MAYVILLE, N.D. — MSU-Northern managed just 155 total yards of offense Thursday night in dropping its season opener 24-6 to Mayville State at Jerome Berg Field.
The Lights got a 61-yard touchdown run from Mason Dionne late in the second quarter to cut into their deficit and go into the locker room trailing 10-6, but that served as their only scoring play.
The Comets, who will jump from the North Star Athletic Association into the Frontier Conference next season, took a 10-0 advantage on a Tim Salmon TD pass to Darren Jones and a Caden Johnson field goal. They added two second-half scores — another touchdown reception by Jones and a Maalik Flowers return of a blocked punt.
Dionne stood out for the Lights, rushing for 105 yards on 18 attempts, an average of 5.8 yards per carry. Other than that Northern's offense was held in check. Quarterback Zach Brooks completed just 4 of 12 passes for 58 yards and an interception, and the Lights had just five first downs.
Northern defeated Mayville State 14-0 last season, which was its only victory of the 2023 campaign. The Lights, in Jerome Souers third season as coach will travel to play Frontier Conference foe Rocky Mountain College on Saturday at 1 p.m.
