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Northern's Jamari Johnson runs the ball against Montana Western at Tilleman Field last month. This weekend, the young Lights will host Carroll College for their homecoming game.
After some tough weeks on the road, the Montana State University-Northern football team returns to Tilleman Field for its homecoming game this Saturday. The Lights will face another tough Frontier Conference team in Carroll College, but MSU-N head coach Jerome Souers is happy to be able to do it at home this weekend.
"It'll be good to be back home. The last two road games were pretty tough on us so we need to heal up this week," Souers said. "We need to rest up and we need to improve. The things that are fundamental in nature need to continue to be addressed with repetition."
The Carroll College Fighting Saints enter the game with a 3-2 record in the Frontier Conference. They are coming off a 31-20 home loss to the College of Idaho last weekend, so they will be determined to get back in the win column this Saturday.
The Saints offense is sixth in the conference averaging 259.8 yards and 19.4 points a game. However, they still have players that can give the Lights defense some problems. Quarterback Jack Prka will look to get going for the Saints this weekend. Through five games, he has completed 54.3 percent of his passes for 751 yards, four touchdowns and five interceptions.
He will have some solid options to throw to when they face the Lights. Tight end Tony Collins has 18 catches for 273 yards and two touchdowns this season. Wide receiver Chris Akulschin will look to make plays as he has 22 catches for 240 yards and two touchdowns this fall.
In the running game, Matthew Burgess leads the Saints with 251 rushing yards and two touchdowns on 5.5 yards a carry. Duncan Kraft should also get carries this weekend as he has 226 yards on 4.7 yards a carry this year.
In the Frontier Conference, the Saints defense is in the middle of the pack allowing 20.8 points and 314.8 yards a game this year. Defensive lineman Garrett Kocab leads the Saints with 33.0 total tackles and two sacks this season. While the Saints are not one of the best teams in the conference, they should still be a formidable foe for the Lights this weekend.
"Like a lot of the Frontier teams that have known success, they have a strong program and continuity," Souers said about the Saints. "We're more concerned about how we play the game and making sure we're not making the mistakes that make it easy for our opponent."
The Lights enter the game with an 0-5 record and have had their struggles on both sides of the ball. The Northern offense is only averaging 97.2 yards and 3.0 points per game this year, both last in the conference. With the offensive struggles, the Lights have gone back and forth between Brenden Medina and Kaymen Cureton at quarterback this year.
When he has been on the field, Medina has completed 49.2 percent of his passes for 227 yards, no touchdowns and three interceptions. Cureton has completed 40 percent of his throws for 206 yards, one touchdown and two picks. Whoever gets the most snaps at quarterback this weekend, they will need to connect with their receivers.
Devin Shelton leads the Lights with 74 receiving yards on five catches this season. Running back Cannan Smith has six catches for 67 yards this year and tight end Levi Keltner has 53 yards and the lone offensive touchdown for the Lights this year.
The Lights have struggled to move the ball on the ground this year, only averaging 10.6 yards a game. Running back Mason Dionne leads the Lights with 102 yards as he only averages 1.9 yards a carry.
The Lights have also struggled on defense allowing 50.2 points and 474.4 yards a game this fall. Despite the struggles, there have been some bright spots. Safety Hunter Riley is third in the conference with 46.0 total tackles. Linebacker Dylan Wampler is also having a strong year with 40.0 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and 6.5 tackles for loss.
The first five games of the season have been rough for the Lights. Even with the knowledge that this is a rebuilding year, the struggles cannot be easy. However, Souers believes his players are capable of pushing through the adversity to get ready for this weekend.
"The guys are frustrated but they're still working hard and completely focused," Souers said. "We're not finger pointing. We're pointing the finger at problems that we need to fix and the ones that we can control."
The MSU-N football team will kick off its homecoming game against Carroll College at Tilleman Field this Saturday at 1 p.m.
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