Lights fall to Carroll College in their homecoming game

On Saturday afternoon at Tilleman Field, the Montana State University-Northern football team hosted its homecoming game against Carroll College. The winless Lights made it interesting at first as they scored an early field goal to take the lead, but the Fighting Saints found their groove as they went to defeat the Lights 47-3.

"Our kids played hard but we're not accomplished yet. We got a lot of learning to do," MSU-N head coach Jerome Souers said. "We're on a journey and this journey is going to have some hard stuff. This is what we're enduring now."

The Lights got off to a strong start as they forced a three and out on the Saints opening drive. Then on the punt, the Lights blocked the kick and recovered the ball at the Carroll one-yard line, setting up first and goal.

But the Lights could not put the ball in the end zone. Two straight handoffs to Mason Dionne failed to get in. Then Brenden Medina completed a pass to Jesse Lee who was tackled for a two-yard loss to make it fourth and goal. Kaden Nelson made the 20-yard field goal to give the Lights an early 3-0 lead.

With a young roster, the Lights have been dealing with depth issues throughout the season. For example, they have needed defensive linemen to play on the offensive line if needed. On Saturday, that inexperience on the offensive line was demonstrated by the Lights' inability to put the ball in the end zone.

"We got a lot of d-linemen playing o-line," Souers said. "A lot of things can happen when you have that scenario and unfortunately for us, we couldn't get where we wanted."

With their first lead of the season, the Lights defense looked to hold onto it. On their next two possessions, the Saints had to punt the ball. Unfortunately for the Lights, the offense could not move the ball as their next two drives ended with punts as well. With neither offense producing early in the game, a defensive play was needed.

To start the second quarter, the Saints had a third and four at their own 22-yard line. Quarterback Jack Prka was able to find his receiver Jaden Harrison for a gain that would have been good enough for a first down. However, safety Hunter Riley forced a fumble and Johkyreian Shealey recovered it for the Lights at the Carroll 35-yard line.

"Those kids played hard," Souers said about the defense. "They never gave up. They played hard to the very end and that's what I'm most proud of."

Despite the big defensive play, things got worse for the Lights on offense. Medina suffered an injury and had to leave the game. Kaymen Cureton, who has gotten many snaps for Northern this season, was not suited for the game. That left freshman quarterback Chance Fields from Lewistown to lead the offense after the turnover.

With the inexperienced quarterback at the helm, the Lights went three and out to waste the good field position. With the ball back, the Saints finally found a rhythm on offense. Prka completed back-to-back passes to Cameron Rothie and Tony Collins to get to midfield. Then on a scramble by Prka, a late hit out of bounds on the Lights put the Saints on the Northern 32-yard line.

On the next play, Duncan Kraft ran the ball all the way for the 32-yard score. The Saints then made the extra point for a 7-3 lead in the second quarter. After another Lights three and out, the Saints offense stayed in rhythm. On a third down, Prka connected with Collins for what would have been a 56-yard touchdown if not for a block in the back.

But the Saints still had a first down in Northern territory and looked to add onto the lead. On five of the next six plays for the Saints, Matthew Burgess got the call as he carried the ball down the field. The Saints capped off the drive with a one-yard touchdown run from Burgess to push their lead to 14-3 halfway through the second quarter.

After another Lights three and out, the Saints got right back to work. Starting the drive at the Northern 46-yard line after the punt, it did not take the Saints long to get to the 11-yard line. On second down, Prka found Stephen Powell in the left corner of the end zone for the score. Despite a missed extra point, the Saints had a 20-3 lead late in the half.

Souers harps on the importance of playing sound football in all three phases of the game. The defense got off to a strong start against the Saints, but the lack of offensive production put them right back on the field quickly. With more snaps, the Saints were eventually able to break through and score against the Lights defense.

"A good football team plays complimentary football meaning the offense produces and maintains possession of the ball and keeps the defense off the field and rested," Souers said. "When we get that imbalance, we're not deep enough on defense to play like that so we do get worn down."

One positive for the Lights offense through most of the first half was a lack of turnovers, but that came to an end on the next drive. On the second play of the drive, Jamari Johnson fumbled the ball and Carroll's Elijah Larson picked it up and returned it for the score to make it 27-3.

When they got the ball back, the Lights ran out the clock to end the first half. They then got the ball to start the second half, but had to punt it away even after picking up a first down. Even after halftime, the Saints did not lose any momentum as they drove down the field again.

The Saints used their ground game to get them down the field. The Lights were able to force the Saints into a third and 15 situation, but Prka found Collins over the middle for a 23-yard gain down to the Northern eight-yard line. On the next play, Joaquin Porcayo ran the ball in for the score to push the lead to 33-3.

The teams then exchanged punts over the next few minutes. The Lights went three and out in the shadow of their own goal line and lined up to punt. But on fourth and 16, a fake snap went nowhere as the Saints got the ball first and goal at the nine-yard line. Porcayo then carried it in for another score to make it 40-3 late in the third quarter.

The Saints put in several backups for the fourth quarter. Even then, they still had success on both sides of the ball. At the end of another long drive, backup quarterback Ryan Daggett carried it for a one-yard score to make it 47-3.

Under Fields, the offense could not score in the fourth quarter. In his first meaningful college action, Fields went 4-for-16 for 32 yards. With the inexperience on the offensive unit, Fields had his work cut out for him.

"It's a tough scenario because it's one thing if we had a bunch of senior offensive linemen but we don't," Souers said.

The Lights fall to 0-6 as they head into their bye week. While the Lights have had their struggles this season, Souers believes the young roster is progressing as they get a break this upcoming week.

"We're going in the right direction," Souers said. "We've got a bye week to heal up and we'll come back to finish the season and we'll see what that looks like."

After their bye, the Lights will next play on Oct. 22 against Eastern Oregon University in La Grande, Oregon.