Samson era begins for Lights football
Ryan Divish - Havre Daily News Sports Editor
Mark Samson isnıt sure
where his Montana State University-Northern football team is going to end up in
its first season under his helm.
One things he is
sure about is that his program is headed in the right direction.
Samson takes over for former coach Walt
Currie, who retired shortly after the end of last season.
A former assistant coach at
³Itıs going to take a little time for everyone
to get on the same page as what we want to accomplish,²
Samson said. ³There are going to be a lot of hills and valleys along the way
that we will have to work through. But whatever happens this season, I think
weıre heading in the right direction.²
Hopefully for Samson, that direction will be up, as in moving up in the
conference standings.
Last season, a youthful and inexperienced
Lightsı squad finished the season with a 1-9 record. The only win came at
Montana Tech.
Samson hopes to improve on that record by
relying heavily on a solid returning base of players and host of new and
talented faces.
With a new staff, more than 40 new players
and new offensive and defensive schemes, Samson and his coaching staff have
been trying to squeeze everything they can into the three weeks of fall
practice before their first game against
³I think the kids have worked pretty hard,² he said. ³With the amount of new kids we have, I think
that theyıre picking up our system fairly well. Thereıs been great enthusiasm
and the kids are genuinely excited to be out there playing. Weıre definitely
ahead of where we were at this spring.²
Indeed, spring practice was a learning
experience. Still, Northern figures to start or play several players, including
a few true freshmen, who werenıt in Havre for spring practice. The learning
period figures to continue throughout the season.
³Itıs still going to take awhile for
everyone to know what we want to get done out there,²
Samson said. ³Right now, they are thinking through every thing they do. We want
to get to the point where it is instinct and they just
react.²
After two weeks of practice, the Lightsı
offense and defense have started take shape as a unit with a mixture of
returnees and new players.
³Weıve pretty much settled on our ones and
twos for our depth chart,² Samson said. ³There may be
a few changes in terms of special teams, but for the most part, I like where
weıre at.²
Taking over the quarterback duties is a
familiar name to
Samsonıs son Kyle will run the show for the
Lights after transferring to Northern from the
³Kyle really hasnıt missed a beat,² Samson said. ³Heıs definitely stronger than last year,
but he hasnıt lost any of his speed or quickness.²
Because of his position and his familiarity
with his fatherıs offense, Kyle has become the on-field leader for the Lights
offense which is something Mark Samson fully expected.
³Kyleıs always been a leader,² he said. ³Thatıs what he wants and its
a responsibility that he relishes.²
Last yearıs starter Neil Crandell will be Samsonıs back-up. There was some
competition between Crandell and former HHS standout
and
³We moved Wirtzberger
to a slot receiver because we want him on the field,²
Samson said. ³He has shown good hands and quickness so far and it would be a
waste to have him on the sidelines. He gives us some depth at that position.²
Depth at receiver has been a concern for
Samson. Northern does return Nick Arnold, Clint Herrera and Seth Woodhouse, who
all saw action last season, but a couple of key recruits didnıt show up for
fall camp.
³Nick has been playing very well this fall,
and Clint and Seth are good receivers, but they donıt quite have that speed
weıre looking for on the outside,² Samson said. ³They
are more possession-type receivers.²
Samson will look to true freshman Todd
Nelson to provide some speed at the receiver position. As for added depth,
Samson said he may even have to raid the defense secondary if need be.
Kyle Samson will have a familiar face in
the backfield, as fellow Grizzly transfer Don Saisbury
will handle the bulk of the rushing duties with Cody Nickel handling the full
back position.
³One of the biggest changes offensively is
there is going to be an emphasis on the running game,²
Samson said. ³Weıre not going to win games if we canıt run the ball.²
The running gameıs success is going to rely
heavily on the Lights offensive line. Several starters return from last season
including Garrett Kirpach, Trevor Nelson and Levi Wesche.
³The offensive line is progressing pretty
well,² Samson said. ³Theyıre starting to understand
the offense and gelling as a unit.²
As for the scheme, Samson said most people
would label it an option offense, which is partially true, because Northern is
going to run the option with Kyle Samson. However, it would almost pigeon-hole
it into something itıs not.
³Weıre going to run and pass in many
different ways from many different looks and formations,²
Samson said.
While the offense has plenty of new faces,
the defensive unit may have even more.
³We brought in a lot of new players for the
defense,² Samson said. ³And the defense looks much
stronger than it did in the spring. But itıs not a very deep
unit. Weıre going to be playing some true freshmen out
there. We have no choice. But the defense will still be better than it
was in the spring.²
One of those true freshmen slated to start
is Samsonıs other son, Marc, who was the Class AA defensive MVP for his dad at
Capital last season. Marc Samson will start at cornerback along with Montana
State transfer Jake Eldridge, who adds size and speed.
Another true freshman, and Marc Samsonıs
teammate at Capital, Dilan Saisbury,
is slated to start at a safety position, while last yearıs starting cornerback
Nathan Walters has moved to the other safety.
³We tried to put kids in where they fit
best in the secondary,² Samson said. ³Our secondary is
probably our strongest area on defense, but it isnıt the most experienced. Marc
and Dilan are true freshmen and Nate is playing a new
position. They are athletic and intelligent kids, they just need enough reps.²
Probably Samsonıs biggest area of concern
on the defense in the spring was the defensive line. Northern lost three-time
All-American Bomont Somerfeld
to graduation and will use several players to offset the loss.
Andrew Leichtnam
returns from last season, while redshirt Joe Coleman
and true freshman Tom Claytor have had fall camps.
³We have a lot of new kids at the defensive
end position,² Samson said. ³Weıre not the biggest
defensive front in the world, so we are going to rotate a lot of kids in and
make sure we have fresh kids out there all the time.²
The relative inexperience up front places
some added responsibility on the Lightsı linebacking
unit.
³Our linebackers are going to have to step
up and make plays,² Samson said. ³Itıs that simple.²
Kyle Wakefield and Joe Tusick
are back from last year, but have swapped positions, with Wakefield playing on
the outside and Tusick playing in the middle. Joining
them is former HHS standout Brent Finneman, who
returns to the team after a one-year hiatus. Finneman
had spent spring practice at safety, but has been moved to linebacker to take
advantage of his tackling ability. True freshmen Kennedy Anderson, Jose
Ringgold and Ben Keller will also figure into the linebacking
mix.
³Weıre in a situation where our front-line
players are solid,² Samson said. ³But depth is going
to be a problem. We have a lot of true freshmen backing players up. We canıt
afford to have injuries or our starters missing games.²
As for the rest of the conference, two-time
defending NAIA national champion Carroll College is the obvious favorite,
especially with all-everything quarterback Tyler Emmert
returning.
UM-Western will be solid, but must offset
the loss of standout quarterback Travis Kirby. Montana Tech was decimated by
injuries last season, but figures to be better, while
Where Northern fits into the mix is hard to
say.
³With the talent we have, the wins will
come,² Samson said. ³I believe weıre doing things the
right way and what that equates to in terms of wins and losses I donıt know.
But we will be competitive every time we step on the field.²