Lights brace for a charging Bears

Last week, Montana State University-Northern head coach Andrew Rolin got his first taste of being the Lights head coach. Saturday, he will get his first taste of Frontier Conference football.

Last weekend, in Rolin's debut, the Lights dominated Mayville State, beating the Comets 49-20 and while 1-0 sounds good, getting to a 2-0 will be a much more difficult task as Northern welcomes 20th-ranked Rocky Mountain College into Blue Pony Stadium Saturday. The scheduled start time is 1 p.m.

"I think this is going to be a big test for us," Northern head coach Andrew Rolin said. "They are a disciplined football team, and they just do their jobs on both sides of the ball. They do exactly what they are coached and that's why they're good. They run the ball well; they have some good, talented quarterbacks. It looks like a program that is established and experienced."

The Battlin' Bears had high expectations coming into the season and were ranked No. 20 in the NAIA preseason poll, as well as being picked second by the coaches in the Frontier preseason poll. Last Thursday, against Carroll, the Bears showed why they are so highly thought of by thrashing the Saints 19-0. Defensively, Rocky dominated, registering seven sacks and holding Carroll to just six first downs, as well as 126 total yards.

"It's going to be a fun test for us," Rolin said. "Their front seven is disciplined and they have some talent on the edge with the kid (Ryder Rice), so it will be fun to see us compete against this defense and offense."

After Ryder Rice, the player Rolin mentioned, racked up four sacks and four tackles for loss in the win over Carroll, he earned the attention of the entire conference and was named Frontier Defensive Player of the Week. Defensive back Keenan Fagan is another name to watch for the Bears. He finished 2017 with seven interceptions and also had a pick last week against Carroll. Chase Bertelsen, a three-year starter at linebacker is another standout for Rocky, he opened the season with nine tackles, 0.5 sacks and a tackle loss.

The Bears may have the Frontier's Defensive Player of the Week but Northern has the Frontier Offensive Player of the Week in running back Jett Robertson, who exploded for 249 total yards last week. Robertson carried the ball 28 times for 167 yards and three scores in addition to five receptions for 82 yards and another touchdown.

Robertson was the workhorse for the Lights in the opening game, touching the ball 33 times, and Saturday, Northern will likely try to get him the ball as much as possible.

"We want to be balanced," Rolin said. "But the running game is a huge part of our offense, I think that's evident. I want to run the football. I want to establish the run and I have said that from the get-go, and we will continue to run and do what we can to get (Jett) and our other playmakers the football."

Another key factor for the Lights will be turnovers. Starting quarterback Tommy Wilson was stellar throwing the football against Mayville, completing 26-of-35 passes for 397 yards and three touchdowns. However, he did fumble twice, something Rolin said can't happen this week.

"Tommy has done a great job of taking care of the football throughout fall camp, since we have gotten here really," Rolin said, "and he did throwing the football last week, too. He just had a couple of fumbles, but we will get that cleaned up. Turnover margin is the most important stat in football. We gave it away too many times last week and we need to clean that up. That was a huge emphasis for us offensively and we have to take the ball away on defense. That's how you win football games, take the ball away and take care of it on offense and that's something we have emphasized and if we do that this week, we got a shot to win."

Taking care of the football is important, but if last week was any indication, the Lights can be more than a ball-control offense. Robertson was dynamic running and catching the football and he was just one weapon in the passing game. Wilson also has a slew of talented receivers to target, including Fotios Jordanoglou, who hauled in seven receptions for 131 yards and a touchdown last week. Bryce Baumgarder also built on a strong fall camp and caught three passes for 67; Marvin Williams caught three for 46 and MSU-N also got three receptions each from tight ends Jordan Pugh and Jared Eisenbarth.

Moving the ball against a stout Rocky defense will be a challenge for the Lights, but the Bears offense will also present some challenges of its own, namely the potential to see three different quarterbacks. The Bears used all three of their quarterbacks in the 19-0 win over Carroll and while Nathan Dick is listed as the starter on the depth chart, Drew Korf should also see time, along with Jacob Bakken.

"No matter who is playing quarterback, we have to focus on what we do defensively," Rolin said. "I don't think it's going to change things that much."

Dick is more of a running threat and carried the ball nine times for 70 yards and a score against Carroll. He also completed 3-of-7 passes for 43 yards. Korf attempted 21 passes against the Saints, yet he completed only eight for 66 yards. Bakken was 2-of-3 for 43 yards. Rocky also got 34 yards on 11 attempts from running back Mason Melby. Sam Sparks and Cody McCombs also combined for 55 yards on 11 rushes. Lucas Overton, who caught four passes for 66 yards against Carroll will be one of the top targets in the passing game for the Bears. Max Gray is another.

"This is a big test for us defensively," Rolin said. "They have some talented players at the tight end position and at the quarterback position across the board. It's going to be a fun test and we will see how we react to what they do offensively."

Northern got a big game from Caymus Thomas last week and will need another strong effort from the corner. Morgan McCrary and Ostin Welch also made their presence felt in the secondary. Defensive ends Joe Fehr and B.J. Hatcher, who each got a sack last week, will also be key in applying pressure on the quarterback. The most important thing, though, will be finding a way to get a takeaway or two.

"That is something we have really focused on here from day one," Rolin said. "We need to win the turnover margin, otherwise are going to be facing an uphill battle."

One thing that should favor the Lights is playing at home, in front of a crowd desperate to see MSU-N notch its first win in Frontier Conference play since 2016. Kickoff between Rocky and Northern is set for 1 p.m., inside Blue Pony Stadium.