HAVRE — The MSU-Northern football program picked up a long-awaited victory Saturday, snapping a 28-game Frontier Conference losing streak with a 19-13 win over Rocky Mountain College in the season finale at Tilleman Family Field.
The Lights' defense held Rocky to 28 yards rushing and had eight quarterback sacks, including five from Michael Watkins. Watkins also had two forced fumbles as Northern kept the Battlin' Bears off the scoreboard in the second and third quarters.
The Lights took a 19-7 lead early in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard touchdown run by Zach Brooks, a score that proved crucial as Rocky pulled within 19-13 on a 5-yard touchdown pass from Graedyn Buell to Jack Waddell with 1:35 to play.
Brooks also threw a 22-yard touchdown pass to Devin Shelton in the second quarter, and Lucas Thacker scored on a 1-yard run just before halftime as Northern built a lead.
Rocky took an early 7-0 advantage on a 46-yard touchdown pass from Buell to Joseph Dwyer, but the Bears couldn't muster any more scoring until Waddell's TD catch in the final minutes.
Northern closed the season with a 1-9 overall mark and a 1-7 record in the Frontier. It was the Lights' first conference win since a 22-20 victory over Eastern Oregon on Oct. 23, 2021. It also snapped an 18-game losing streak overall.
Rocky finished the season with a 2-8 overall record and a 1-7 mark in the Frontier.
