MSU-N Fall Sports Preview 2016

8

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

Lights: Young Lights will be much-improved in all phases this season ■ From Page 7 secondary. Sprouse led the Lights with three interceptions last season, while together, the two safeties combined for nearly 150 tackles.

Corey Lee (5-10, 175), Dujuan Jones (6-1, 190), Sherman Arthur (6-1, 170) and Dequincy Bergen (5-10, 180) are all players who will also see time at corner and safety this season.

“We have our safeties who are seniors, and both are very good football players,” Christensen said. “So we have a veteran presence in the secondary. We’re going to be a little more inexperienced at corner, but, again, I think we have better depth there than we had last season, and that’s going to help out a lot.”

Depth, Christensen said, is one of the biggest keys to Northern’s defense being muchimproved this season. The Lights had talent last season, no doubt, but they also had very few seniors on the defensive depth chart, and very little depth to back up injuries and other things, and that certainly led to Northern’s share of struggles.

Now, however, as Northern enters a 2016 season hungry to put last year’s 0-11 campaign behind it, the Lights’ defense will look much different, even with stars like Craig, Brusio, Barnett, Fowler and Sprouse still there.

“I know it’s kind of a recurring theme with this team right now,” Christensen said, “but I really do think we are a lot better now than we were at the end of last season. Our defense has a lot of talent and a lot of veteran guys in key areas. But with the depth we’ve added, they’ve just gotten better and better.

I think we were better at the end of spring than we were when we started, and I feel that way with how the defense has played in fall camp. They’ve gotten better every single day.

“I think our defense is going to be a strength this season,” he continued. “I like the athletes we have, and they have really been getting after it in camp. So I expect our defense is going to play very well this season.”

Special Teams Like all areas on the football field, special teams matters. And the Lights are looking for big things out of their special teams units this season.

Northern will have some new faces in different areas this season, including at kicker, where Tommy Langley takes over the duties.

Langley (5-11, 190) is a transfer from Modesto Junior College in California and, thus far, he has been booming good kicks throughout fall camp.

In two other key special teams areas, the Lights return leaders from last season.

Punter Dillon Barnes (6-0, 160) is back for his senior season after averaging 39.9 yards per punt a season ago. Also back is sophomore running back Jett Robertson to handle kickoff return duties. As last season went on Robertson became more and more of a threat on kickoff return, and by the end of 2015, he was averaging nearly 25 yards per return.

Northern will also look at wide receivers Donovan Garner and Ethan Snow, as well as cornerback Sherman Arthur to return punts and kicks as well.

2016 Lights Facts Head Coach: Aaron Christensen (2nd Season) Returning Starters: Offense 6, Defense 7 2015 Frontier All-Conference: Tyler Craig, DE; Zach McKinley, RB, Pete Morales, OL Captains: Tyler Craig, Zach McKinley, Garet Fowler, Pete Morales

2016 Frontier Conference Coaches Preseason Poll 1. Southern Oregon 2. Montana Tech 3. Carroll College 4. Eastern Oregon 5. College of Idaho 6. UM-Western 7. Rocky Mountain College 8. MSU-Northern

www.havredailynews.com Lights Football Schedule

Sept. 10

at Montana Tech

Sept. 17

vs. Carroll College

Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12

at UM Western BYE vs. Eastern Oregon at Rocky Mountain vs. Montana Tech at Carroll College at Southern Oregon vs. College of Idaho

2

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

www.havredailynews.com

Lights building strength this fall MSU-Northern 2016 Football Preview George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com A new head coach, a new offensive scheme, a rebuilt roster, and literally no seniors. That’s what the Montana State University-Northern Lights went into the 2015 season with.

So, even with one of the best running backs in the country, it should have been a surprise to no one that the Lights’ offense had to endure its share of struggles during what ended up being an 0-11 season a year ago.

However, in the land of college football, things can change quickly, and the Lights, under second-year head coach Aaron Christensen, are hoping the offensive turnaround will be quick.

“For us, it’s about execution,” Christensen said. “In football, every kind of offense works. Football is football. So no matter what scheme you run, you have to execute. And

with inexperience and injuries and things like that, we just didn’t execute well enough last year. So, for us, that’s what it’s going to come down to, we have to execute better this season, and I think we will. We are a lot further ahead than we were in fall camp a year ago offensively.

We’re much better right now than we were at the end of last year.”

And the numbers at the end of last year weren’t pretty. The Lights averaged just 9.5 points and 271 yards of offense per outing. And, in the all-important turnover category, Northern was -6, as the Lights’ offense gave the ball away 21 times in 11 games.

So, in order for the Lights to turn things around this season, those numbers have to improve dramatically, and Christensen believes they will.

It certainly helps to have the school’s all-time leading rusher back for his senior season. Zach McKinley (5-10, 200), the former Great Falls standout has shattered every career rushing record at Northern in his three seasons, as he has amassed 3,687 yards on the ground in his brilliant career, and he owns 13 different school records.

McKinley has been so dominant

in his career, that even last season, when the Lights struggled mightily on offense, he still tallied 1,162 yards and five scores, earning All-Conference honors for the second straight season, while finishing second in the league’s rushing race.

“Zach is as hard-working a player as I’ve ever been around,” Christensen said. “He’s also a great leader. He just does everything right, on and off the field, and it’s such a big thing to have a guy like that in your program. And all Zach really wants is to win. What I love about him is, he’s got all the stats and all the records but, at the end of the day, he will do whatever it takes and anything he can do to help the team win games.”

McKinley was to be part of a deep Northern RB group, but senior Mario Gobbatto has made the move to wide receiver. That leaves the backup duties to talented sophomore Jett Robertson (6-0, 200), who has shown flashes of being very good when he handles Northern’s kickoff return duties.

Running the football is a big priority in Christensen’s power offense, and with McKinley leading the way, the Lights will do just that.

But, in order for the offense to

shine, two things really have to come together this season. The Lights need consistency in the offensive line, and they need to be able to keep defenses honest with the passing game. Those are two areas the Lights really struggled with last season — as they were last in passing yards per game, and the line was hampered by injuries all season long.

“To me, everything starts with the offensive line,” Christensen said.

“We want to run the football first, and you need a consistent line to do that. But we’ve also got to be able to protect our quarterback and give him time to make plays and, with so many different changes to our o-line last season, we just weren’t able to do that.

“This season, I think we’ll be a lot better off,” he added. “We have more depth. We like the guys who will start for us, but we also feel like we have a few more guys we can put in there and not miss a beat.”

Northern’s line returns All-Conference right guard Pete Morales (6-3, 295) for his senior season. Now a three-year starter, he’ll be the driving force for Northern’s line. At right tackle, the talented Elijah Cox (6-5, 320) will step in to a starting

role, Casey Cleveland (6-1, 270) will be the center. Dylan Schmidt (6-4, 275) appears to have won the job at left guard, while Clint Willis (6-6, 280) is the other returning starter, and will play left tackle this season.

Jay Hembree (6-1, 260), Diamond Pedro (6-3, 310), Adolfo Robles (6-2, 270) and Ryan Handley (6-3, 260) will also give the Lights the depth they were lacking a year ago.

And if the offensive line can find the consistency and healthiness it couldn’t in 2015, things will certainly be looking up, not only for McKinley, who’s in pursuit of Frontier Conference rushing records, but also for junior QB Jess Krahn.

Krahn (6-3, 220) has really had a baptism by fire, having to burn his redshirt to start the last three games of the 2014 season, before becoming the fulltime starter last year. Krahn threw for 1,638 yards and eight scores a year ago, while also throwing 13 picks. Now, with a firmer grasp of Christensen’s offense, exciting weapons to throw to and the balance of having an All-American in McKinley behind him, Krahn will go into his junior year as a guy who could have a breakout season.

7

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

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Lights: Northern is progressing as a program, looking for plenty of improvement this season ■ From Page 2 “Jess has progressed a lot,” Christensen said. “I felt he got a lot better towards the end of last season, and he’s really improved from spring until now. Really, Jess should be a red-shirt sophomore right now, so he’s had to go through a lot. But, right now, I think he has a really firm grasp of what we’re trying to do, and I think the guys around him are playing better, too, so that certainly helps.”

Good teams always need a good backup quarterback, and the Lights enter 2016 with a battle still going on for the No. 2 spot. Holden Maki (5-9, 170) returns after backing up Krahn last year, while transfer Caleb McLaren (6-0, 190) has also impressed in fall camp.

And when it comes to the guys the quarterbacks have to throw to, Northern will have a little different look this season, as only tight end Kagen Khamaneh and junior wideout Seth Rommelle are back of the receivers who caught balls a year ago. Khamaneh (6-3, 225) is now an experienced veteran, and while he’s always been a great blocker, he

should be an even bigger threat in Northern’s passing game this fall.

As one of the best tight ends last season, Khamaneh caught 20 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown, and he’ll look to really up that production this season.

Out wide, the Lights will look to Gobbatto to really help bolster things.

He would likely be a starting running back for most teams in the Frontier, but playing behind McKinley, he felt he could really help the Lights in the passing game. Donovan Garner and freshmen Mike Cocke (6-2, 200) and Ethan Snow (6-1, 200) will also become important targets this season, and the Lights are glad to have Sam Mix (6-1, 190) back in the fold. Big things are expected from him this fall. Others who should contribute in the passing game include Beau Wilhelm and Brice Bumgardner, as well as sophomore tight end Bowe McKay (6-3, 225).

“Receiver is another area where I think we’re better off than we were a year ago,” Christensen said. “We’re young and a little unproven there, but we have good athletes and we

have a lot more depth. And a lot of those guys have been making plays in fall camp, so we’re excited about that group.”

In all, Christensen feels like his entire offense is better equipped than it was a season ago. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have McKinley, the greatest running back of all time at Northern leading the charge. But again, he says his offense will go as far as execution takes it, and that’s what Northern is trying to do.

Execute, and the points will come.

And when the points come so, too, will the victories.

“We haven’t changed what we want to do offensively,” Christensen said.

“We want to run the ball, we want to dominate the line of scrimmage. We also want to play fast. That’s always the goal. But, we’ve got to be balanced. And that all comes down to how you execute. And I feel like we will execute much better."

Defense A year ago, the Montana State University-Northern defense wasn’t

See Lights Page 7

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson Montana State University-Northern's Zach McKinley, left, is one of the top offensive players in the NAIA, and the holder of 13 different rushing records at MSU-N.

devoid of talent. That certainly wasn’t an issue. But, like all facets of the MSU-N football team in 2015, the Lights’ defense had to endure the growing pains that are accompanied by a true rebuilding season.

And, despite all that talent, the pains were many, as the top offenses in the league terrorized a young Northern defense which allowed a whopping 51 points per game, and 480 yards per outing.

Now, as a new season dawns, the Lights still have talent, and even more of it. Northern, through an outstanding recruiting class this spring, has built some solid depth.

So there’s reason to be optimistic that the Lights’ defense can be much better this season and, if Northern is going to succeed as a whole, it certainly must be.

“We expect that our defense is going to play well this year,” secondyear MSU-N head coach Aaron Christensen said. “We have to play better, and I feel like we have the guys to do that. We have a lot of really good athletes on defense, and we have depth, too. I think we’re much better off there than we were at the end of last season.”

For the MSU-N defense, led by longtime coordinator and former Frontier All-Conference standout Jake Eldridge, everything starts up front where the Lights are absolutely loaded starting four seniors with a lot of reps between them.

Of course, the mainstay is at defensive end where Tyler Craig has been a nightmare for opposing offenses for the last three seasons. A First-Team All-Conference performer last season, the 6-2, 230-pound Craig, a native of Great Falls, is entering his fourth year of starting for the Lights and, his last year of what’s been a remarkable career. As a sophomore, Craig paced the Frontier in sacks with 12, and he racked up 10 more last season. In his last three years, Craig has nearly 30 sacks and another 40-plus tackles for loss, while also being productive when not rushing the passer. Last season, the ferocious Craig racked up 82 total tackles.

“He’s just an outstanding foot-

ball player,” Christensen said. “He does everything right, on and off the field. His motor never stops. Every single day he does something in practice against our offense where we just had no chance at stopping him.”

And Craig is literally the engine for what should be one of the best front fours in the Frontier Conference. Fellow senior defensive end Jordan Brusio (6-1, 230) had six sacks and 10.5 TFLs last season, while senior tackles Pat Barnett (6-2, 265) and Lane Urick (6-1, 285) are back as two of the top defensive tackles in the league. Northern also likes its depth on the line with Elijah Dennison (6-2, 245), Mitchell Harmon (6-1, 245) and Linwood Kirkland (6-0, 260).

“Our defensive line is experienced, and they’re playing well,” Christensen said. “That’s definitely one of the biggest strengths of our team.”

At linebacker, the Lights also feel they’ve gotten better and deeper.

They lost standout tackler Tucker Dunn, but returning junior Garet Fowler (5-10, 205), who had 73 tackles a year ago, should be the heart of a linebacking group that also returns Jess Morales (6-0, 210), who had 74 stops last season. Other LBs who are expected to be in the hunt for major reps this season include Alec Wagner (5-11, 210), T.J. Gasetoto (6-0, 215), Kyle Martinez (6-0, 240), Jonathan Gragg (6-2, 210) and David N’Guessa (6-0, 190).

“Garet Fowler is probably the most improved player on our entire roster,” Christensen said. “He’s made the biggest jump since I’ve been here. He’s going to have a big season for us.”

On the back end, Northern will look to its two returning starting safeties to lead the way. The Lights were solid against the pass last year, but lost starting corner Malcolm Manuel. Still with senior Logan Sprouse (5-11, 170) and Garrett Jerricoff (5-9, 195) back, the Lights will have a veteran presence in the secondary. Sprouse led the Lights

See Lights Page 8

6

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

www.havredailynews.com

Skylights: MSU-N spikers aim high this fall ■ From Page 4

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The MSU-Northern volleyball team has begun the 2016 season. The Skylights are led by eighth-year head coach Bill Huebsch.

and that group gives Huebsch a lot of veteran leadership.

Also back is junior MH Mikayla Virostek (6-0, So.), and she should see increased playing time as well this season.

“All our returning players are not only playing well, but they’re doing a great job with leadership and things like that,” Huebsch said. “We have a lot of veteran players, kids that understand and know what we’re trying to do.

In that group, having your senior setter back, that’s big for us, because you really need that position to be one of the leaders of your team, and we have that with Emily. But all those girls are doing a great job for us.”

While the veteran group will be leaders and certainly be counted upon to produce, Huebsch is also excited about the mix of talented youngsters he’s added to the roster.

Among those, Timi Severson (6-0, Fr. OH/MH), Jillian Nickens (5-11, Fr., OH) and Hannah Amtmann (5-4, Fr. L) could see immediate playing time in Northern’s rotations, while Madison Weaver (5-11, Jr., MH), Vaniris Vazquez (6-0, So., S), Sheridan O’Neil (5-9, FR, OH), Katia Michelotti (6-2, FR., MH), Haley Yoder (6-2, Fr., MH), and Hailey Warren (5-8, Fr., S) are all newcomers who will hope to have an impact on the program, now, and well into the future.

“The great thing about this roster is, we’ve got some really talented young kids, and they’re pushing the veterans higher every day in practice,” Huebsch said. “So that’s exciting. It’s exciting to see the depth we have now. Now we have options at every position, and we’ll be able to put some different players in when we need to, or when things maybe just aren’t working as well. We just weren’t able to do that last season. So all of these young and new kids we have, it’s really exciting to see what they’re doing, to see their potential and what they’re bringing to our pro-

gram.”

And Northern is certainly a program to be reckoned with.

Even though the Skylights may have struggled in conference play last year, they were never an easy out, and they figure to be even better this season. With a revamped front line and defense adding to an offense which returns its setter, and leading hitters in Krueger, who had a teamhigh 323 kills, and Auzenne who added 123 kills a year ago, the Skylights are hoping to be a potent team on both sides of the net this season.

“Offensively, we’re going to play fast,” Huebsch said.

“That’s just always how we’ve done it. So, we’re not changing our philopshy. Again, I just think with the depth we have right now, we can be a little more dynamic and create more matchup problems for our opponents. I just feel like we have more kids that we can put in and they will produce. We have options and weapons at different spots, and we can hurt teams in multiple ways. That’s what I think we’ll be able to do offensively.”

And things like talent, depth and leadership, have Huebsch excited. He’s also excited about the challenges his team will face early in the season, as Northern will play five nationally ranked NAIA opponents in the first two weeks of the regular season — this weekend’s trip to Butte for the Big Sky Challenge, and next weekend’s visit to the prestigious Bellevue College Tournament in Nebraska.

“Early on, we just want to make sure we get better every day and get better with every match,” Huebsch said. “I like our non-conference schedule.

It’s very challenging, and it is designed to prepare us for what we’ll see in our conference. We play some really good teams these first three weeks, but we also have some very winnable matches too.

So we just want to use this first three weeks to make sure we keep getting better. That’s

all we’re concerned with early on.”

Long term, however, Huebsch said, his team’s goal is like everyone else’s — to be competitive in the Frontier and make their mark come November. That’s always the goal, and it’s the goal again this season for the Skylights.

Only this season, Huebsch feels his team is much better equipped to do that.

“I think we’re going to surprise a lot of teams in our league,” he said. “I thought last year we had plenty of talent, and we were competitive, but we were missing some key elements. I think we’ve addressed those elements now, and I feel like we’re just going into this season with a lot more firepower. So, our goal long-term is to get better every week, be as competitive in our league as we can be and be playing our best volleyball when November rolls around.”

November, though, is a long way off. For now, the Skylights will continue to work hard and to build as the non-conference season goes on. However, in Huebsch’s eye, the building is already well underway, and, if how well things have went in fall camp, and in last Thursday’s Maroon/Gold Scrimmage are a sign, he says the sky is definitely the limit for his newlook team.

“One thing that has me excited is how well these kids have bonded as a group already,” Huebsch said. “We haven’t been playing together for very long, but they already feel like a very tight group.

The chemistry on and off the court is really good with these kids. And they really compete and work hard every day.

“So that’s really exciting, and I’m excited to get out there and see what they do against other teams. I think, if we just improve every day, improve every week, this is going to be a really exciting year for these kids. This team will be a lot of fun to watch.”

3

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

MSU-N cowboys, cowgirls ready for another season in the rodeo arena

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Northern golf teams have the talent Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/File Photo The MSU-Northern rodeo teams, under longtime head coach Doug Kallenberger, are ready to start a brand new season.

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The MSU-Northern rodeo team is getting ready for another season, and according to head coach Doug Kallenberger, there are reasons to be excited about the Lights and the Skylights.

One thing that both teams have going for them is that nearly all of the participants are back, as each team lost just one senior off last year's roster.

"We have a young team," Kallenberger said. "Both of our teams are young. But I think that gives us a chance to do some really good things the next couple of years. I am really confident about our rodeo team this year."

When it comes to the Lights, Kallengerber said he has his two best cowboys from last season back as John Bell of Harlem and George Marcenko, of Rockglen, Canada, are both back after just missing out on the National College Finals Rodeo last season.

Both Bell and Marcenko have prepared for the season by taking part in rodeo competition as individuals over the summer and each have also done well there. Bell is in the finals for the Northern Rodeo Association, while Marcenko is also qualified for the finals in the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit.

"Those are two things, where you compete against everybody," Kallenberger said. "So that's pretty good for those two guys."

Other contributors on the team this year

will include Victor Glen Phillips, Andrew Leo, Tate Benson, Yancy Hawley, Kyle Clutter, Tucker Hould, Colton Henderson and Dilllon Pankratz.

The Skylights also have some talented cowgirls returning for the 2016-17 season and one of them is junior Tara Stimpson, who competes in barrel racing, breakaway roping and team roping.

"Tara is really solid," Kallenberger said.

"She's good at barrel racing, but she's a great breakaway roper."

The other top contributor for the Skyights this season is expected to be Paige Raty, who is from Chinook. She competes in the same events as Stimpson, and Kallenbeger said he expects her to have a good year.

Other contributors for the Skylights this season will be Tori Blea, Lauren Four Colors, Brandi Johnson, Rebecca Panchuk, Calonna Slade and Shiloh McCormick.

Both teams will open their schedule this coming weekend in Cody, Wyoming, at the Northwest College Rodeo. Then, each team will be at the Dawson Community College Rodeo, before finishing the fall schedule at the Montana-Western Rodeo in Dillon starting Sept. 30. The spring schedule has yet to be determined.

"We always figure out the spring schedule after we are done with the fall," Kallenberger said. "But one thing that is different about rodeo is that everyone competes against everyone. There is no NAIA or NCAA. So if you win a regional championship or a national championship, it's against everyone."

The Montana State University-Northern golf program has been working its way up from the bottom for the past few years and with some new recruits, head coach Dave Boles feels Northern golf is about to take a big step in the right direction.

Both the Lights and Skylights may have finished sixth in the Frontier Conference a season ago. But the Lights, for instance, return their top four golfers from last season and also scored pretty big gets with the signing of incoming freshmen Jerod Boles and Jeff Miller, who each stood out on the Havre High golf team.

"I am really excited, especially about our men's team," Dave Boles said. "We got two players that I think can play very well for us right away and you put them with our other guys back and I think we can sneak up on some people this year, and I think that we are going to have a chance to be pretty good these next four or five years."

In addition to Miller and Boles, the Lights will also have the services of Kevin Tibbetts, who is also from Havre, as well as Devin Bray, Tyler Tharp and Mason McDunn. Another incoming freshman, Billy Miller is coming in from Broadwater.

"Kevin has a little bit of an injury right now," Boles said. "So he may not play in the first tournament, but we have some solid depth and I think we are going to surprise some people. I think we have a chance to be a really good team as long as these guys keep shooting the scores they are used to shooting."

The Skylights, on the other hand, also return some experience from a season ago and their roster will include the likes of Summer Caylin, Whitney Bahrns, Diana Ball and

Molly Kreycik.

"I think that our girls will be solid," Boles said. "But the Frontier is just really, really competitive when it comes to Women's golf."

The Northern golf teams will get things started Sept. 12-13 at the Montana Tech Invitational at the Butte County Club. After that, both teams will also play in the University of Great Falls Invitational and also the Rocky Mountain Invitational Oct. 2-3.

The Frontier Conference will take a break until the spring and the Frontier Conference tournament will be in Carston, Arizona, for the second straight year.

"We are really looking forward to that again," Boles said. "It was a great experience for our athletes. It was a quality event and it was a really great setup. It really allowed the players to show who the best ones were, instead of battling the cold and weather."

4

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

www.havredailynews.com Northern Volleyball Schedule Sept. 16 Sept. 17 Sept. 22 Sept. 23 Sept. 29 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 10-16 Oct. 21 Oct. 27 Oct. 28 Nov. 4 Nov. 5 Nov. 10-12 Nov. 19 Nov. 29-30 Dec. 1-3

vs. Rocky Mountain at UM Western vs. University of Great Falls at Carroll College at Montana Tech at Lewis Clark State vs. UM Western BYE WEEK at Rocky Mountain at University of Great Falls vs. Carroll College vs. Lewis Clark State vs. Montana Tech Frontier Con. Tournament NAIA Opening Round NAIA National Championships NAIA National Championships

New-look Skylights hitting the court George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com A new season brings out a lot of things in a volleyball team: Excitement, optimism and desire, among them. And those are three things the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team bring into the start of the 2016 season, which is already underway.

The Skylights, under eighth-year head coach Bill Huebsch, have a great mix of talented veterans and exciting athletic newcomers on the 2016 roster. And, as a whole, the group is excited to not only start the new season, but to go forward after a tough 2015 campaign in which the Skylights went 2-10 in the Frontier Conference and 10-19 overall.

“I’m excited for this season,” Huebsch said. “Practice has been great.

This group has been fun to coach and fun to watch. They bring a great attitude and intensity to practice every day. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”

And those things will certainly bring noticeable difference to the Skylights this season. While Northern was talented and competitive a year ago, the Skylights lacked depth and had trouble closing sets and matches out, and that led to a sixth-place finish in the final Frontier standings.

However, with the depth MSU-N has this season, things are already changing.

“One of the biggest things is just having the numbers, which allow us to be much more competitive in practice,” Huebsch said. “Our depth has really brought up the level of play in practices, and that’s going to make us instantly better.

“I think another big difference this season will be our size in the

front row,” he continued. “We knew we needed a better presence at the net, and that was an emphasis in our recruiting. It just seems like the top teams in our league, they get bigger and bigger every year, so we needed to address that, and I feel like we have. And having a better presence at the net, that helps out our back row so much. So overall, I think we’re going to be a much better defensive team this season.”

Being better defensively and having more depth certainly helps a Skylight squad which also has strong veteran leadership.

Northern returns starters Emily Russell (5-8, Sr., S), Cassie Krueger (6-0, Jr. OH), Cydney Auzenne (5-10, Jr., OH), Jacy Vining (5-7, Sr., DS) and Kylie Pasieka (5-7, Jr., DS/L),

See Skylights Page 6 Havre Daily News/ Colin Thompson Timi Severson is an exciting new addition to the MSU-Northern volleyball team this season. The Skylights have played two tournaments and play at home Sept. 16.

5

MSU-Northern

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

September 2016 Northern Cross-Country Schedule

Sept. 9 Sept. 23 Oct. 7 Oct. 21 Nov. 4 Nov. 19

Carroll College Early Bird Meet - Helena Yellow Jacket Invitational - Billings Central Wyoming College Dual - Riverton, WY Great Falls Invitational - Great Falls Frontier Conference Championships - Helena NAIA Cross-Country Nationals - Charlotte, NC

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MSU-N cross country teams ready to run for a second season

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Last season, the Montana State University-Northern cross county program was just getting its start.

Now both the Lights and Skylights are back for another season and head coach Chad Spangler is optimistic about the development of his program.

"I'm looking forward to living our mantra of continuous improvement this year," Spangler said. "Compared to last year, at this time, we're looking a lot stronger. At the same time I'm realistic and know that it's going to take a couple more years of building before our conference ranking moves up. Right now we're ranked last in the conference for men and women. Nowhere to go but up."

Of course, the Lights will have a young cross country team again this year, but Spangler said he has high hopes for several first-year runners such as Curtis Westenskow and Riley Dennis. Beau Hyatt of Bainville, is another first-year guy looking to impress this season and counted on to score.

In terms of returning runners, the Lights will rely on Sundance Lodge of Havre and Tristen Belgarde of Rocky Boy. Luke Karnauskas of Havre will also redshirt for the Lights this season.

"Sundance is great teammate and a natural runner. He's another

one of those kids that just loves to run. I also look to him to motivate the team sometimes, as is proven, to be a Firestarter for us," Spangler said. "Tristen Belgarde has the most conference experience on our men's team. He was one of our top runners last year and will be a top runner for us again this year."

The Skylights will have a total of

four runners back from last season, but will also feature three first-year runners, including Rachel David and Kaitlin Nystrom of Havre, as well as Savannah Rose.

David competed in cross country and track for Havre, while Nystrom was a varsity volleyball player and also a member of the track team.

"Kaitlin came to me and basi-

cally just said, 'I want to do this coach.' She's come a long way in a short time and has shown me that she is committed to this team.

Based on her early performance, I believe she has the ability to be competitive over the next couple years," said Spangler.

The rest of the Skylights, including the five returners from

last season are McKenna Barkus, Breck Don, Courtney Cota, Amelia Clark and Alissa Borlaug.

"I think we are poised to show some significant improvement early in the season," Spangler said.

The Lights and Skylights will open their season Friday at a meet in Helena hosted by Carroll College.

4

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

www.havredailynews.com Northern Volleyball Schedule Sept. 16 Sept. 17 Sept. 22 Sept. 23 Sept. 29 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 10-16 Oct. 21 Oct. 27 Oct. 28 Nov. 4 Nov. 5 Nov. 10-12 Nov. 19 Nov. 29-30 Dec. 1-3

vs. Rocky Mountain at UM Western vs. University of Great Falls at Carroll College at Montana Tech at Lewis Clark State vs. UM Western BYE WEEK at Rocky Mountain at University of Great Falls vs. Carroll College vs. Lewis Clark State vs. Montana Tech Frontier Con. Tournament NAIA Opening Round NAIA National Championships NAIA National Championships

New-look Skylights hitting the court George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com A new season brings out a lot of things in a volleyball team: Excitement, optimism and desire, among them. And those are three things the Montana State University-Northern volleyball team bring into the start of the 2016 season, which is already underway.

The Skylights, under eighth-year head coach Bill Huebsch, have a great mix of talented veterans and exciting athletic newcomers on the 2016 roster. And, as a whole, the group is excited to not only start the new season, but to go forward after a tough 2015 campaign in which the Skylights went 2-10 in the Frontier Conference and 10-19 overall.

“I’m excited for this season,” Huebsch said. “Practice has been great.

This group has been fun to coach and fun to watch. They bring a great attitude and intensity to practice every day. It’s been a lot of fun so far.”

And those things will certainly bring noticeable difference to the Skylights this season. While Northern was talented and competitive a year ago, the Skylights lacked depth and had trouble closing sets and matches out, and that led to a sixth-place finish in the final Frontier standings.

However, with the depth MSU-N has this season, things are already changing.

“One of the biggest things is just having the numbers, which allow us to be much more competitive in practice,” Huebsch said. “Our depth has really brought up the level of play in practices, and that’s going to make us instantly better.

“I think another big difference this season will be our size in the

front row,” he continued. “We knew we needed a better presence at the net, and that was an emphasis in our recruiting. It just seems like the top teams in our league, they get bigger and bigger every year, so we needed to address that, and I feel like we have. And having a better presence at the net, that helps out our back row so much. So overall, I think we’re going to be a much better defensive team this season.”

Being better defensively and having more depth certainly helps a Skylight squad which also has strong veteran leadership.

Northern returns starters Emily Russell (5-8, Sr., S), Cassie Krueger (6-0, Jr. OH), Cydney Auzenne (5-10, Jr., OH), Jacy Vining (5-7, Sr., DS) and Kylie Pasieka (5-7, Jr., DS/L),

See Skylights Page 6 Havre Daily News/ Colin Thompson Timi Severson is an exciting new addition to the MSU-Northern volleyball team this season. The Skylights have played two tournaments and play at home Sept. 16.

5

MSU-Northern

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

September 2016 Northern Cross-Country Schedule

Sept. 9 Sept. 23 Oct. 7 Oct. 21 Nov. 4 Nov. 19

Carroll College Early Bird Meet - Helena Yellow Jacket Invitational - Billings Central Wyoming College Dual - Riverton, WY Great Falls Invitational - Great Falls Frontier Conference Championships - Helena NAIA Cross-Country Nationals - Charlotte, NC

www.havredailynews.com

MSU-N cross country teams ready to run for a second season

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com Last season, the Montana State University-Northern cross county program was just getting its start.

Now both the Lights and Skylights are back for another season and head coach Chad Spangler is optimistic about the development of his program.

"I'm looking forward to living our mantra of continuous improvement this year," Spangler said. "Compared to last year, at this time, we're looking a lot stronger. At the same time I'm realistic and know that it's going to take a couple more years of building before our conference ranking moves up. Right now we're ranked last in the conference for men and women. Nowhere to go but up."

Of course, the Lights will have a young cross country team again this year, but Spangler said he has high hopes for several first-year runners such as Curtis Westenskow and Riley Dennis. Beau Hyatt of Bainville, is another first-year guy looking to impress this season and counted on to score.

In terms of returning runners, the Lights will rely on Sundance Lodge of Havre and Tristen Belgarde of Rocky Boy. Luke Karnauskas of Havre will also redshirt for the Lights this season.

"Sundance is great teammate and a natural runner. He's another

one of those kids that just loves to run. I also look to him to motivate the team sometimes, as is proven, to be a Firestarter for us," Spangler said. "Tristen Belgarde has the most conference experience on our men's team. He was one of our top runners last year and will be a top runner for us again this year."

The Skylights will have a total of

four runners back from last season, but will also feature three first-year runners, including Rachel David and Kaitlin Nystrom of Havre, as well as Savannah Rose.

David competed in cross country and track for Havre, while Nystrom was a varsity volleyball player and also a member of the track team.

"Kaitlin came to me and basi-

cally just said, 'I want to do this coach.' She's come a long way in a short time and has shown me that she is committed to this team.

Based on her early performance, I believe she has the ability to be competitive over the next couple years," said Spangler.

The rest of the Skylights, including the five returners from

last season are McKenna Barkus, Breck Don, Courtney Cota, Amelia Clark and Alissa Borlaug.

"I think we are poised to show some significant improvement early in the season," Spangler said.

The Lights and Skylights will open their season Friday at a meet in Helena hosted by Carroll College.

6

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

www.havredailynews.com

Skylights: MSU-N spikers aim high this fall ■ From Page 4

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson The MSU-Northern volleyball team has begun the 2016 season. The Skylights are led by eighth-year head coach Bill Huebsch.

and that group gives Huebsch a lot of veteran leadership.

Also back is junior MH Mikayla Virostek (6-0, So.), and she should see increased playing time as well this season.

“All our returning players are not only playing well, but they’re doing a great job with leadership and things like that,” Huebsch said. “We have a lot of veteran players, kids that understand and know what we’re trying to do.

In that group, having your senior setter back, that’s big for us, because you really need that position to be one of the leaders of your team, and we have that with Emily. But all those girls are doing a great job for us.”

While the veteran group will be leaders and certainly be counted upon to produce, Huebsch is also excited about the mix of talented youngsters he’s added to the roster.

Among those, Timi Severson (6-0, Fr. OH/MH), Jillian Nickens (5-11, Fr., OH) and Hannah Amtmann (5-4, Fr. L) could see immediate playing time in Northern’s rotations, while Madison Weaver (5-11, Jr., MH), Vaniris Vazquez (6-0, So., S), Sheridan O’Neil (5-9, FR, OH), Katia Michelotti (6-2, FR., MH), Haley Yoder (6-2, Fr., MH), and Hailey Warren (5-8, Fr., S) are all newcomers who will hope to have an impact on the program, now, and well into the future.

“The great thing about this roster is, we’ve got some really talented young kids, and they’re pushing the veterans higher every day in practice,” Huebsch said. “So that’s exciting. It’s exciting to see the depth we have now. Now we have options at every position, and we’ll be able to put some different players in when we need to, or when things maybe just aren’t working as well. We just weren’t able to do that last season. So all of these young and new kids we have, it’s really exciting to see what they’re doing, to see their potential and what they’re bringing to our pro-

gram.”

And Northern is certainly a program to be reckoned with.

Even though the Skylights may have struggled in conference play last year, they were never an easy out, and they figure to be even better this season. With a revamped front line and defense adding to an offense which returns its setter, and leading hitters in Krueger, who had a teamhigh 323 kills, and Auzenne who added 123 kills a year ago, the Skylights are hoping to be a potent team on both sides of the net this season.

“Offensively, we’re going to play fast,” Huebsch said.

“That’s just always how we’ve done it. So, we’re not changing our philopshy. Again, I just think with the depth we have right now, we can be a little more dynamic and create more matchup problems for our opponents. I just feel like we have more kids that we can put in and they will produce. We have options and weapons at different spots, and we can hurt teams in multiple ways. That’s what I think we’ll be able to do offensively.”

And things like talent, depth and leadership, have Huebsch excited. He’s also excited about the challenges his team will face early in the season, as Northern will play five nationally ranked NAIA opponents in the first two weeks of the regular season — this weekend’s trip to Butte for the Big Sky Challenge, and next weekend’s visit to the prestigious Bellevue College Tournament in Nebraska.

“Early on, we just want to make sure we get better every day and get better with every match,” Huebsch said. “I like our non-conference schedule.

It’s very challenging, and it is designed to prepare us for what we’ll see in our conference. We play some really good teams these first three weeks, but we also have some very winnable matches too.

So we just want to use this first three weeks to make sure we keep getting better. That’s

all we’re concerned with early on.”

Long term, however, Huebsch said, his team’s goal is like everyone else’s — to be competitive in the Frontier and make their mark come November. That’s always the goal, and it’s the goal again this season for the Skylights.

Only this season, Huebsch feels his team is much better equipped to do that.

“I think we’re going to surprise a lot of teams in our league,” he said. “I thought last year we had plenty of talent, and we were competitive, but we were missing some key elements. I think we’ve addressed those elements now, and I feel like we’re just going into this season with a lot more firepower. So, our goal long-term is to get better every week, be as competitive in our league as we can be and be playing our best volleyball when November rolls around.”

November, though, is a long way off. For now, the Skylights will continue to work hard and to build as the non-conference season goes on. However, in Huebsch’s eye, the building is already well underway, and, if how well things have went in fall camp, and in last Thursday’s Maroon/Gold Scrimmage are a sign, he says the sky is definitely the limit for his newlook team.

“One thing that has me excited is how well these kids have bonded as a group already,” Huebsch said. “We haven’t been playing together for very long, but they already feel like a very tight group.

The chemistry on and off the court is really good with these kids. And they really compete and work hard every day.

“So that’s really exciting, and I’m excited to get out there and see what they do against other teams. I think, if we just improve every day, improve every week, this is going to be a really exciting year for these kids. This team will be a lot of fun to watch.”

3

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

MSU-N cowboys, cowgirls ready for another season in the rodeo arena

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Northern golf teams have the talent Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com

Havre Daily News/File Photo The MSU-Northern rodeo teams, under longtime head coach Doug Kallenberger, are ready to start a brand new season.

Chris Peterson

Havre Daily News cpeterson@havredailynews.com The MSU-Northern rodeo team is getting ready for another season, and according to head coach Doug Kallenberger, there are reasons to be excited about the Lights and the Skylights.

One thing that both teams have going for them is that nearly all of the participants are back, as each team lost just one senior off last year's roster.

"We have a young team," Kallenberger said. "Both of our teams are young. But I think that gives us a chance to do some really good things the next couple of years. I am really confident about our rodeo team this year."

When it comes to the Lights, Kallengerber said he has his two best cowboys from last season back as John Bell of Harlem and George Marcenko, of Rockglen, Canada, are both back after just missing out on the National College Finals Rodeo last season.

Both Bell and Marcenko have prepared for the season by taking part in rodeo competition as individuals over the summer and each have also done well there. Bell is in the finals for the Northern Rodeo Association, while Marcenko is also qualified for the finals in the Montana Pro Rodeo Circuit.

"Those are two things, where you compete against everybody," Kallenberger said. "So that's pretty good for those two guys."

Other contributors on the team this year

will include Victor Glen Phillips, Andrew Leo, Tate Benson, Yancy Hawley, Kyle Clutter, Tucker Hould, Colton Henderson and Dilllon Pankratz.

The Skylights also have some talented cowgirls returning for the 2016-17 season and one of them is junior Tara Stimpson, who competes in barrel racing, breakaway roping and team roping.

"Tara is really solid," Kallenberger said.

"She's good at barrel racing, but she's a great breakaway roper."

The other top contributor for the Skyights this season is expected to be Paige Raty, who is from Chinook. She competes in the same events as Stimpson, and Kallenbeger said he expects her to have a good year.

Other contributors for the Skylights this season will be Tori Blea, Lauren Four Colors, Brandi Johnson, Rebecca Panchuk, Calonna Slade and Shiloh McCormick.

Both teams will open their schedule this coming weekend in Cody, Wyoming, at the Northwest College Rodeo. Then, each team will be at the Dawson Community College Rodeo, before finishing the fall schedule at the Montana-Western Rodeo in Dillon starting Sept. 30. The spring schedule has yet to be determined.

"We always figure out the spring schedule after we are done with the fall," Kallenberger said. "But one thing that is different about rodeo is that everyone competes against everyone. There is no NAIA or NCAA. So if you win a regional championship or a national championship, it's against everyone."

The Montana State University-Northern golf program has been working its way up from the bottom for the past few years and with some new recruits, head coach Dave Boles feels Northern golf is about to take a big step in the right direction.

Both the Lights and Skylights may have finished sixth in the Frontier Conference a season ago. But the Lights, for instance, return their top four golfers from last season and also scored pretty big gets with the signing of incoming freshmen Jerod Boles and Jeff Miller, who each stood out on the Havre High golf team.

"I am really excited, especially about our men's team," Dave Boles said. "We got two players that I think can play very well for us right away and you put them with our other guys back and I think we can sneak up on some people this year, and I think that we are going to have a chance to be pretty good these next four or five years."

In addition to Miller and Boles, the Lights will also have the services of Kevin Tibbetts, who is also from Havre, as well as Devin Bray, Tyler Tharp and Mason McDunn. Another incoming freshman, Billy Miller is coming in from Broadwater.

"Kevin has a little bit of an injury right now," Boles said. "So he may not play in the first tournament, but we have some solid depth and I think we are going to surprise some people. I think we have a chance to be a really good team as long as these guys keep shooting the scores they are used to shooting."

The Skylights, on the other hand, also return some experience from a season ago and their roster will include the likes of Summer Caylin, Whitney Bahrns, Diana Ball and

Molly Kreycik.

"I think that our girls will be solid," Boles said. "But the Frontier is just really, really competitive when it comes to Women's golf."

The Northern golf teams will get things started Sept. 12-13 at the Montana Tech Invitational at the Butte County Club. After that, both teams will also play in the University of Great Falls Invitational and also the Rocky Mountain Invitational Oct. 2-3.

The Frontier Conference will take a break until the spring and the Frontier Conference tournament will be in Carston, Arizona, for the second straight year.

"We are really looking forward to that again," Boles said. "It was a great experience for our athletes. It was a quality event and it was a really great setup. It really allowed the players to show who the best ones were, instead of battling the cold and weather."

2

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

www.havredailynews.com

Lights building strength this fall MSU-Northern 2016 Football Preview George Ferguson

Havre Daily News sports editor gferguson@havredailynews.com A new head coach, a new offensive scheme, a rebuilt roster, and literally no seniors. That’s what the Montana State University-Northern Lights went into the 2015 season with.

So, even with one of the best running backs in the country, it should have been a surprise to no one that the Lights’ offense had to endure its share of struggles during what ended up being an 0-11 season a year ago.

However, in the land of college football, things can change quickly, and the Lights, under second-year head coach Aaron Christensen, are hoping the offensive turnaround will be quick.

“For us, it’s about execution,” Christensen said. “In football, every kind of offense works. Football is football. So no matter what scheme you run, you have to execute. And

with inexperience and injuries and things like that, we just didn’t execute well enough last year. So, for us, that’s what it’s going to come down to, we have to execute better this season, and I think we will. We are a lot further ahead than we were in fall camp a year ago offensively.

We’re much better right now than we were at the end of last year.”

And the numbers at the end of last year weren’t pretty. The Lights averaged just 9.5 points and 271 yards of offense per outing. And, in the all-important turnover category, Northern was -6, as the Lights’ offense gave the ball away 21 times in 11 games.

So, in order for the Lights to turn things around this season, those numbers have to improve dramatically, and Christensen believes they will.

It certainly helps to have the school’s all-time leading rusher back for his senior season. Zach McKinley (5-10, 200), the former Great Falls standout has shattered every career rushing record at Northern in his three seasons, as he has amassed 3,687 yards on the ground in his brilliant career, and he owns 13 different school records.

McKinley has been so dominant

in his career, that even last season, when the Lights struggled mightily on offense, he still tallied 1,162 yards and five scores, earning All-Conference honors for the second straight season, while finishing second in the league’s rushing race.

“Zach is as hard-working a player as I’ve ever been around,” Christensen said. “He’s also a great leader. He just does everything right, on and off the field, and it’s such a big thing to have a guy like that in your program. And all Zach really wants is to win. What I love about him is, he’s got all the stats and all the records but, at the end of the day, he will do whatever it takes and anything he can do to help the team win games.”

McKinley was to be part of a deep Northern RB group, but senior Mario Gobbatto has made the move to wide receiver. That leaves the backup duties to talented sophomore Jett Robertson (6-0, 200), who has shown flashes of being very good when he handles Northern’s kickoff return duties.

Running the football is a big priority in Christensen’s power offense, and with McKinley leading the way, the Lights will do just that.

But, in order for the offense to

shine, two things really have to come together this season. The Lights need consistency in the offensive line, and they need to be able to keep defenses honest with the passing game. Those are two areas the Lights really struggled with last season — as they were last in passing yards per game, and the line was hampered by injuries all season long.

“To me, everything starts with the offensive line,” Christensen said.

“We want to run the football first, and you need a consistent line to do that. But we’ve also got to be able to protect our quarterback and give him time to make plays and, with so many different changes to our o-line last season, we just weren’t able to do that.

“This season, I think we’ll be a lot better off,” he added. “We have more depth. We like the guys who will start for us, but we also feel like we have a few more guys we can put in there and not miss a beat.”

Northern’s line returns All-Conference right guard Pete Morales (6-3, 295) for his senior season. Now a three-year starter, he’ll be the driving force for Northern’s line. At right tackle, the talented Elijah Cox (6-5, 320) will step in to a starting

role, Casey Cleveland (6-1, 270) will be the center. Dylan Schmidt (6-4, 275) appears to have won the job at left guard, while Clint Willis (6-6, 280) is the other returning starter, and will play left tackle this season.

Jay Hembree (6-1, 260), Diamond Pedro (6-3, 310), Adolfo Robles (6-2, 270) and Ryan Handley (6-3, 260) will also give the Lights the depth they were lacking a year ago.

And if the offensive line can find the consistency and healthiness it couldn’t in 2015, things will certainly be looking up, not only for McKinley, who’s in pursuit of Frontier Conference rushing records, but also for junior QB Jess Krahn.

Krahn (6-3, 220) has really had a baptism by fire, having to burn his redshirt to start the last three games of the 2014 season, before becoming the fulltime starter last year. Krahn threw for 1,638 yards and eight scores a year ago, while also throwing 13 picks. Now, with a firmer grasp of Christensen’s offense, exciting weapons to throw to and the balance of having an All-American in McKinley behind him, Krahn will go into his junior year as a guy who could have a breakout season.

7

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

www.havredailynews.com

Lights: Northern is progressing as a program, looking for plenty of improvement this season ■ From Page 2 “Jess has progressed a lot,” Christensen said. “I felt he got a lot better towards the end of last season, and he’s really improved from spring until now. Really, Jess should be a red-shirt sophomore right now, so he’s had to go through a lot. But, right now, I think he has a really firm grasp of what we’re trying to do, and I think the guys around him are playing better, too, so that certainly helps.”

Good teams always need a good backup quarterback, and the Lights enter 2016 with a battle still going on for the No. 2 spot. Holden Maki (5-9, 170) returns after backing up Krahn last year, while transfer Caleb McLaren (6-0, 190) has also impressed in fall camp.

And when it comes to the guys the quarterbacks have to throw to, Northern will have a little different look this season, as only tight end Kagen Khamaneh and junior wideout Seth Rommelle are back of the receivers who caught balls a year ago. Khamaneh (6-3, 225) is now an experienced veteran, and while he’s always been a great blocker, he

should be an even bigger threat in Northern’s passing game this fall.

As one of the best tight ends last season, Khamaneh caught 20 passes for 191 yards and a touchdown, and he’ll look to really up that production this season.

Out wide, the Lights will look to Gobbatto to really help bolster things.

He would likely be a starting running back for most teams in the Frontier, but playing behind McKinley, he felt he could really help the Lights in the passing game. Donovan Garner and freshmen Mike Cocke (6-2, 200) and Ethan Snow (6-1, 200) will also become important targets this season, and the Lights are glad to have Sam Mix (6-1, 190) back in the fold. Big things are expected from him this fall. Others who should contribute in the passing game include Beau Wilhelm and Brice Bumgardner, as well as sophomore tight end Bowe McKay (6-3, 225).

“Receiver is another area where I think we’re better off than we were a year ago,” Christensen said. “We’re young and a little unproven there, but we have good athletes and we

have a lot more depth. And a lot of those guys have been making plays in fall camp, so we’re excited about that group.”

In all, Christensen feels like his entire offense is better equipped than it was a season ago. Of course, it doesn’t hurt to have McKinley, the greatest running back of all time at Northern leading the charge. But again, he says his offense will go as far as execution takes it, and that’s what Northern is trying to do.

Execute, and the points will come.

And when the points come so, too, will the victories.

“We haven’t changed what we want to do offensively,” Christensen said.

“We want to run the ball, we want to dominate the line of scrimmage. We also want to play fast. That’s always the goal. But, we’ve got to be balanced. And that all comes down to how you execute. And I feel like we will execute much better."

Defense A year ago, the Montana State University-Northern defense wasn’t

See Lights Page 7

Havre Daily News/Colin Thompson Montana State University-Northern's Zach McKinley, left, is one of the top offensive players in the NAIA, and the holder of 13 different rushing records at MSU-N.

devoid of talent. That certainly wasn’t an issue. But, like all facets of the MSU-N football team in 2015, the Lights’ defense had to endure the growing pains that are accompanied by a true rebuilding season.

And, despite all that talent, the pains were many, as the top offenses in the league terrorized a young Northern defense which allowed a whopping 51 points per game, and 480 yards per outing.

Now, as a new season dawns, the Lights still have talent, and even more of it. Northern, through an outstanding recruiting class this spring, has built some solid depth.

So there’s reason to be optimistic that the Lights’ defense can be much better this season and, if Northern is going to succeed as a whole, it certainly must be.

“We expect that our defense is going to play well this year,” secondyear MSU-N head coach Aaron Christensen said. “We have to play better, and I feel like we have the guys to do that. We have a lot of really good athletes on defense, and we have depth, too. I think we’re much better off there than we were at the end of last season.”

For the MSU-N defense, led by longtime coordinator and former Frontier All-Conference standout Jake Eldridge, everything starts up front where the Lights are absolutely loaded starting four seniors with a lot of reps between them.

Of course, the mainstay is at defensive end where Tyler Craig has been a nightmare for opposing offenses for the last three seasons. A First-Team All-Conference performer last season, the 6-2, 230-pound Craig, a native of Great Falls, is entering his fourth year of starting for the Lights and, his last year of what’s been a remarkable career. As a sophomore, Craig paced the Frontier in sacks with 12, and he racked up 10 more last season. In his last three years, Craig has nearly 30 sacks and another 40-plus tackles for loss, while also being productive when not rushing the passer. Last season, the ferocious Craig racked up 82 total tackles.

“He’s just an outstanding foot-

ball player,” Christensen said. “He does everything right, on and off the field. His motor never stops. Every single day he does something in practice against our offense where we just had no chance at stopping him.”

And Craig is literally the engine for what should be one of the best front fours in the Frontier Conference. Fellow senior defensive end Jordan Brusio (6-1, 230) had six sacks and 10.5 TFLs last season, while senior tackles Pat Barnett (6-2, 265) and Lane Urick (6-1, 285) are back as two of the top defensive tackles in the league. Northern also likes its depth on the line with Elijah Dennison (6-2, 245), Mitchell Harmon (6-1, 245) and Linwood Kirkland (6-0, 260).

“Our defensive line is experienced, and they’re playing well,” Christensen said. “That’s definitely one of the biggest strengths of our team.”

At linebacker, the Lights also feel they’ve gotten better and deeper.

They lost standout tackler Tucker Dunn, but returning junior Garet Fowler (5-10, 205), who had 73 tackles a year ago, should be the heart of a linebacking group that also returns Jess Morales (6-0, 210), who had 74 stops last season. Other LBs who are expected to be in the hunt for major reps this season include Alec Wagner (5-11, 210), T.J. Gasetoto (6-0, 215), Kyle Martinez (6-0, 240), Jonathan Gragg (6-2, 210) and David N’Guessa (6-0, 190).

“Garet Fowler is probably the most improved player on our entire roster,” Christensen said. “He’s made the biggest jump since I’ve been here. He’s going to have a big season for us.”

On the back end, Northern will look to its two returning starting safeties to lead the way. The Lights were solid against the pass last year, but lost starting corner Malcolm Manuel. Still with senior Logan Sprouse (5-11, 170) and Garrett Jerricoff (5-9, 195) back, the Lights will have a veteran presence in the secondary. Sprouse led the Lights

See Lights Page 8

8

MSU-Northern

September 2016

FALL SPORTS PREVIEW

Lights: Young Lights will be much-improved in all phases this season ■ From Page 7 secondary. Sprouse led the Lights with three interceptions last season, while together, the two safeties combined for nearly 150 tackles.

Corey Lee (5-10, 175), Dujuan Jones (6-1, 190), Sherman Arthur (6-1, 170) and Dequincy Bergen (5-10, 180) are all players who will also see time at corner and safety this season.

“We have our safeties who are seniors, and both are very good football players,” Christensen said. “So we have a veteran presence in the secondary. We’re going to be a little more inexperienced at corner, but, again, I think we have better depth there than we had last season, and that’s going to help out a lot.”

Depth, Christensen said, is one of the biggest keys to Northern’s defense being muchimproved this season. The Lights had talent last season, no doubt, but they also had very few seniors on the defensive depth chart, and very little depth to back up injuries and other things, and that certainly led to Northern’s share of struggles.

Now, however, as Northern enters a 2016 season hungry to put last year’s 0-11 campaign behind it, the Lights’ defense will look much different, even with stars like Craig, Brusio, Barnett, Fowler and Sprouse still there.

“I know it’s kind of a recurring theme with this team right now,” Christensen said, “but I really do think we are a lot better now than we were at the end of last season. Our defense has a lot of talent and a lot of veteran guys in key areas. But with the depth we’ve added, they’ve just gotten better and better.

I think we were better at the end of spring than we were when we started, and I feel that way with how the defense has played in fall camp. They’ve gotten better every single day.

“I think our defense is going to be a strength this season,” he continued. “I like the athletes we have, and they have really been getting after it in camp. So I expect our defense is going to play very well this season.”

Special Teams Like all areas on the football field, special teams matters. And the Lights are looking for big things out of their special teams units this season.

Northern will have some new faces in different areas this season, including at kicker, where Tommy Langley takes over the duties.

Langley (5-11, 190) is a transfer from Modesto Junior College in California and, thus far, he has been booming good kicks throughout fall camp.

In two other key special teams areas, the Lights return leaders from last season.

Punter Dillon Barnes (6-0, 160) is back for his senior season after averaging 39.9 yards per punt a season ago. Also back is sophomore running back Jett Robertson to handle kickoff return duties. As last season went on Robertson became more and more of a threat on kickoff return, and by the end of 2015, he was averaging nearly 25 yards per return.

Northern will also look at wide receivers Donovan Garner and Ethan Snow, as well as cornerback Sherman Arthur to return punts and kicks as well.

2016 Lights Facts Head Coach: Aaron Christensen (2nd Season) Returning Starters: Offense 6, Defense 7 2015 Frontier All-Conference: Tyler Craig, DE; Zach McKinley, RB, Pete Morales, OL Captains: Tyler Craig, Zach McKinley, Garet Fowler, Pete Morales

2016 Frontier Conference Coaches Preseason Poll 1. Southern Oregon 2. Montana Tech 3. Carroll College 4. Eastern Oregon 5. College of Idaho 6. UM-Western 7. Rocky Mountain College 8. MSU-Northern

www.havredailynews.com Lights Football Schedule

Sept. 10

at Montana Tech

Sept. 17

vs. Carroll College

Sept. 24 Oct. 1 Oct. 8 Oct. 15 Oct. 22 Oct. 29 Nov. 5 Nov. 12

at UM Western BYE vs. Eastern Oregon at Rocky Mountain vs. Montana Tech at Carroll College at Southern Oregon vs. College of Idaho