Dawgs Bite Back

Andrew Rolin challenged his Montana State University-Northern Lights to start fast. It was a mantra he preached all week long leading up to Northern's home game with the nationally ranked UM-Western Bulldogs.

It turns out, the Lights were listening to their head coach.

Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium, the Lights jumped on the No. 18 Bulldogs, and eventually led 13-7 at halftime. Yet the quick start was only half the battle. In the final 30 minutes, the Dawgs scored 35 unanswered points, and they walked out of Havre with a 42-13 Frontier Conference win.

The loss dropped Northern to 0-7 in the Frontier, while Western improved to 6-1 and remained in first place in the league standings with three games left. And while Rolin had plenty of praise for the way his team stood up to the Bulldogs, who are perhaps the biggest surprise in all of the NAIA this season, he was also plenty disappointed with the end result.

"We came out clicking on all cylinders to start the game," Rolin said. "Our guys were ready to go, and they all did their jobs. They were executing exactly how we know they can. But I thought when things got tough today, we folded. We didn't keep our composure, no one stepped up and showed any leadership, and that's disappointing because we showed flashes of what we're capable of today. We showed a glimpse of being a very good football team, but then we also showed a glimpse of being a young, inexperienced football team. So, we've got to keep growing up as a team. And we will. This team will grow up. I will make sure of that."

Rolin was spot on. In the first 30 minutes, the Lights looked the part of a team ready to take the Bulldogs down and spoil their march toward a Frontier championship.

Northern seemed to move the ball at will on a Western defense which came in ranked first or second in almost every defensive category in the league. The early result was two Diego Morales field goals, both of which were set up by big plays, one coming on an end-around from Keagan Stroop, and the second on a couple of key receptions by Bryce Bumgardner. Morales' first field goal was also sparked by an interception from Caymus Thomas on Western's second possession of the game, as the Lights led 6-0 early in the second quarter.

"The coaches preach all the time to us about starting fast," Thomas said. "As a defense, we've been getting a lot of stops late in games, when it probably didn't matter as much. Today, we came out and were getting stops right away, and against a very good, very polished team, so that was huge for us. The whole team, offense, defense, everybody, we got off to a really fast start today, and that's huge for us. We're a young team, and being able to start like that against a team like Western, it's big for us."

Things got even bigger, and brighter in the second quarter. Northern got another stop on Western's first possession of the stanza, and B.J. Hatcher partially blocked the Bulldog's ensuing punt. Two plays later, Tommy Wilson threw a perfect ball over the top of the Western defense and it dropped into Marvin William's hands for 68-yard strike. Williams never broke stride on the play, and the result was a stunning 13-0 lead for the Lights. And while Western would finally answer with a Jon Jund touchdown run, Northern held the Dawgs scoreless for the final seven minutes of the half, and took a 13-7 lead into the break.

"Our defense played great today," Rolin said. "Not just in the first half, but the whole game. They were flying around, making plays, making tackles and getting the ball back to our offense. So we certainly felt very good about where we were at halftime."

The Lights had every reason to feel good, but clearly there was no panic in the Western lockerroom either. And in the third quarter, the Dawgs took over.

On the first possession of the second half, Western marched 72 yards in just six plays, with Jund finishing the drive with his second TD keeper of the afternoon. And only a few minutes later, things got worse for the Lights, as Sam Tapia had a punt blocked deep in Northern's end of the field, and on the next play, Kylar Prante plunged in from the one-yard-line. It was a tough sequence for the Lights, as in a span of just 3:38, they went from leading 13-7 to trailing 20-13.

"Those things are going to happen," Rolin said. "But it's how you handle that adversity, and we didn't handle it well at all. I was really disappointed in the way we responded to that part of the game. We have to do a much better job of handling that adversity."

The adversity Northern faced at the start of the third quarter would eventually snowball on the Lights. Despite continuing to move the ball effectively, against a very stout Western defense, Northern was shut out in the second half. On the other side of the ball, Western tacked on a Mark Karchenko 44-yard field goal to lead 23-13 after the third quarter, and two more Karchenko field goals in the fourth. The Bulldogs also got a 24-yard TD pass from Jund, and a long TD run late to blow the game wide open, on its way to its third straight win.

"Again, I thought our defense played really well today," Rolin said. "Western is a very good offensive team. You see what their quarterback is capable of. So for us to make as many stops and as many plays as we did defensively today, I was very pleased. We didn't do enough offensively in the second half, though. We were really clicking in the first half, and then we started shooting ourselves in the foot again a little in the second half. Bottom line, we just have to execute better."

No question the Lights executed well on offense in stretches of the game. The Lights tallied 325 yards, with Wilson throwing for 142 and a score. MSU-N also rushed for 183 yards on the top rushing defense in the league, with Jett Robertson gaining 66 yards on 19 carries, and Wilson adding 46 on 12 totes. Williams had a huge game for Northern with four catches for 91 yards and a score, while Bumgardner hauled in seven passes for 49 yards.

On the other side of the ball, Northern stymied the Dawgs in the first 30 minutes, but Western still finished with 24 first downs and 460 yards of offense. Jund threw for 253 yards and rushed for 43 more, while Devyn Christian added 65 yards on just four carries, as well as a TD.

The Lights' defense was led by Thomas, who had 11 tackles, a pick and two pass breakups. Jaren Maki also had 11 tackles, while Devariej Criss added seven. Northern also got outstanding pressure on Jund at times, as Joe Fehr and Trenadae Umi-Tuato'o each had sacks.

"I thought our defense took a big step forward today," Thomas said. "As a unit, I thought it was really encouraging the way we played today. So we just have to keep working, keep getting better."

As a whole, the Lights took a step forward, too, especially in the first 30 minutes. Saturday was Northern's first lead at halftime in a Frontier Conference game in almost two full seasons. But the end result was not what the Lights were looking for, and Rolin said his team must continue to battle and grow as it reaches the final three games of 2018. Northern will have to grow up on the road, too, as the Lights travel to Carroll College next Saturday, and Southern Oregon Nov. 3.

"It's a tough process, learning to do things right all the time," Rolin said. "It's a tough process of growing as a young team and learning how to win, especially in this league. And these guys are going through that right now. But we're going to stick to that process. We're going to continue to strive to do things the right way, all the time, and we'll get there. You saw some of it today. We played really well and did things the right way for a half. I know we'll get there."

Comeback

Lights are 0-7 in Frontier, 1-7 overall; Next Up: at Carroll

Saturday

Lights Notes: Northern's 13-7 halftime lead was the Lights' first lead at the break in a Frontier Conference game since October of 2016. Bumgardner has now caught five or more passes in his last five games. The Lights are still dealing with losses to injury, as senior left tackle Clint Willis was out with a leg injury. Western hasn't lost at Blue Pony Stadium since 2012. Former Light Jake Messerly caught two passes for 17 yards for the Dawgs on Saturday. Messerly played for Northern from 2013-15.