Lights closing in on spring finale

The heavy rains last week wreaked havoc on sports in the Havre area and not even the Montana State University-Northern football team was immune.

The Lights, who were scheduled to practice Friday, had to postpone their workout because the rain soaked the MSU-N practice field.

“The field was basically covered in puddles,” Northern head coach Aaron Christensen said. “So we ended up having to cancel that practice, but we are going to make it up this week on Wednesday.”

That means that the Lights, who were limited to just two practices last week, will have four workouts this week leading up to their 2016 spring game, which will take place at their practice field Saturday. Christensen said the Lights would practice Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday this week, followed by a walkthrough Friday in preparation for the scrimmage Saturday.

“Things have been going well,” Christensen said. “We still have a lot of work to do, but we have seen a lot of improvement. It’s just good to get a lot of these guys reps and just get them out there playing because a lot of them are really inexperienced.”

Despite that inexperience, Christensen said he has been happy with his team’s development during the spring. He said on offense, he was pleased with the way the team has cut down on negative players and turnovers.

“One of the things we wanted to focus on was limiting our bad plays and our mistakes offensively,” Christensen said. “And I think that we have done a much better job of that.”

The second-year head coach praised his quarterbacks and his offensive line, but said that his offense still needs some playmakers to develop on the outside.

“I think the farther we get away from the ball, the more inexperienced we are,” Christensen said. “But we have a lot of young guys out there that are working to get better. You can see them improving each day, you can see them understanding things better and using better technique. It’s all just part of that process.”

On the defensive side of the ball, Christensen said he was pleased with how some of his younger players are coming along, yet he said the defense will still rely heavily on veterans. Of course, the defensive line still has the likes of defensive ends Tyler Craig and Jordan Brusio, as well as nose tackle Pat Barnett, but there are a number of young contributors at both the second and third levels of the defense that need to contribute this season for that side of the ball to truly get better.

“I think that we have definitely gotten a lot better,” Christensen said. “We still have a lot of work to do and we are just trying to get better day-by-day, but I like the direction that we are headed. Again, it’s just important for those guys to continue to get more reps and get a better understanding of what their role is out on the field.”

Overall, Christensen said it has been a productive spring for his football team and that he was looking forward to seeing his players compete against each other in more of a game-like atmosphere.

“I think to have them in some more game situations will be a good thing,” Christensen said. “We are going to be keeping track of down and distance and moving the football, so it will have a much more game feel to it and it will be good to get some of those younger guys a chance to experience some of those different scenarios.”

The Lights will hold a total of four practices this week leading up to their spring game. The scrimmage will get underway Saturday at the Northern practice field at 12 p.m.