Lights making the trip to ranked Montana Western

After another rough outing at home, the Montana State University-Northern Lights are trying to stem the tide.

But, as is always the case with the Frontier Conference, the road is never easy. And the Lights (0-5, 1-6) know that all too well. Still, Northern will give its best shot this Saturday when the Lights take on Montana Western in Dillon.

Northern has lost six straight coming in and hasn't beaten Western in nearly a decade. The Lights are also struggling mightly on offense, as they totaled just 79 yards in a loss to Southern Oregon at home last week. A bright spot in the MSU-N offense has been former Havre High Blue Pony Mason Dionne, who is Northern's leading rusher, and scored a touchdown against SOU last week.

Of course, the Lights aren't just needing to improve on offense. Their defense will have its hands full as well, as the Dawgs are 6-1 and 4-1 in the Frontier, while being ranked nationally in the NAIA. 

Quarterback Michael Pelandri has been huge for Western of late, including throwing for over 300 yards and rushing for 65 more in Western's narrow win over Arizona Christian last week.

Meanwhile, the Lights will counter Western's potent offense with a defense led by Dylan Wampler, who is the leading tackler in the Frontier Conference, as well as Colter Syzmoniak and the excellent play of former Big Sandy star and freshman Brayden Cline.

Still, as much as Northern's young defense is improving, it will be a big task to stop a Western offense averaging more than 30 points per game, and a Bulldog squad that is fighting for a Frontier championship.

Northern and Western will meet Saturday at 1 p.m. in Dillon. The Lights then play their home finale against Montana Tech next Saturday.