Lights will make long road trips this fall

The Montana State University-Northern football team will play an 11-game schedule this fall. And for the first tie in ages, Northern's non-conference opponent will not be named the Blue Hawks.

MSU-N head coach Aaron Christensen has added a non-conference opponent from the North Star Athletic Association. but, instead of perennial Northern opponent Dickinson State, the Lights will travel to Mayville, North Dakota to take on the Mayville State Comets. The game is set to be the first meeting between the two NAIA schools.

Last fall, Northern played a 10-game, Frontier Conference only schedule, but in Christensen's first season at the helm, the Lights traveled to play Dickinson State for their season-opener. Mayville won't be Northern's season-opener however, instead, the Lights will play four Frontier games before visiting Mayville on Sept. 30. That will leave MSU-N with only the season-opening weekend of Aug. 26 as the bye week.

Last season, Mayville went 4-6 overall and 2-4 in the North Star Athletic Association. The Comets are led by first-year head coach Sean Thom, who was hired in December. Thom was an NAIA All-American linebacker at Faulkner University.

Before heading to Mayville, Northern will play four conference games to open the season. The Lights, who went 1-9 last season, begin the 2017 campaign with a road trip to Rocky Mountain College Sept. 2. Northern will then make its home debut against defending Frontier champion Montana Tech Sept. 9 at Blue Pony Stadium. Following that game, the Lights travel to Helena on Sept. 16 for the first of two meetings with Carroll College, then Northern comes back home to take on UM-Western Sept. 23.

After visiting the Comets to close out September, the Lights will make another long road trip, heading west to LaGrande, Oregon to battle Eastern Oregon University, a team fresh off a spectacular run in last year's NAIA playoffs. That game will be a night game on Oct. 7, in return for Northern hosting the Mounties in a night game in Havre last fall. On Oct. 14, the Lights will be back in Blue Pony Stadium to host Rocky Mountain College, followed by a road trip to Tech on Oct. 21. MSU-N will then close out October with a home game against the Fighting Saints Oct. 28.

Northern will play its final two games of the regular season in November. The Lights' final home game will come Nov. 4 when Frontier powerhouse Southern Oregon comes to Blue Pony Stadium. The Lights will also celebrate senior day that afternoon. MSU-N then closes out the regular season with a road trip to North Idaho College Nov. 11. The trip to Caldwell, Idaho means the Lights will travel outside Montana for three games this fall.

MSU-N will open the season Sept. 2 in Billings against RMC. All of Northern's games will be 1 p.m. kickoffs, with the exception of the game at EOU, and two 12 p.m. start times in November.

2017 Northern Football Schedule

Sept. 2 at Rocky Mountain, 1 p.m.

Sept. 9 vs Montana Tech, 1 p.m.

Sept. 16 at Carroll, 1 p.m.

Sept. 23 vs UM-Western, 1 p.m.

Sept. 30 at Mayville State, 1 p.m.

Oct. 7 at Eastern Oregon, 6 p.m.

Oct. 14 vs Rocky Mountain, 1 p.m

Oct. 21 at Montana Tech, 1 p.m.

Oct. 28 vs Carroll, 1 p.m.

Nov. 4 vs Southern Oregon, 12 p.m.

Nov. 11 at North Idaho, 12 p.m.