if we continue to have that mind-set, and we just go out and execute better than we have, if we just continue to improve, we’re going to be fine.”

Saturday’s game between the Lights and Yotes will kick off at 1 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium. Northern returns to the road next Saturday, paying a visit to Montana Tech.

Halfway Point

MSU-Northern Lights (0-4, 0-5) vs College of Idaho Yotes (1-3, 1-4)

Saturday 1 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

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

Radio: 92.5 KPQX FM

Twitter: Twitter/Havredaily