MSU-N Northern Game Day Notebook: Kaymen Cureton debuts at quarterback for the Lights

Heading into the fall camp, transfer quarterback Kaymen Cureton was one of four players competing for the starting quarterback spot. While he was the only quarterback not on the roster this past spring season, he had an established relationship with MSU-N head coach Andrew Rolin.

When Rolin was the recruiting coordinator at San Jose State, he tried to get Cureton to join the Spartans. Instead, Cureton chose to play for Nevada, where he got playing time as a true freshman in 2017. However, he found his way back to Rolin as he transferred to Eastern Kentucky University and now to MSU-N.

In fall camp, Cureton beat out all three returning quarterbacks to be named the starting quarterback heading into their season opener. In their season opener against the Yotes, Cureton faced adversity but also showed some promise.

On their first three drives of the game, Cureton and the Lights failed to score. But on their fourth drive, Cureton showed why Rolin named him the starter. On the drive, he used his legs to run for 21 yards and to scramble to find Tyrese Rios for 31 yards on the right sideline. Cureton finished the drive with a one-yard touchdown pass to Dorian Miles for his first career touchdown as a Light.

On their next drive, Cureton continued to use his legs to run and scramble until he found open receivers. On one scramble on fourth down, Cureton scrambled to his right to find Jake Horner on the sideline who took it down the C of I one-yard line. Cureton then ran it out from one yard out himself.

However, Cureton struggled with turnovers the rest of the afternoon. On the last drive of the first half, Cureton fumbled and lost the ball on a scramble when the team was in field-goal range. In the second quarter, he failed to lead a scoring drive. In the fourth quarter, he had two interceptions that bounced off his receivers' hands. These two turnovers gave the Yotes great field position which they used to put the game away.

In his first start as a Light, Cureton went 13-27 for 126 passing yards. He also made an impact on the ground as he ran for 61 yards on 16 carries. While he had trouble with turnovers in his debut, he has the dual-threat ability to lead MSU-N offense to success this fall.

Northern defensive backs snag several picks

Just like their offense, the MSU-N defense had their struggles but showed promise. While the Yotes finished the game with 307 rushing yards and 159 passing yards, the Lights' defense held their own in the first three quarters to keep the game close.

Through the course of the game, the MSU-N defensive backs picked off C of I quarterback Jack Rice three times. The first one came near the end of the first half with the Yotes at third and goal at the MSU-N 25-yard line. As he tried to make a play, Rice threw the ball right to Damari Cual-Davis for the pick.

In the third quarter, MSU-N defensive backs continued to take advantage of Rice's mistakes. After a MSU-N fumble, Isaiah Paul picked off a Rice pass in the end zone to keep the Yotes from extending their lead. Later in the quarter, Joshua Rose picked off a deep pass from Rice in the middle of the field.

While the MSU-N defense ended up allowing 42 points to the Yotes, they showed that they have an opportunistic secondary. If the offense can take advantage of these takeaways, the Lights can become a competitive force this fall.

Tilleman Field finally open for fans

Saturday's season opener for the Montana State University-Northern football may have resulted in a 42-14 loss to College of Idaho, but it was a win for football fans in Havre as they finally got to fill the stands at Tilleman Field. The stadium was completed in fall of 2020 but did not get to see any action until this past spring.

Even as the Lights got to play on the field for the first time this past spring, fans did not get to attend due to COVID-19 restrictions. With the season opener, fans finally got to attend to enjoy themselves some football. Unfortunately, they will have to wait a few weeks before the next MSU-N home game when Rocky Mountain College comes to town on Sept. 25.