Andrew Rolin era will begin with an 11-game schedule

New Montana State University-Northern head football coach Andrew Rolin won't coach his first game for the Lights for more than five months now. But now he knows the schedule of games he'll have in his first season at the helm.

Northern recently released its 2018 football schedule, and for the second straight year, the Lights will play an 11-game slate. Northern will play the usual 10 Frontier Conference games, while also taking on Mayville State in a non-conference affair for the second straight year.

Mayville will be Rolin's Northern and home debut.

The Lights, who beat the Marauders last season in Mayville, will open their season with Mayville Aug. 21 at Blue Pony Stadium. That game will kick off at 1 p.m.

The non-conference game against Mayville is also the first of back-to-back home games for the Lights, who will play six times in Havre this season. On Sept. 1, Northern opens Frontier play against arch rival Rocky Mountain College.

Rocky is also one of three teams the Lights will play both home and away this season, with the others being Carroll College and UM-Western. In each of the last three seasons, the Lights only played Western once, while playing RMC and Montana Tech twice, but the rotating schedule in the Frontier, gives the Lights two games against the Bulldogs this season, and just one against the Orediggers. As is the norm for Northern in the Frontier now, the Lights will also play each of the three out-of-state schools just once, with two of those three coming at home.

So, unlike last year's schedule, which included three long road trips — Mayville, Eastern Oregon and College of Idaho — the Lights will only have to leave the Treasure State once in Rolin's first season in Havre.

After opening with back-to-back home games, the Lights' first road trip of the season will come Sept. 8, at Western, but then, Northern is right back home to face Carroll Sept. 15. The Lights wrap up September with a trip to Butte to face Tech.

Northern's bye week will come Sept. 29, before the Lights hit a six-game stretch to finish 2018. That stretch starts with a visit from Eastern Oregon Oct. 6, followed by a trip to face RMC in Billings. Northern is back at home to battle UM-Western for a second time Oct. 20.

The Lights then face their only back-to-back road swing of the entire season. Oct. 27, MSU-N visits Nelson Stadium for a rematch with Carroll College, then travels to Ashland, Oregon, for a battle with SOU.

Finally, the Lights return to Havre to face College of Idaho Nov. 10. That game will be senior day for the Lights, and will also mark the end of the regular season.

And while Northern now knows its full schedule for 2018, the Lights have plenty of work to do between now and then, including spring ball. MSU-N is set to begin its first spring under Rolin March 26, and spring drills will conclude with the Northern Spring Game April 21.

For more on the Lights, see Wednesday and Friday's Havre Daily News sports section.

Lights 2018 Football Schedule

Aug. 25 vs Mayville State 1 p.m.

Sept. 1 vs Rocky Mountain 1 p.m.

Sept. 8 at UM-Western, 1 p.m.

Sept. 15 vs Carroll College 1 p.m.

Sept. 22 at Montana Tech, 1 p.m.

Oct. 6 vs Eastern Oregon, 6 p.m.

Oct. 13 at Rocky Mountain, 1 p.m.

Oct. 20 vs UM-Western, 1 p.m.

Oct. 27 at Carroll College, 1 p.m.

Nov. 3 at Southern Oregon, 1 p.m.

Nov. 10 vs College of Idaho, 1 p.m.