2020 will feature a much-different schedule for Northern football team

Construction on the football stadium at Montana State University-Northern began last week. And while a timetable for completion and opening of the stadium hasn't been given just yet, the Lights also released their 2020 schedule last week, and they're hoping many of those games will be inside the new on-campus stadium.

Northern's 2020 schedule starts with the second half of a home-and-home deal with Arizona Christian University on Aug. 29 in Havre. The Lights will play the Firestorm for the second year in a row, after Northern went to Phoenix last season and opened the year with a 20-14 win.

ACU, which went on to go 6-4 last season, will face the Lights at 1 p.m. in Havre for Northern's opening day.

Northern, which went 0-10 in the Frontier Conference fall, has a schedule that includes several home games at the start of the 2020 season.

Head coach Andrew Rolin enters his third year at the helm for the Lights, and they'll open Frontier play against Southern Oregon Sept. 5 in Havre. The Raiders had a down year last fall, going 4-7 overall and 4-6 in the Frontier, but they did win four of their last five games, and return their starting quarter back.

The entire Frontier schedule is different for the Lights this season, including playing Carroll College just once, playing Montana Tech twice, and not having College of Idaho as the final game of the season for the first time in five years.

Instead, C of I will be Northern's first road trip of 2020, which also means the Lights travel to Caldwell for the second straight year. Northern finished the 2019 with a loss at C of I back in November, and will visit Simplot Stadium to take on the defending Frontier champions on Sept. 12. The Lights then return home to face the Montana Western Bulldogs for the first of two meetings this fall. Western, which finished 7-3 a year ago, swept the Lights in two games last fall. The Dawgs wound up second in the Frontier, and, based on what they return, will likely be the Frontier favorite going into the fall.

Following the home game with Western, the Lights go on the road for back-to-back contests. They close out September with a visit to Rocky Mountain College on Sept. 26, then they travel to Butte to face Montana Tech on Oct. 3. That game will mark the first time former Northern star quarterback and coach Kyle Samson will play against the Lights as head coach of the Orediggers. Samson was hired back in the winter to replace head coach Chuck Morrell after spending one year as Tech's offensive coordinator.

The trip to Tech is followed by a home game against Carroll on Oct. 10. That will be former Havre Blue Pony head coach Troy Purcell's second visit back to Havre. Purcell led the Saints to a 6-4 record in his first season at Carroll, including two wins over the Lights. The meeting in Havre between the Lights and Saints will be the only matchup between the two rivals this season.

Northern's bye week follows the Carroll game, then the Lights will return to action with a trip to Eastern Oregon on Oct. 24. Like with C of I, the Lights have to go to EOU for the second year in a row. Northern fell to the Mounties last fall in LaGrande, while EOU finished the season at 4-6. MSU-N then will play its final road game of 2020 when the Lights visit Dillon for a rematch with Western on Halloween.

The final road trip of the season on Oct. 31 means the Lights will finish the season where they started, in Havre. Northern hosts RMC Nov. 7. Rocky struggled last year with a 4-7 record, but the Battlin' Bears did sweep the Lights. Following that game, the Lights will close out the regular season hosting Montana Tech Nov. 14. Fittingly, that will be Samson's first game back in Havre as head coach of the Orediggers.

Of course, the season is slated to get underway with ACU coming to Havre on Aug. 29. The Lights will start fall camp in early August.

Construction on Northern's new stadium continues, however, all football activities at Northern, and all over the Frontier, have been halted due to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis. The Frontier announced late last week that all spring football, and team activities in the Frontier will not go on as scheduled.

2020 Lights Football Schedule

Aug. 29 vs Arizona Christian, 1 p.m.

Sept. 5 vs Southern Oregon, 1 p.m.

Sept. 12 at College of Idaho, 1 p.m.

Sept. 19 vs Montana Western, 1 p.m.

Sept. 26 at Rocky Mountain, 1 p.m.

Oct. 3 at Montana Tech, 1 p.m.

Oct. 10 vs Carroll College, 1 p.m.

Oct. 24 at Eastern Oregon, 1 p.m.

Oct. 31 at Montana Western, 1 p.m.

Nov. 7 vs Rocky Mountain, 12 p.m.

Nov. 14 vs Montana Tech, 12 p.m.