It’s been a season of struggle for the MSU-Northern Lights football team. The schedule doesn’t get any easier as the team heads on the road to face Montana Western, a team that has been in the conversation for a top-25 NAIA ranking.
Before previewing Western, Lights coach Jerome Souers looked back on his defense’s performance against Southern Oregon. The unit produced four turnovers, which was as many as the team had in its last five games, combined.
“They’ve been really close in a lot of situations,” Souers said. “To have that come together the way it did, we were really proud of it.”
“We have to play to a standard of 100% effort, playing to our technique, and getting after the football,” Souers continued.
Coach Souers had a message for fans who are looking for better results on the scoreboard. He said to not look at it and to think about what the steady improvements of the team have done for future development.
“This season, we can’t look at the scoreboard,” Souers said. “It’s unfortunate that the development of our program isn’t ready yet to compete consistently for wins the way that we want to and the way that everyone wants to.”
“For right now, we need to make gains. We need to show improvement each week and we need to maintain a positive attitude,” Souers said. “Even as tough as this is, we are on a journey. We’re in a process. You have to trust the process and that will take us where we want to go.”
Souers then got into the way that his team has to prepare itself to go out on the road to face the Bulldogs and how past experiences have shaped his men.
“We haven’t always traveled well,” Souers said. “The game against College of Idaho, we did not come out sharp. It was a long trip.”
“I’d like us to be more mature about how we travel; the kind of mindset that we have,” Souers continued. “You’re sleeping in a different bed. You have to take care of your rest and eat right and have energy for the game.”
“I expect us to come out with more energy for the game (against Western) and continue to work on the small improvements that need to be made,” Souers said.
Listen on KPQX-92.5FM to the Northern Lights (1-6, 0-5 Frontier Conference) in action at Montana Western (6-1, 4-1 Frontier Conference on Saturday afternoon at 1pm.
