Lights look to cage Dawgs on senior day

After its first Frontier Conference win in five years, the Montana State University-Northern football team does not have much time to celebrate as the Lights will play Montana Western this Saturday at Tilleman Field. Not only will the Lights be looking to win their second straight game but they will be looking to send off their seniors with a win as it will be the Lights' last home game this season. If they are going to do that, they will need to move on from last week's emotional win and focus on the Bulldogs.

"It's going to be a good challenge for us. We're going to have to execute at a high level every play and go out and do our job," MSU-N head coach Andrew Rolin said. "Last week has nothing to do with this week. It's time to get back to work."

The Lights enter the game with a 1-7 record and 1-6 record in the Frontier Conference. Their win over Eastern Oregon University last week was the Lights' first conference win since Sept. 17, 2016. That conference win was the first for this year's senior class that consists of Damari Cual-Davis, Joe Fehr, Marvin Williams Jr., Chase Gilbert, Ronnie Chavez and Justin Pfeiffer. As they move forward from the program, Rolin believes they set an example for their teammates.

"These guys are the epitome of players that love football, love to compete, love to win," Rolin said. "It's going to be an emotional day for me and an emotional day for everybody because it's a group of seniors that have been with us since the beginning and I love them. I'm proud of these guys and they mean everything to me and to this program."

Once the game starts, however, Rolin believes his seniors will be able to put their emotions aside and focus on the game.

"Once you get through the whole senior pregame ceremony, it's just, 'Let's play some football.' I think they're just ready to treat it like every other game. To prepare for it like every other game," Rolin said.

The Lights will need their seniors to be ready as they face a tough Western team. The Bulldogs enter the game with a 5-3 record and 4-3 conference record. This will be the first rematch of the season for the Lights as they previously played the Bulldogs in Dillon on Sept. 18. In that game, the Lights committed several mistakes such as a failed fake punt and three turnovers that helped the Bulldogs build a 28-0 lead at the half. The Lights were able to battle back in the second half but ultimately lost, 42-28, because of their early mistakes.

"We've got to start the game fast. Beat them to the punch," Rolin said. "Defensively, we need to get the ball back and then offensively, we need to drive down and go score that first series."

Western quarterback Jon Jund made many big plays through the air in that previous game. Against the Lights, he completed 46.7 percent of his passes for 196 yards and four touchdowns. However, the Lights intercepted him three times, including a 45-yard return by Isaiah Paul for a score. The Lights will need their secondary to continue making big plays if they are going to limit the Western passing attack.

"It's just the guys being in position they need to be in defensively," Rolin said. "We need to just be in position to make plays and eliminate missed assignments."

The Bulldogs have many other playmakers on offense. Nate Simkins leads Western with 54 catches for 687 yards and six touchdowns this season. Against the Lights earlier this season, he caught eight catches for 92 yards and three scores. On the ground, Reese Neville leads Western with 571 rushing yards and nine touchdowns this season and Colten McPhee will look for a repeat of his last game against the Lights where he ran for 160 yards.

Western has many strong players on defense, as well. Linebacker Joe Caicedo leads the team with 63 total tackles and 3.5 sacks this fall. Defensive back Kameron Rauser leads the Bulldogs with two picks this season and defensive back Dylan Pope will try to pick off MSU-N quarterback Kaymen Cureton again like he did in the last meeting.

In the month and a half since their previous meeting, Rolin believes that both teams have improved. While the Lights faced adversity during that time span, Rolin believes their win over EOU last weekend shows that their hard work is finally paying off.

"We understand who we are from a schematic standpoint and our guys have matured and are starting to learn how to finish games and play consistently," Rolin said. "We're more disciplined in our technique and more disciplined in our assignment."

While the Lights lost to the Bulldogs in their first meeting, they did show promise by scoring 28 points in the second half to get back in the game. If they can cut down on their mistakes this weekend, the Lights should have a chance to compete against the Bulldogs.

"It comes back to consistent execution," Rolin said. "We got to start faster than the first time we played them and just being consistent in our alignment, assignment, execution and our technique."

The Lights will host Western at Tilleman Field Saturday at 1 p.m. in their final home game of the season.