Billings, Mont. – Rocky Mountain College will host the Montana State University-Northern Lights for their 2019 home opener. Both teams will look to carry the momentum from a season opener win last week into their conference opener on Saturday.

Series History: Based on available records, Rocky holds a 35-20 series advantage over the Lights. The Battlin' Bears are currently on an eight game win streak in the series. Rocky's last loss was a thrilling 44-41 loss in November of 2014. MSU-Northern's Jordan Rueschhoff knocked in a game-winning 13 yard field goal in the final seconds of the last game of the 2014 season. Last year's matchups saw Rocky win 51-7 in September and 52-13 in October.

Battlin' Bears So Far: Rocky's first game of the season was thrilling 23-21 defeat of the No. 9 ranked Dickinson State Blue Hawks. The Battlin' Bears won the game in the final minute when freshman kicker Wyatt Brusven kicked his third field goal of the game to put Rocky up by two. Jimmy Henderson ended any chance of a Dickinson State comeback with an interception to seal the game. Both Brusven and Henderson were selected Frontier Conference Players of the Week.

Lights So Far: The Lights took down the (RV) Arizona Christian Firestorm in a major road win during their season opener in Glendale, Arizona. In a win over a team on the edges of being nationally ranked, the Lights led the entire way after jumping to a 14 point lead in the first quarter off a rushing touchdown by Keagan Stroop and a touchdown pass from Brenden Medina to Bryce Bumgardner.

Scouting the Lights:

• MSU-Northern is led by freshman quarterback Brenden Mendina who threw for 247 yards and a touchdown in his collegiate debut.
• Bryce Bumgardner caught the previously mentioned touchdown pass. He returns this season after ranking No. 3 in the receptions (65) and No. 4 in recieving yards (871) throughout the Frontier last season.
• Jett Robertson ran for 64 yards last week. He's totaled 921 career yards so far including a team-high 686 yards in 2018.
• On the defensive side, look for defensive back Joshua Rose to make an impact. In his debut as a Light, the Rose recorded three solo tackles, three assisted tackles, a sack, and two pass breakups.

Scouting the Battlin' Bears:

• Quarterback Nathan Dick is Rocky's starting quarterback. He was 12-of-26 and threw for 142 yards, two touchdowns, and an interception last week. He also had 45 rushing yards. In additon to being the starting quarterback, Dick also punts..
• Sam Sparks rushed for 96 yards on 18 attempts in the season opener. He had four receptions for 43 yards.
• Senior Josh Kraft had a big game against Dickinson. He caught five receptions for 75 yards and a touchdown.
• Pass defense is key. Dickinson State's Tyger Frye, one of the top receivers in the North Star last season, was limited to only 27 yards on six receptions last week. Rocky's highly regarded cornerbacks are Jimmy Henderson and Devonte Woods who are both headed to the NAIA's Senior Classic this year.
• Don't forget about about defensive back Ty Reynolds who had six solo tackles and a sack against the Blue Hawks.
• Denton Wetherell and Chad Nebel each recorded four solo tackles and two assisted tackles last week. Nebel also recorded a sack.
• Wyatt Brusven kicked the game-winning field goal and was 3-of-4 on field goals and 2-2 on PATs. He was one field goal away from tying Rocky's record most field goals in a single game which is held by Griff Amies and Evan Connolly.

Preseason Rankings: Rocky Mountain College earned a No. 5 ranking in both the Frontier Conference Football Preseason Coaches' Poll and the Frontier Conference Media Poll. The Battlin' Bears received 29 points in the Coaches' Poll and 71 points and two first-place votes in the Media Poll. College of Idaho was picked to finish first in both polls. The Lights were picked to finish last in both polls.

The Battlin' Bears ranked No. 23 in the 2019 NAIA Football Coaches' Preseason Top 25 Poll with 66 points. Four Frontier Conference teams earned a ranking this year. Both College of Idaho, ranked No. 15, and Southern Oregon, ranked No. 20, finished ahead of the Battlin' Bears. Montana Western rounded out the poll with a No. 25 ranking.
 
Frontier Conference Players of the Week: Two Battlin' Bears were awarded the honor.

• Offensive Player of the Week: College of Idaho's Nick Calzaretta
• Defensive Player of the Week: Rocky's Jimmy Henderson
• Special Teams Player of the Week: Rocky's Wyatt Brusven

Win #1: The 23-21 win over Dickinson State wasn't just the first win of Rocky's season, but the first win of head football coach Chris Stutzriem's career. He was selected the 18th head football coach in school history in December of 2018.
 
NAIA Senior Classic: Rocky Mountain College's Jimmy Henderson, Devonte Woods, Denton Wetherell, and Sam Sparks were chosen to play in the NAIA's inaugural Senior Football Classic. The four student-athletes were among 116 seniors from 42 schools picked to play in front of fans and professional scouts on December 14. Players were separated into east and west teams with Henderson, Wetherell, Woods, and Sparks playing for the west. The game will take place at Memorial Stadium in Savannah, Ga., on Saturday, December 14, 2019.