MSU-Northern Notebook: Lights seniors make one last stand

At the end of Saturday’s senior day game against College of Idaho inside Blue Pony Stadium, the scoreboard showed the Lights on the short end of a 31-13 loss.

For the Northern senior class, the last two seasons have been brutal in that regard, as those Lights tasted victory just once in their last 21 games. However, the past, and even Saturday’s game, made senior day, or the senior class itself any less special.

The day started with 15 seniors being honored, including former Light Luke McKinley reading a heartfelt letter to the seniors from former head coach Mark Samson, who recruited a great many of the 2016 seniors to MSU-N.

On the field, the Lights, led by the seniors played with emotion and passion from start to finish, no matter what the scoreboard said, and, the seniors, fittingly, made big play after big play.

It started early with a bruising sack by Tyler Craig, a senior who would go on to finish a brilliant Northern career with a team-high 10 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss, two sacks and a forced fumble. Northern’s all-senior defensive line had a big day all the way around, as Jordan Brusio registered eight tackles. 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks, while Pat Barnett and Lane Urick combined for five more tackles. Senior safety Garret Jericoff also had a fumble recovery, and Logan Sprouse had a huge day with three pass breakups, and his team-high fourth interception to go along with five tackles.

On the other side, Zach McKinley wrapped up his incredible career with 181 yards on 27 carries, overcoming a second-quarter injury, while Caleb McLaren endured hits at the quarterback position to keep fighting, and linemen Pete Morales and Diamond Pedro never quit fighting either, exemplified by McKinley’s final touchdown in the fourth quarter.

Yes, it was only fitting that the seniors made the big plays for the Lights on senior day, in a game Northern didn’t win, but fought to win to the very end.

“It felt good to get one last touchdown here at Blue Pony Stadium,” McKinley said. “I owe that one to the offensive line, because they really pushed me in. So that one was special. This team never quits.

“It’s a testament to these seniors,” Northern head coach Aaron Christensen said. “They have fought and stuck it out through thick and thin their entire careers. I’m proud of them and I know our whole team is proud of them.”

The Finish Line

Zach McKinley needed 165 yards rushing to get to the 1,000-yard mark for the fourth straight season. In the second quarter, it didn’t look good. McKinley was running through the College of Idaho defense, like he does to every defense in the Frontier Conference, and then, boom, it looked like he was done.

McKinley, after an 11-yard gain, had to be carried off the field, unable to put any weight on his right leg. He missed one offensive series, and then, boom, he was back in and picked up an 11-yard run, like the warrior he is.

Eventually, McKinley, not knowing it himself, got close to the mark he needed for his 1,000 yards, as he ran 25 times against a physical C of I defense. But, it was his last two carries that brought a fitting end to his career. As it turned out, those last 32 yards, including a pitch from backup QB Holden Maki on a broken play, and his last touchdown, a two-yard, bruising run on the following play, got McKinley over the hump.

Getting to 1,000 yards is the goal of every running back, and it is something McKinley has now never failed to do in his brilliant Northern career.

And his career has been incredible, and the final numbers are now in. This season, he finished with 1,015 yards, giving him an amazing 4,702 rushing yards for his Northern career. His TD against the Yotes gives him 39 for his career, and his 27 carries Saturday put him at a staggering 912 in four years. He also averaged 111.8 yards per game over four years and an impeccable five yards per carry. His 181-yard outburst against the Yotes was also his 22nd 100-yard game, and his last game in a Lights’ uniform was also his best rushing output of his senior season.

McKinley now leaves Northern with 14 different school records, and will finish, unofficially, as the 6th-leading rusher in Frontier Conference history.

NFL Hype is Real

College of Idaho tight end Marcus Lenhardt is the modern day tight-end in a nutshell. He stands near 6-5 and weighs nearly 230 pounds. And the talk is, he could certainly be the next player from the Frontier Conference to have a shot to play professional football.

And while that's a year away, as Lenhardt is only a junior, the Lights' defense saw first-hand Saturday just why the talk about Lenhardt is real. He caught 11 passes and was the leading receiver for either team, and while he caught an early vertical pass from Darius-James Peterson, Lenhardt put on a display of possession catches which continually extended Yotes' drives throughout the game.

His performance against Northern put him over 1,000 yards receiving for the season, rare for players of his position, and it was the exact kind of performance that may draw NFL scouts to Caldwell, Idaho's Simplot Stadium next fall.

Kickin' It

Tommy Langley wasn't part of the senior day pregame festivities. That's because he has a year left with the Lights. However, Langley, a junior college transfer, had himself a pretty special day.

Langley booted two field goals, including a Northern-record 51-yarder in the first quarter, as well as a 41-yarder into the wind in the third period. That capped an excellent season for Northern's first-year kicker, as he made 7-of-9 field goals, scored 33 points, second only to Zach McKinley, and was perfect on PAT tries this season.

And while Langley will be a weapon for the Lights again next fall, Northern did say goodbye to punter Dillon Barnes, who averaged an outstanding 41 yards per boot this season, as well as kicker Jamie Toscano. Toscano, who transferred to Northern last year, but lost the kicking battle to Langley this season, got a big ovation from the Northern faithful when he came in and made the last extra point of the season after McKinley's fourth-quarter touchdown.