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Game Day: Different country, different rules, same toughness

Northern senior center Spencer Kolody grew up playing Canadian Rules Football, but, he's not only adapted well to the American game, he's teaching the young Lights on the line a new attitude

Under new head coach Jerome Souers, the Montana State University-Northern football team is a young program with many inexperienced players. One unit for the Lights that is especially green is the offensive line. The most experienced player in that position group is redshirt-senior Spencer Kolody who has had to step up this season to lead the new Lights on the line.

"I'm definitely in a leading position," Kolody said. "We just got the learning curves that you got to go through playing freshmen and new guys."

The inexperience on the line has been notable in the Lights' offensive struggles. Through five games this fall, the Lights have only averaged 10.6 rushing yards a game and 0.4 yards carry. With the inexperience on the line, the Lights have been learning as they play against the tough defensive lines in the Frontier Conference.

"Our biggest adversity is just not having the experience and the depth that most o-lines in the conference have this year," Kolody said. "The line should be the biggest leaders of the whole offense in general because you got to win it up front every game."

It is the first year under Souers, so growing pains were expected. The linemen are learning under new offensive run game coordinator Timothy Davis who has coaching experience in Division-1 college football and the NFL. With the experience in the coaching staff, Kolody and the offensive line are not letting their struggles get them down.

"We're just going to take it one game at a time and one down at a time," Kolody said. "Coach Davis really drives on four yards a carry so that's what we're just trying to look for as a unit."

This will be Kolody's final year in the program, so he will only get to spend this season with the youngsters on the offensive line. Before he moves on from the program, he hopes to teach his fellow offensive linemen how to be aggressive.

"I've been trying to teach them to just be tough. Once you dominate someone the first couple of reps, they back off and it makes your job a lot easier," Kolody said. "If you're just sitting there docile and let them hit you in the mouth instead of hitting them in the mouth, that'll just be a long game for you so that's the biggest thing I've been trying to push."

This season will end Kolody's journey with the Lights, which is one that started years ago. He came from north of the border from Qu'Appelle, Saskatchewan, a small town about six hours from Havre. Kolody had not spent much time in America before joining the Lights, but living in Havre was not too different from his hometown.

"Northern Montana wasn't really different. It's the same small, tiny community like back home," Kolody said. "The biggest difference is obviously just the distance for me and not being able to go home as easily as the rest of the guys that are from Montana."

Despite the difference, Kolody has been able to find a new home on the Hi-Line. Along with meeting his girlfriend here in Havre, he has been able to work down here to keep himself from getting home sick. He also made many friendships during his time in the MSU-N football program.

But living away from home in a new country was not the only adjustment Kolody had to make. Canadian and American football have several differences, so Kolody had to get used to playing a new kind of game with the Lights. In Canadian football, there is about a yard between the offensive and the defensive line before the snap, so getting used to immediate pressure was a challenge at first.

"Now they're right on top of you and you don't have that breathing room like you do in Canadian rules," Kolody said. "But I think it's really perfected my craft. I feel like having them right on top of me, being able to use my new skill sets to keep them back."

There have been some things he has liked about American football compared to Canada's version. For example, the offense in Canadian football only has three downs, meaning less opportunities to pick up a first down then compared to the American version where you have four downs.

While he has liked playing this version of football, it has not come with winning. During Kolody's time in the program, the Lights have finished last in the conference every year with only one win in the Frontier Conference during that stretch. While it would have been easy for him to give up, Kolody's upbringing taught him to stick to his commitments.

"My parents raised me to not want to quit once I start something," Kolody said. "I just got to get my degrees and have fun while I'm doing it. I still get to hit people and I'm just making the best of it all."

Once his senior year is over at Northern, there are several paths ahead for Kolody. After studying diesel technology at Northern, becoming a mechanic here in the States is the most likely option for Kolody.

But football might be an option for Kolody even after he is done with the Lights. Thanks to the Lights special teams coordinator/linebackers coach Brian Smith, who used to be a scout in the Canadian Football League, Kolody has been scouted by some CFL teams. Smith and Davis have been helping Kolody get ready for the upcoming combine so that he can impress CFL scouts and possibly have a career on the football field.

Before moving on, Kolody looks to end his career with the Lights on a positive note. Throughout his career and this season, Kolody has experienced plenty of adversity playing for the Lights. But with a new coaching staff in town, Kolody hopes to help them begin steering the program in the right direction to future success long after Kolody is gone.

"I hope to make it something that they can stand on and start building off. Coach Souers always talks about the bricks that we're building on the wall," Kolody said. "I'm just putting my own bricks down and just getting Havre put back on the map."

Kolody and the MSU-N football team will play Carroll College at Tilleman Field this Saturday. Kick off will take place at 1 p.m.

 

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