Lights battle Bears in historic first homecoming game at Tilleman Field

After a month away, it is finally time for the Montana State University-Northern football team to return to Tilleman Field this Saturday. At home, they will play Rocky Mountain College as they try to pick up their first win of the season. The Lights are coming off a 42-28 loss to University of Montana Western where they played better in the second half so MSU-N head coach Andrew Rolin hopes that can carry over into this week.

"We got to build off the second half of our game against Western. We started playing together and started executing at a high level on offense, defense and special teams," Rolin said. "We've got to show up and we've got to start fast. We've got to play all four quarters for us to go out and achieve what we're looking to achieve."

Rocky Mountain College will be a tough opponent for the Lights this weekend. After they went 1-3 in the shortened spring season, the Bears are 2-1 to start the season with wins over Southern Oregon University and College of Idaho, both teams that have already defeated MSU-N this season. Rolin credits RMC head coach Chris Stutzriem for developing the roster into a competitive unit this fall.

"They're pretty talented, especially on the perimeter on offense and defense," Rolin said. "I think Stutzriem has done a nice job developing some of those guys and putting his brand on their culture and what they do."

Rolin also credited RMC quarterback Nathan Dick as a huge part of their success this season. Through three games, Dick has completed 56.4 percent of his passes for 834 yards, eight touchdowns and three interceptions. On the ground, he has also ran for 133 yards and a touchdown on 5.8 yards a carry.

He will have many explosive receivers to throw to. Trae Henry has caught nine passes for 177 yards and two touchdowns this season. If Henry is covered well, Dick has Donovan Sellgren who has six catches for 184 yards and two touchdowns. The RMC offense also has running back Dawson Schick who has 164 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 4.7 yards a carry. But if the Lights can slow down their running game, Rolin believes he also has the players in the defensive backfield to limit the passing game.

"We've got some pretty good cover guys, they just need to continue to do what they're doing," Rolin said. "If we tackle better and play with better technique and establish the ability to stop the run, I think we'll have a good opportunity to have a great day defensively."

The Lights will also have to deal with the Bears defense. They will have to deal with linebacker Nolan Cafferty who leads the Bears with 24 tackles this season. MSU-N will also have to look out for defensive back Ty Reynolds who has 23 tackles and two interceptions. The MSU-N offensive line will also try to slow down Ethan Hurst who has 4.5 sacks through three games this year.

The MSU-N offense will be led by quarterback Kaymen Cureton who is coming off a game against UMW where he recorded season highs in completion percentage and passing yards. Running back Izayah Boss is also coming off his best game of the season as he ran for 122 yards and two touchdowns against UMW. The Lights defense will be anchored by defensive back Isaiah Paul who has three interceptions this season and linebacker Dylan Wampler who has 29 tackles this fall.

If the Lights are going to compete with the Bears this weekend, they will need to cut down turnovers. In the first half against UMW, the Lights special teams lost a muffed punt and failed to convert on a fourth-down attempt. Through this week of practice, Rolin has been focused on cleaning up special teams as well as the offense in order to keep the ball.

"Special teams-wise, we've got to clean that up. We can't have a muffed punt and a dropped punt," Rolin said. "You just got to continue to value the football."

MSU-N and RMC last played each other this past spring. At halftime of that game, the Lights had a 21-7 lead. However, the Bears scored 17 unanswered points in the second half to win 24-21. Even though the Lights lost a winnable game the last time they played the Bears, Rolin does not expect that to affect how his team feels about this upcoming game.

"I don't think there's any extra motivation. I think each week, our guys are preparing to win the football game and put themselves in the best position to do that," Rolin said.

MSU-N opened their season Aug. 28 against CofI at Tilleman Field. In the month since then, the Lights have played two road games. While Rolin is excited to play their first home game in a month, he also knows playing at home will not be enough if they are not ready for the Bears.

"It's nice. I think it's nice leading up to the game and I think you always have an advantage at home, but they're going to be ready to play," Rolin said.

With an 0-3 record this season, the MSU-N football team is hungry for their first win this fall. If they are going to do that, they will need to play clean and stay on track.

"We've got to continue to compete, have the next play mentality and just execute more consistently than our opponents," Rolin said.

MSU-N football will play RMC this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Tilleman Field.