The MSU-Northern Football team (1-1) is flying to Arizona on Thursday for a matchup in the Phoenix suburb of Glendale. Their opponent, Arizona Christian (1-1) is coming off of its first win of the year, while the Lights played a scrimmage in between their loss to Rocky Mountain College.
This will be the first time that the team has flown on a plane to a game since 2019, when they took on ACU as well. Lights head coach Jerome Souers is excited to have this traveling arrangement and feels like it is an opportunity for his team to get away.
“It’ll be good for our young team to get on the road again,” Souers said. “We have to involve the airport this time, which is a little different in travel, so we’ll be out of town for a couple of days.”
Souers gives the New Media Broadcasters viewers a preview of what his football team is going to expect come Saturday when they take the field against ACU.
“They play a very fast-paced style of ball and have over 170 guys in their program,” Souers said. “They utilize the fast-paced game and the setting of intense heat to their advantage.”
“There are going to be some challenges not just in the matchups, but in the pace of play,” Souers continued. “The temperatures will be a challenge, although anybody who has lived in Havre very long knows that it can get warm here, too.”
For Souers, this is a homecoming of sorts. He made a name for himself as the head coach at Northern Arizona University for 21 seasons. Souers said that he will have some supporters in the stands in the form of former players who will make their way out to Glendale to visit their old coach.
“Personally, it will be a special trip,” Souers said. “I know a number of players spanning the last 25 years indicating an interest to come by the game and say hello.”
“Those kinds of things always remind you (that) the work you’ve done in the past is not over,” Souers continued. “Those young people that you have a chance to share your life with want to go to college and enjoy the sport they love and that’s a lifelong relationship. I’m looking forward to reconnecting with the guys who I’ve had a chance to work with all those years.”
Kickoff of MSU-Northern and Arizona Christian is scheduled for 8pm mountain time on Saturday night. Catch Arizona State student Aiden Blanc for the call on KPQX 92.5-FM.
