They laid the first brick

Homecoming at Montana State University-Northern is always special. It's always a time to celebrate. But, this weekend, and especially when the Montana State University-Northern Lights take on Carroll College, special will have a whole new meaning.

As far as football programs go, 20 years isn't very long to be around. After all, teams like Michigan and Ohio State have been playing for well over 100 years now. Even Montana State and Montana will play each other for the 119th time later this fall.

But, 20 years is exactly how old the Lights are, at least the modern-day version of the Lights. And that's why this homecoming weekend is a big one at Northern.

After being shuttered for more than two decades, football at Northern was reborn in 1998. It was brought back to life under the legendary, late, Walt Currie, and this weekend, many of those who played on that first Northern team will be back in Havre to celebrate and be honored for their contribution to helping return college football to Havre.

"What I remember the most is just, you had this group of guys, from all over the state, and out of state even, and they were a bunch of guys who missed playing football," Havre's Andy Smith, who went on to become an NAIA All-American at Northern, said. "A lot of us, we'd been out of high school for a year, or two or even more, and this was an opportunity to compete and play football again, and all of those guys, they really embraced it. Guys like Dan Yeager and Bill Maguire, or a guy like Jason Christenson who had been out of high school for a few years, this was an opportunity, a second chance to play this game they loved playing, and everybody really came together in that way."

They came together under Currie, who had led Havre High football and wrestling to great success from 1978 to 1987. Other coaches who helped form the beginnings of football at Northern included Havre's Mickey Williams, Scotty Leeds and Jeff Currie, as well as Jeff Alexander and Mike Stussie, the brother of former Minnesota Viking's star Todd Stussie.

"Walt Currie was the perfect coach, the perfect man to start the program," Smith said. "He was a great leader, and someone we all admired. He was a hard-worker, he was tough, he was old-school, and he brought those qualities to our team. We all really admired him and respected him so much."

No question, Currie was indeed the man for the job of starting a football program in Havre from scratch. And in 1998, there was no denying, Northern football was born out of humble beginnings.

The Lights played a non-Frontier Conference schedule that first year, with games against club teams from Bozeman and Great Falls, as well as trips to Minot and Williston, North Dakota, among others. It wasn't glamorous, and it was hard work, every day, but those who played that first year will always be remembered as the first Northern football team of the modern era.

"We didn't even have a locker room, really," Smith, who along with former Blue Ponies Anthony Alavarado, Kendall Griggs, Steve Spangler, Richard Jarvis, Jeff Burt, J.T. Schubert, Seth Pomeroy, Christenson and others, made up a large Havre contingent on the roster, said. "We just each had a folding chair that we'd come in an set our stuff on and get dressed every day. But for a lot of us, none of that stuff mattered. It was about getting back out there, getting a chance to play college football. We really had a great mix of guys, too, from all over. You had some guys that were right out of high school, but then you had guys like Darren Fike and Anthony Alvarado and Jason (Christenson), guys who had been out of high school for quite a while, getting another chance to play. So that was the special part, just this group of guys coming together, taking another opportunity to play football. It was a fun atmosphere, and it was a great group of guys for sure."

And, not only was it fun, the 1998 team - coaches and players - responsible for something we now take for granted most days, and that's the fact that, every fall, Havre again has college football. That team in 1998, didn't find a lot of success, but through their hard work and dedication to something bigger than all of them, they laid the bricks, the foundation for all future success Northern would go on to have, and with Currie leading the way.

"I played three years, and my third year, things really started to come together," Smith said. "That year in 2000, we were right there with every team in the conference, We went 4-6, but we lost a bunch of really close games. We lost twice to Tech by three points, we lost on a last-second field goal to Western, we went down and beat Rocky in Billings. We were really close that year, so you could see what a great job Walt did of getting the program going in the right direction in a hurry. And those guys that played on that first team, they're the ones who started it all. So that will always be special for all of us."

Indeed, the 1998 Lights were the foundation, were the beginning, from players like Kino Detrick and Smith and so many others who not only helped start the program but also would go on to have great careers for the Lights, to every player and every coach who took the field that first year. Everything that Northern football is now and has been since that year is because of them. Without that first team, the team that came together from all walks of life, and especially without Currie at the helm and generous donations of so many in the community in those days, Northern football may not be here for us to enjoy, this Saturday, or any Saturday for that matter.

"When I look back on it all now, it's pretty neat to think about that first year," Smith said. "From Walt being the great coach and leader that he was, to all the people who helped stepped up and get the program off the ground, to all the people in the community who really supported us, it's really neat. But most of all, I just think about how special that first team was. It was a great group of guys, and the friendships I made through that first year, so many of those guys have become friends for life. Again, it was just a really special group of guys who were given a second chance, or an opportunity to play college football, and I think we all just really relished that chance, and worked hard to make the most out of it. So it's really neat to look back now and know you were a part of that."

Editor's Note: This story is dedicated to the entire 1998 Northern football team. There will be an Alumni BBQ on Friday night at MSU-N as well as an Alumni Block Party starting at 6 p.m. Saturday outside of the Eagles.