Blue Hawks spoil Samson's debut
By Ryan Divish/Havre Daily News Sports Editor/rdivish@havredailynews.com
Forgive the Dickinson State Blue Hawks and head coach Hank Biesiot, but they didn't care about debuts.
The Blue Hawks spoiled the season debut of Montana State University-Northern
football team and new head coach Mark Samson with a 34-0 beating at Whitney
Stadium in
"That's a very good football team," Samson said. "But I don't
think that we played anywhere near to where I believe we can"
Indeed, DSU lived up to its No. 5 ranking in NAIA with a punishing ground game
and an even more punishing defense that is the trademark of Biesiot-coached
teams.
All-American tailback Jace Schillinger
rushed for a game-high 113 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown.
"We knew they'd be physical," Samson said. "They just lined up
and ran it right at us. Schillinger is tough and he
ran the ball hard They're a top five team. There's no
doubt about that.."
But it wasn't just Schillinger
hurting the Lights. Quarterback Mike Spargo was very
efficient, completing six of 13 passes for 127 yards and a pair of touchdowns. Spargo connected with Rafe
Espinoza on an 18-yard scoring strike and with Chinook native Hugo Anderson on
a 44-yard scoring pass in the third quarter.
"They actually threw a little more than we anticipated," Samson said
"And their quarterback played well. They had a few dropped passes. It
seemed like every pass they completed went for big yards."
Conversely, the DSU defense didn't allow the Lights' offense the same luxury.
The stingy Blue Hawk defense held Northern to just 208 yards of total offense and
12 first downs in the contest.
"That's a good defense," Samson said. "They're big and physical
and get after you."
How good?
Well, Samson's father-in-law Bob Petrino, the
legendary coach for
"He said it was one of the best
Northern did have a few scoring opportunities in the game, but failed to
convert a tough third down and fourth down and short plays to keep scoring
drives alive.
The Lights went down 7-0 in the first quarter after a Schillinger
touchdown, but appeared to be marching toward a tying score early in the second
quarter. However, DSU stuffed Northern on fourth-and-1 to kill the drive.
The Blue Hawks put together an extensive drive, leading to a Ben Knight 13-yard
touchdown scamper.
"I really do think if we had gotten that score that things might have been
different," Samson said. "Then they put that long drive together
which hurt us. And the score right before halftime was tough. We didn't regroup
very well after that score and things started to studder."
Indeed, Espinoza's touchdown came with just four seconds remaining in the first
half.
Offensively, Northern was led by running back Don Saisbury,
who had 64 yard rushing on 14 carries and 67 yards receiving on three catches.
Quarterback Kyle Samson completed eight of 15 passes for 93 yards.
Defensively, Joe Tusick led the Lights with 11ð
tackles, while Brent Finneman added six tackles.
"At times we moved the ball and made some big plays," Samson said.
"But we made some mistakes with a lot of little things that hurt us."
Although it wasn't entirely the way Samson wanted to start the season, he is
still very positive.
"I really believe we are on the right path," Samson said. "Some
kids' eyes were opened at the level of play. There are certainly positives. We
just need to get back to practice and make some adjustments and start working
on getting better because it certainly doesn't get any easier this week"
No, it does not.
The Lights will host two-time defending national champion
MSU-NORTHERN 0 0 0 0 - 0
DICKINSON STATE 7 14 10 3 - 34
Scoring Summary
First quarter
10:43 - DSU Jace Schillinger
5-yard run (Shawn O'Brien kick)
Second quarter
5:53 - DSU Ben Knight 13-yard run (O'Brien kick)
:04 - Rafe Espinoza 18-yard pass from Mike Spargo (O'Brien kick)
Third quarter
13:15 DSU Hugo Anderson 44-yard pass from Spargo
(O'Brien kick)
11:17 DSU Shawn O'Brien 43-yard field goal
Fourth Quarter
6:37 DSU Shawn O'Brien 31-yard field goal
MSUN DSU
First downs 12 16
Rushing Attempts 42 45
Yards Rushing 115 241
Yards Passing 93 127
Total Yards 208 368
Passes 8-15-0 6-13-0
Fum-lost 1-1 0-0
Pen-yards 5-33 3-38
Punts-yards 3-32 3-40
Tim Poss. 31:06 28:54
Individual Statistics
Rushing : MSUN - Don Saisbury 14-64, Cody Nickel
8-36, John Banks 3-26, J.P. Kastner 1-3, Neill Crandell 2 (-4), Kyle Samson 14 (-10). DSU - Jace Schillinger 16-113, Sam Campanella 5-36; Ben Knight 11-30, Damen
Woolsey 4-22, Mike Spargo 3-18, Kyle Wolfe 1-14,
Kevin Niemitalo 3-11, Mitch Wilkins 1-1.
Passing: MSUN - Kyle Samson
Receiving: MSUN - Don Saisbury 3-67, Clint Herrera
2-14, Nick Arnold 2-5, J. Branson 1-7. DSU - Rafe
Espinoza 2-39, Adam Eckert 2-34, Hugo Anderson 1-44, Ben Knight 1-10.
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