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Football readies for Northern St.
There was one major sentiment running through Selke Field following SCSU’s season-opening 45-17 victory against Northern Michigan: the defense had passed its first test.
Sure, they gave up almost 300 yards through the air, including four pass plays of more than 30 yards, despite holding a two-to-one advantage in time of possession. But give credit where it is due: after falling behind 24-7 at halftime, NMU ran 33 pass plays in the second half, including 29 in a row to finish the game.
SCSU head coach Randy Hedberg said before the game that his defense would be facing a lot of unknowns. That held true, as NMU ran a lot of screens and quick passes that can be difficult for prepared defenses to handle. This weekend, there will be significantly fewer unknowns when the Huskies travel to Aberdeen, S.D. to take on the Northern State Wolves.
“From a mental standpoint, our players will be better prepared,” Hedberg said. “They’re a team that runs the ball quite effectively. They have a couple of good, big backs they’ll throw at us, but they’ll also spread you out defensively with a variety of offensive sets.”
Hedberg says that he anticipates trying to defend the run in many different formations, something his team was successful at last week. The Huskies stifled NMU’s ground game, holding them to 27 yards on 13 attempts.
Northern State held their own last Saturday at Augustana, keeping the Vikings offense silent in the second half. Their offense however, only put up seven points in the first half and laid an egg in the second as well.
While Northern State promises to challenge the Husky defense again this week, let us not forget that this is much the same team the Huskies shut out last season, 27-0. They’re in a similar situation as NMU was last week: they lost their top quarterback, wide receiver and two best running backs from last season to graduation.
Their top offensive threat comes in the form of junior wide receiver Matt Pinto, who burned the Vikings for a 75-yard touchdown pass. The big backs Hedberg mentioned are a pair of juniors, 255 lb. Ronnie Cruz and 245 lb. Matt Wagner, who combined for 78 yards on 18 carries last week.
Given the state of the Wolves passing game (half of quarterback Jake Parten’s 147 yards came on one play; he was nine of 28 for 72 yards on the rest of his passes) and the improving Husky run defense, it would appear that the Huskies have a decided advantage on both sides of the ball, but that’s why they play the games.
The Huskies will kick off against the Northern State Wolves in one of two night games this year. Gametime is 7:05 p.m. at NSU’s Swisher Field.
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