|
Lights hope rough weather slows down top-ranked Carroll College
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
While many people aren't pleased with the early brushing of snow that hit
the state, Montana State University-Northern football coach Walt Currie loves
it. In fact, he'd like about six to 10 inches more on Saturday just before
kickoff.
No, Currie isn't a recreational dog sledder, rather he is hoping the rough
weather forecasted for this weekend might slow down the top-ranked Carroll
College Fighting Saints when the Lights meet them in Helena.
In a comparison of overall speed, Carroll is a Corvette and Northern more of
a snowplow, so Currie hopes a little bit of snow might slow the Carroll
wheels down.
"It kind of sounds like it might be nasty," Currie said referring
to the weather. "It would be perfect for us. It might slow them down a
little and give us a boost."
A boost of any sort would definitely help against the Saints because they are
simply dominating teams. In its last four games, Carroll has outscored its
opponents 203-44 including a 58-17 win over the Lights on Oct. 4 in Havre.
"It's not like we're the only team in the league to have the crap kicked
out of them by Carroll," Currie said. "They've pretty much done it
to everyone."
Indeed, Carroll has only played in two really
close games this season and that was early in the season. Currie is hoping to
make them a little uncomfortable by keeping things close into the fourth
quarter.
"We want to make the game ugly, especially if the weather is bad,"
Currie said. "We want to get into the fourth quarter and be in the ball
game. Hopefully, it will force them to do things they haven't done all
season."
What the Saints haven't done much all season is play from behind. Carroll has
never trailed by more than a touchdown at any time this season. The Saints'
offense is so potent that it always seems to answer an opposing team's
scores.
"They just keep coming at you on every play," Currie said.
Carroll has the No. 2 scoring offense in NAIA at 42.6 points per game and
also second in total offense per game with 492 yards per game.
And the offense all start's with quarterback Tyler Emmert. The sophomore
quarterback is in the midst of a fine season, completing 151 of 204 passes
(74%) for 2,035 yards and 18 touchdowns while being intercepted only twice.
"He's a stud," Currie said. "He's a dangerous passer, but he
is also so agile, sometimes you tend to forget how quick he is until he
scrambles for a bunch of yards."
But the Carroll offense hardly stops there, Emmert has perhaps the Frontier
Conference's best receiver in senior Mark Gallik.
Gallik has 47 catches for 923 yards which averages out to a gaudy 19.6 yards
per catch plus eight touchdown catches on the season. He is joined by Zack
Zawacki, Kevin McCutcheon and Matt Gareffa.
Carroll also has an efficient runner in D.J. Dearcorn, who rushed for 117
yards and scored three touchdowns in the previous meeting against the Lights.
Most people believe you never completely stop the Carroll offense, instead
you hope to slow it down, which is what Currie is hoping to do.
"Our defense has been shored up a little with some of our players
returning," Currie said. "I think we're better defensively than a
month ago. Hopefully, it gives us a better chance."
If Northern is to have a better chance, its offense must also play well in
the rough conditions. The Lights were out of sync and out of rhythm
offensively in last week's 29-22 loss to Montana Tech. They did generate 335
yards of total offense, but much of that came on three possessions.
"We're hoping to run the ball against them, especially if the weather is
bad," Currie said. "The weather will place a premium on
possessions, so we must take care of the football and not turn it over."
In the previous matchup with Carroll, Northern did score 17 points, the most
ever the program scored against the Saints.
"We moved the ball better than we ever have against them," Currie
said. "We got some touchdowns and made some things happen on some busted
plays.
Another area where Carroll hurt Northern was in special teams. The Saints ran
back a kickoff for a touchdown and had several long punt returns for good
field position.
"They were so much better than us on special teams," Currie said.
"We couldn't catch them on punts or kickoff. They kept themselves in
outstanding field position. We certainly don't need to help them out any. We
need to make them earn their points from a long way out."
The cold weather has hindered Northern's preparation a little this week, but
Currie didn't think it was a major setback.
"It shouldn't affect us too badly preparation-wise," he said.
"It's not like we're putting in new things and Carroll isn't going to
change everything. We'll spend a little more time in the film room and
reinforce the things we need to do and try to do it on the field in some
miserable weather."
The last sentence brought a smile to Currie's face as he said it.
"The worse the better," Currie said. "We'll take a little snow
and cold and rough weather."
You could almost hear him singing, "let it snow, let it snow, let it
snow."
Northern and Carroll will kick off at 1 p.m. and the came can be heard on
92.5 KPQX-FM.
|