Lights run all over Mountaineers
George Ferguson
Havre Daily News sports editor
gferguson@havredailynews.com
Just seven
days removed from an emotional rollercoaster at
But mature football teams don’t do that, and the Lights are a mature football team.
Despite losing starting quarterback Kyle Samson for the second straight week, the Lights’ offensive line pushed around the EOU defense in the second half, and Northern made big plays en route to a 41-21 win over the Mountaineers Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium.
The win over EOU pushed MSU-N’s record to 3-1 in Frontier Conference play and 4-1 overall as the Lights get ready to head to No. 7 Montana Tech on Saturday.
“I was nervous about how we would approach this game to begin with,” MSU-N head coach Mark Samson said. “Even though I thought we had a really good week of practice, we were coming off a really tough loss and sometimes it is tough to get back up in that situation.
“But the kids did a lot of really good things on Saturday,” he added. “And we got through the game.”
The Lights looked like they would steamroll EOU early thanks to two long touchdown passes by Kyle Samson. The senior hit star receiver Nick Bodeman on a 22-yard touchdown pass early, and on the first play of the second quarter, he hit Coda Tchida on a slant pattern that Tchida turned into a 68-yard catch and run that put the Lights up 14-0.
But EOU responded with a TD catch by Deandre Amos to make the score 14-7, and to make matters worse, Samson reinjured his ankle and did not return in the second half.
“We had a little bit of a lull in the second quarter,” Mark Samson said. “We put the ball on the ground a couple of times and we just can’t do that.
“But I was really happy with how the offensive line came out in the second half and asserted themselves,” he added. “We really took command of the game right at the start of the third quarter. And of course, our defense played really well again. We gave up a couple of touchdowns in the passing game, but I think on the defensive side of the ball, we played really well.”
Indeed, Northern’s defense limited EOU, a predominately running team, to 30 yards on 26 attempts. And Northern’s playmakers, including backup QB Kelly McBryan did the rest in the second half.
Up 14-7 in the third quarter, McBryan drove the Lights down the field twice, and made some long runs on third down along the way. Each of MSU-N’s two third-quarter scores came on short, tough runs by Don Saisbury. In all Saisbury scored three times, including a two-yard touchdown run to cap off the scoring in the final stanza.
McBryan also threw a beautiful 26-yard touchdown pass to Tchida to start the fourth quarter. Tchida’s catch answered a 65-yard TD reception by EOU’s Jomo Wilson that made the score 27-14, and essentially put the Lights out in front for good.
McBryan only threw four passes in two-and-a-half quarters of play, but he was extremely efficient moving the ball. McBryan and Saisbury each rushed for 87 yards on the day, and as a team MSU-N’s offensive line led the Lights’ running backs and quarterbacks to an astounding 301 yards on the ground. The game was the third time this season that the Lights have gone over 300 yards on the ground.
“I felt a lot more comfortable and confident today,” McBryan said. “I got a lot more reps in practice, and when Kyle came out, I just felt a lot more comfortable going in there and knowing what we needed to do.”
Tchida also starred for the Lights on offense. The redshirt-freshman only caught three balls, but racked up 108 yards to go along with his two scores. Bodeman also caught three passes for 71 yards, and before he left with an injury, Kyle Samson completed 6-of-10 passes for 159 yards and two scores.
“In the second half, our offensive line just played really well,” Mark Samson said. “They were really blowing their defensive lineman off the ball, and we really ran it well as a result. All of our lineman played reall good football in the second half.
“We didn’t have to throw a lot, but Coda had a really nice game and we need to continue to get him the ball,” he added. And Kelly did a really good job for us again. He made some nice runs and really ran our offense well int he second half.”
Northern was stout defensively. While Wilson did catch five balls for 102 yards, the MSU-N defense was in command all day long. Kennedy Anderson led a defense by committee with eight tackles and a quarterback sack. Dilan Saisbury also had six tackles, and Josh Glaun and Travis Hjort also recorded sacks. Defensive back Marc Samson took the league lead in interceptions when he picked off Ian O’Brien in the fourth quarter. Samson now has four interceptions this season. Marc McBryan also got his third pick of the season on Saturday.
“I think we really came together as a team to get this win,” Kelly McBryan said. “It was a tough game. But our offensive line played really well. Our defense was awsome and we were really able to control things in the second half. This was an important win for us and we’re glad to get it done at home.”
Said Mark Samson: “This was a big win for us from a standpoint of what we want to accomplish this season in the conference. We know we have to win at home and I thought the kids did a lot of good things against Eastern Oregon. This was a nice win for us and now we can look forward to a really big game at Montana Tech.”
The Lights will travel to Butte on Saturday for a huge conference showdown with 3-2 Montana Tech. The game in Butte kicks off at 1 p.m.
Lights 41, Mountaineers 21
Eastern Oregon 0 7 7 7 — 21
MSU-Northern 7 7 13 14 — 41
First Quarter
MSUN — Nick Bodeman 22 pass from Kyle Samson (Luke McKinley kick)
Second Quarter
MSUN — Coda Tchida 68 pass from Samson (McKinley kick)
EOU — DeAndre Amos 26 pass from Ian O’Brien (Akers kick)
Third Quarter
MSUN — Don Saisbury 6 run (kick blocked)
MSUN — Saisbury 1 run (McKinley kick)
EOU — Jomo Wilson 65 pass from O’Brien (Akers kick)
Fourth Quarter
MSUN — Tchida 26 pass from Kelly McBryan (McKinley kick)
EOU — Amos 12 pass from O’Brien
MSUN — Saisbury 2 run (McKinley kick)
EOU MSUN
First Downs 14 27
Rushes/Yards 26-30 58-301
Passing Yards 236 216
Comp-Att-Int 15-37-2 9-14-0
Punts-Avg. 7-30.9 1-26.0
Fumbles-lost 1-0 4-2
Penalties-yards 6-65 8-69
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Eastern Oregon, Travis Morscheck 7-29, Amos 2-10, Maxie 1-9, O’Brien 9-3, Mayfield 1-0, Denny 6-(minus-21); MSU-Northern, Saisbury 16-87, McBryan 11-87, Zach Wermers 10-60, Shearer 9-39, Moe 8-38, Samson 4-(minus 10).
PASSING—Eastern Oregon, O’Brien, 15-35-2—236; MSU-Northern, Samson 6-10-0—169, McBryan 3-4-0—47.
RECEIVING—Eastern Oregon, Wilson, 5-102, Mayfield 3-58, Quarles 3-38, Amos 2-27, Denny 2-11; MSU-Northern, Tchida 3-108, Bodeman 3-71, Salsbury 1-17, Wermers 1-13, Shearer 1-7.