Lights start fresh with opener at College of Idaho

College football is finally back for the Hi-Line this Saturday as the Montana State University-Northern football kicks off the season. While the Lights will not be at home, they will head on the road to Caldwell, Idaho, to face the College of Idaho to open the season. This will be the Lights' first game under new head coach Jerome Souers, so this game will help him see what he has in his squad to start his era with the Lights.

"When you get into a game like this, you really end up focusing more on yourself and making sure that everything that we are supposed to be doing," Souers said. "Maintaining a quality discipline throughout the course of our performance is what I'm looking forward to seeing what our guys do."

The College of Idaho will be a tough opponent to start the year for the Lights. The Yotes finished last season tied for the Frontier Conference championship with a 7-3 conference record. In the preseason coaches poll, the Yotes were picked to finish fourth in the Frontier Conference this year but they did receive one-first place vote.

The Yotes have gotten the better of the Lights over the past few seasons. In the spring 2021 season, the Yotes controlled the game against the Lights for a 26-12 victory in Caldwell. Later in the 2021 fall season, the Lights played better in the first three quarters to trail 21-14 heading to the fourth. But several MSU-N turnovers in the fourth allowed the Yotes to pull away for a 42-14 win at Tilleman Field.

The Yotes return several prominent players from last year's squad. Garrett Rehberg returns for his redshirt junior year to anchor the Yotes' offensive line. Last season, Rehberg earned second team all-conference honors for his performance over the course of the season.

The Yotes' defense also returns all-conference players from last season. Linebacker Dylan Martinez will be a senior after earning first team all-conference honors last year for the Yotes. In 2021, Martinez finished the year with 109 tackles, 10 tackles for loss and four fumble recoveries.

Another first team all-conference player returning from last year will be senior defensive back Dorian Hardin. Last year with the Yotes, Hardin recorded three interceptions, 20 pass breakups and 42 total tackles.

The Yotes even have players on special teams that should worry the Lights. Last season in his redshirt freshman season, Caden Cobb earned first team all-conference honors as a kick returner. Throughout the season, he averaged 21.4 yards per return to give the Yotes good starting field position. With high-level talent returning in all three phases of the game for the Yotes, Souers knows the Lights will have their hands full this weekend.

"They've got a good program," Souers said about the Yotes. "We expect them to be well coached and competitive. They play tough at home."

The Lights head into this season as a rebuilding program. After taking over the Lights, Souers had to deal with a depleted roster. During the offseason, the Lights signed many recruits to push the roster size to above 60 players. But that is far below the roster size of programs such as the Yotes.

Now as they hit the field, the Lights will have to deal with the adversity of playing against tough competition. The Yotes will give the Lights all they can handle, so Souers looks forward to seeing how his young team can handle adversity on the field this weekend.

"We haven't dealt with a lot of adversity in performance settings," Souers said. "Managing ourselves in the highs and lows of the game and maintaining a consistent outlook will be important."

The MSU-N football team kicks off the season Saturday at 1 p.m. against the College of Idaho in Caldwell, Idaho.

MSU-Northern Lights (0-0, 0-0) at RV College of Idaho Yotes

(0-0, 0-0)

Saturday, 1 p.m.

Caldwell, Idaho

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