Lights ready to fight hard at home

Home is where the heart is. And home is where the Montana State University-Northern Lights are happy to be right now. And home, is where the Lights are hoping to pick up their first win of the 2015 season.

On Saturday, Northern (0-6, 0-7) will take their shot against the Eastern Oregon Mountaineers (2-4, 2-5) at 1 p.m. inside Blue Pony Stadium. And, though Northern is in the midst of a difficult seven-game losing streak, and comes home off a 40-0 loss at Montana Tech, there will be no quit in these Lights. No, this Northern team will show plenty of heart Saturday.

“We are just working as hard as we can to try and get that win,” said MSU-N defensive end Tyler Craig said. “That would mean a lot if we could get at least one or maybe two. It’s been difficult at times but we have stayed together and I think we are getting better every single week.”

The Lights have stayed together, and have made strides every week. Last week, Craig and the defense limited the nationally ranked Orediggers to just two offensive touchdowns. Behind Craig, Jordan Brusio, Pat Barnett, Tucker Dunn, Garrett Fowler, Jesse Morales, Garret Jericoff, Malcolm Manuel and up-and-comers like Logan Sprouse, Alex Rodriguez and Brooks Dunn, the Northern defense is showing some good signs of late.

“We played much, much better on defense at Montana Tech,” MSU-N head coach Aaron Christensen said. “Our pursuit was really good. We played very physical and we got to the quarterback some. Our defense did some really good things, and I hope that carries over to this game.”

And if it does, the Lights should do well against a talented, but struggling Mountie squad.

Once upon a time, EOU was ranked No. 13 in the NAIA, and they entered this season with high hopes. Now however, EOU is all but out of the conference championship and playoff race. Still, the Mountie offense has weapons that will challenge the Northern defense.

It starts with junior Zach Bartlow (6-0, 195) and senior Jace Billingsley (5-9, 185). Bartlow has thrown for 1,334 yards and 11 touchdowns this season, against just five interceptions. And Billingsley is his biggest help. The All-Conference running back has rushed for 637 yards and five scores, and he’s grabbed 39 passes for another 281 yards and three touchdowns. For good measure, Billingsley has also thrown a touchdown pass this season, and is as dangerous a return man as there is in the Frontier.

Still, something just hasn’t clicked for EOU head coach Tim Camp’s club this season on offense. Despite a big offensive line, speedy receivers and the do-everything Billingsley, EOU comes to Havre averaging just 29 points and 351 yards of offense. And the Mounties rank near the bottom of the Frontier Conference in most offensive categories.

The record and the stats don’t fool Christensen, though. Instead, his team is preparing for a very explosive and dangerous EOU offense this weekend.

“Eastern Oregon is a good football team,” Christensen said. “They have come up short in some tough games; they’ve played some close games, but they are very talented. On offense, it starts with their quarterback. He can run around, he can make plays with his feet and his arm. He does a really good job of keeping plays alive. And they have a bunch of guys who can make big plays. So we have to be very disciplined defensively.”

While Northern’s defense has its hands full with the Mountie offense, the Lights offense needs to atone for a difficult outing at Montana Tech. MSU-N’s struggles on offense have been well documented, and the Lights come home averaging just six points per game in conference play. Northern is last in the league in almost every offensive category, and with the season now in the stretch run, that’s something the Lights are hoping to turn around.

Of course, MSU-N will continue to lean on star running back Zach McKinley, who’s headed toward another 1,000-yard season, but in order for the running game to stay in gear, the young MSU-N passing game, led by quarterback Jess Krahn, must help out. Krahn, and receivers Jake Messerly, Qwuandre Yancy and Kagen Khamaneh must find ways to help move the chains against an EOU defense that is star-studded, led by All-Conference linebacker Gary Posten (6-1, 210) and cornerback Byron Benson (5-9, 185). And most importantly, the Lights must take care of the ball when they have it. Northern has thrown 10 interceptions and turned the ball over 17 times this season, while conversely, EOU leads the Frontier in turnover margin, with 14 takeaways against just eight turnovers.

“Our offense has got to help our defense out,” Christensen said. “A lot of the mistakes we’re making offensively, it’s due to being so young on that side of the ball. But, we have to do a better job no doubt. We’ve got to limit those mistakes and put some points on the board.

“Eastern Oregon runs a stack, 3-3 defensive front, they move guys around and try to confuse you, and they’ll bring pressure,” he continued. “And they have two cornerbacks who are really talented football players. So the challenge for us will be to protect the passer, our receivers need to run good routes, and we, as an offense, can’t let them dictate to us how the game is played.”

Challenges will again be plentiful for Northern in all three phases of the game against EOU. But, there’s one challenge the Lights have met each and every week — and they will again Saturday — that’s the challenge of facing adversity. Northern has continued to stick together during this difficult season, and according to Christensen, the character the Lights have shown will pay off in the long run. He and the Lights are really hoping that pay off comes Saturday against EOU.

“These guys continue to play hard, you could see it at Montana Tech,” Christensen said. “They are a young team that is trying very hard to get better. They are learning, they want to get better and they see the big picture. They see that we’re trying to build something. But, at the same time, they want to win. They want to go out and get a victory, and they’ll be ready to play hard again on Saturday.”

The Lights and Mounties will kick off at 1 p.m. Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium. The game is Northern’s second-to-last at home. MSU-N is back on the road next Saturday at Carroll College.

Mounties Invade

MSU-Northern Lights (0-6, 0-7) vs EOU Mountaineers (2-4, 2-5)

Saturday 1 p.m.

Blue Pony Stadium

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

Radio: 92.5 KPQX FM

Twitter: Twitter/Havredaily