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MSU-Northern
September 2017
FALL SPORTS PREVIEW
Football: Lights looking to make even more progress with their program
www.havredailynews.com Lights Football Schedule
■ From Page 2
Sept. 2
at Rocky Mountain
best players we’ve ever had. But, behind those guys, we didn’t have any depth at some spots. Now, there’s not much difference between our ones and twos, and that’s going to make a big difference on Saturday’s.” And differences are needed if the Lights are going to make big strides this fall. Offensively, Northern will miss the 1,000 yards, 37 carries per game and nine touchdowns McKinley had last year, as well as his overall presence. But Christensen feels good about Trey Blanchard and B.J. Peters stepping into that role. Northern is also breaking in a new starting quarterback this fall, as last year’s starters Caleb McLaren graduated, and Jess Krahn moved to tight end. But whoever is calling the signals for the Lights, does have a bevy of offensive weapons to throw to, including Sam Mix, Donovan Garner and Kagen Khameneh. MSU-N also has as strong as an offensive line as its had in quite some time, anchored by junior left tackle Clint Willis, while kicker Tommy Langley is one of the best in the Frontier. Defensively, there is talent and there are other reasons to be optimistic. Senior linebacker Garet
Sept. 9
vs. Montana Tech
Fowler and junior Alec Wagner will be the heart of the middle of MSU-N’s defense, while senior Elijah Dennison will be a force at defensive tackle. In the secondary, Northern also returns starters Cory Lee and DeQuincy Bergen. So there’s no doubt MSU-N has talent and leadership, but there’s also no doubt a lot of new and young players are going to step into prominent roles this season for a Lights’ squad looking to improve on things such as being dead last in turnover margin and last in both scoring offense and scoring defense. “We have the guys who can step in and make the plays and do the job,” Christensen said. “Last year, we weren’t good enough,” he added. “We had some good games, but then we had games where we just didn’t play well at all. So it’s about consistency. We know we improved from our first year to last year, but we also know, it wasn’t good enough. So this season, we know we have talent, we know we have players who can play, we as coaches see it and talk about it every day in practice. We just have to be consistent, every game, we have to execute and do things the right
away. If we do that, we’ll find success.” And success on the scoreboard is no doubt what the Lights are after. But in many ways, now in the third year of Christensen, the Lights have already found success. Look at their roster, and sure, big names like McKinley, Craig, Pat Barnett and others aren’t there anymore, and those players will be forever missed. But the sheer numbers, the depth and the young talent emerging, those are things that two years ago, the Lights were sorely lacking, and having those things now, Northern expects to see it pay dividends. “Like I said, the last two years, we had some very talented players, but we didn’t have depth, and when you don’t have depth, there’s not a lot of competition in practice,” he continued. “So I feel like we’ve built that depth and competition level up and it’s making us a much better football team. And that’s what we want to continue to do, build up that talent and depth at every single position, because good football teams don’t have just one thing. You have to be able to run the ball, throw the ball, catch the ball, tackle, kick it, all of it. You
have to be good at every phase of the game, and that’s the direction I think we’re heading.” No doubt, the Lights are building up. With young players, like Justin Pfeifer, Peter Hamilton, Jake Norby, Bryce Missey, Dylan Cook, Jake Horner, R.J. Henry, Joe Fehr and so many more, brighter days appear to be ahead for the Lights. But, they also want to shine bright now, too. That’s the goal. As Christensen preaches often, the Lights always want to be 1-0. And that includes every week this fall. And while there are question marks and unproven players all over Northern’s depth chart, Christensen is confident the Lights will be a better football team in 2017 than they were in 2016. “I do. I do believe we’re a better overall football team right now,” Christensen said. “We see it every single day in practice. I think this team can accomplish plenty this season. Now, we have to go out on Saturday’s and do it. But I know we have guys who can step up and do that,” he continued. “I believe we have a team that can do all those things this season.”
Sept. 16 Sept. 23 Sept. 30 Oct. 7 Oct. 14 Oct. 21 Oct. 28 Nov. 4 Nov. 11
at Carroll College vs. Montana Western at Mayville State at Eastern Oregon vs. Rocky Mountain at Montana Tech vs. Carroll College vs. Southern Oregon at College of Idaho