Game Day Feature: He's been making life un-Fehr for Frontier QB's

Over the past few years, the Montana State University-Northern football program has dealt with much adversity. While the Lights have competed hard, they have not moved up the Frontier Conference standings.

But through thick and thin, senior defensive end Joe Fehr has been a mainstay in the program. Even though he did not get to win as much as he would have liked, he is proud of himself for sticking through the adversity.

"I stuck it out for five years. Not a lot of guys can say that," Fehr said. "I saw through it and didn't quit."

Fehr has been with the program since 2017. He is originally from Eureka in Northwest Montana and came to MSU-N because he wanted to learn the trades, such as plumbing and welding after high school. Of course, he also wanted to have an impact on the Lights' program s well.

While playing for the Lights, Fehr has been a consistent part of their defensive line. While he has had to line up against some great offensive lineman over the years, Fehr enjoys playing the position because it is simpler compared to playing linebacker.

"I think it's easier than playing linebacker," Fehr said. "Defensive end, it's a lot of fun. You just have to have your hand in the dirt and you just get to go."

While Fehr has enjoyed his time in the MSU-N program, the Lights have not won a conference game during his tenure. However, Fehr believes that regardless of the results, he has learned a lot that will help him over the course of his life.

"Football teaches you a lot about life and overcoming hardships," Fehr said. "It's more than just a game of football."

In his final season with the Lights, Fehr is just trying to take it all in and appreciate what little time he has left with the program. As a senior, Fehr believes he leads by example. After he has left the program, he hopes to have taught his remaining teammates a good work ethic that will help the program become more successful.

"We're just trying to build a winning culture," Fehr said. "I hope that the guys to come don't have to lose as many games as I did."

In his senior season, the Lights are trying to make a jump as a program. One addition they made this season to help them was the hire of Mike Van Diest as their new defensive coordinator. At Carroll College, Van Diest won six national championships so Fehr feels lucky to work with the NAIA legend.

"It's just an honor to play under someone like him with all that experience and he's taught me a lot about playing football," Fehr said.

Fehr also gets the chance to play his senior season in front of fans at the Lights' new stadium, Tilleman Field. The field was completed last fall, but the Lights did not get to use it until this past spring. Even then, the Lights had to play without fans. Now that he gets to play on the new field with fans cheering him and the Lights on, he is happy he gets to see it before he moves on from the program.

"It's great playing in front of fans and the new stadium, it changes everything for us," Fehr said. "It's something I thought that I would never see and I'm extremely grateful for that. I think that this is a huge thing for us."

In his free time, Fehr likes outdoor activities such as camping, fishing and hunting. He also participates in arm wrestling tournaments during the summer. He has earned four degrees in plumbing, welding, electrical and pipe fitting and he hopes to use one of those degrees for a job once he is done with college. While he is leaning towards becoming a plumber for a career, he does not know if he will stay in Havre, move back to Eureka or go somewhere else to start the next chapter of his life.

With one last chance to play football, Fehr hopes to leave it all out on the field. Through four games this season, he has 3.5 sacks, 4.5 tackles for loss and 15 total tackles. With one last chance to play for the Lights this fall, he hopes to end his career on a positive note by helping the team win.

"(I) hope to win a couple of games for our team," Fehr said.

Fehr and the MSU-N football team will try to pick up a win when they play Montana Tech this Saturday at 1 p.m. at Tilleman Field.