MSU-Northern’s football team went through four different quarterbacks in a (43-12) loss at Carroll College last weekend. However, one of the consistencies in the starting lineup for the Lights has been senior running back Mason Dionne, who has totaled over 100 yards in three of the first four games. New Media Broadcasters asked head coach Jerome Souers how the rest of the team can fall in line with Dionne’s play and he said the team hasn’t had that level of ability to complete four quarters, so that will be a priority going forward.
“(Dionne is) a special player,” Souers said of the former Havre High Blue Pony. “He’s got a big heart and he’s got a lot of ability. Not everybody has that.”
“We need to get the best out of everybody else that’s on the field,” Souers continued. “We lack consistency. Last week, we could not stop shooting ourselves in the foot in the first half (against Carroll). It was very disappointing on our part.”
“I thought that the way we played in the second half was more like we’re capable of playing and we showed better,” Souers said. “But at the end of the day, it’s a four-quarter game and we have to do a better job at playing all the way to the finish. That’s what we’re missing.”
This week, the Lights face an Eastern Oregon Mountaineers squad that is in the middle of the pack in the Frontier Conference standings. Souers credited the play of EOU redshirt senior quarterback Quincy Glasper and made a good point about how preparing for teams in a new offensive scheme makes it hard to adjust to what each defense is giving them.
“They have an outstanding quarterback,” Souers said. “(6-foot-4) and runs like the wind. He can sling it (about) 70 yards. He’s been on a roll and nobody can tackle him. He’s fast and he’s athletic and he’s got big arms.”
“They won some games on (Glasper’s) ability,” Souers continued. “They’re a legitimate force when he’s under center. Their defense is solid.”
“The hard part about running option like we do, we don’t always know what we’re going to see defensively because everybody plays us different than they play everybody else,” Souers said. ” But if we get better at that, it’ll be more of an advantage for us.”
Northern (0-4) will be in La Grande to take on Eastern Oregon on Saturday. Kickoff is at 2pm and can be heard on KPQX-92.5FM and HiLineToday.com.
