HAVRE – A short field was the undoing of the Orediggers Saturday afternoon on the Hi-Line.

MSU-Northern turned four Montana Tech miscues into touchdowns, and the Lights sent the Orediggers to their seventh straight loss with a 41-20 Frontier Conference football win at Blue Pony Stadium.

 “We made some really big mistakes early in the game that hurt us pretty badly,” Montana Tech coach Chuck Morrell said after his team fell to 1-7 overall and 0-7 in the Frontier.

Northern fullback James Chandless scored on a 1-yard run to put the Lights up for good at 6-0 with 9 minutes, 10 seconds showing on the first-quarter clock.

The score came one play after Derek Lear hit Mick Miller for a 48-yard completion.

It came three plays after Will Andrews sacked Tech quarterback Brian Schwarzkoph for a 19-yard loss on fourth down, giving the Lights the ball at the 50-yard line.

“That made a big difference. 

It was a momentum swing,” Morrell said. “But that wasn't the end-all be-all of the game.”

The Lights made it 20-0 after touchdowns were set up by a fumble, then a fumbled snap on a punt that resulted in a 2-yard loss.

Stephen Silva scored on a 1-yard run, and Lear scrambled for an 18-yard touchdown to cash the miscues.

The Orediggers got a spark from Pat Hansen, who ran for 185 yards on 31 carries, late in the second quarter.

A 41-yard Hansen run led to an 11-yard touchdown pass from Nick Baker to Phil Antonioli.

Baker, who filled in for the injured Schwarzkoph, threw for 170 yards and three touchdowns.

The Lights killed the Oredigger momentum early in the third quarter when Kyle Johnston jumped over the middle to catch a 17-yard touchdown throw from Lear with 10:57 left in the frame.

“It was nice to come out and score that touchdown early in the second half,” Northern coach Mark Samson said.

The teams went back and forth a few times, with James Roberts hauling in a 20-yard Baker strike to cut the lead to 27-14 before Miller broke free for a 26-yard TD reception from Lear.

Miller, who caught four passes for 159 yards, broke Tech's back with a 74-yard TD catch on a double move, making the game 41-14 with 11 minutes, 27 seconds left in the game.

“We did not play very well in the secondary,” Morrell said. “We gave up some go routs and some big plays over the top.

“Some of those came on critical third-down situations. That's something that just can't happen if we want to stay in the game. Third-and-long is a premium defensive situation, and we didn't handle it very well.”

The Orediggers capped the scoring when Antonioli caught his second TD of the game, a 19-yard pass from Baker.

Morrell praised the play of his backup quarterback.

 “Baker stepped in and had a nice game,” Morrell said. “He was very composed. It proves that there are guys on our team that are willing to play every week.”

The quarterback ran the option well, and Hansen got a big chunk of his yards on plays where Baker took a big hit just after getting rid of the ball.

Morrell said the Tech offensive line had a “solid game.”

The unit was led by Mack Ferko, Drew Waltee, Matt Study, Anthony Tangaro and tight end Corey Eisenzimer.

“Our guys executed it well,” Morrell said. “We did a much better job blocking on the perimeter. Our wide receivers had a good day blocking, and Nick did a good job.”

Trent Thomas caught eight passes for 84 yards, while Antonioli caught three for 42. 

Hansen, Brandon Lucero and Brandon Preslar also caught passes for the Orediggers.

“Outside of very early when we had some major hiccups, our offense did a pretty good job hanging onto the ball, controlling the clock and giving them some scoring opportunities,” Morrell said.

Logan Ledgerwood recovered a Northern fumble, which was caused by Nate Thompson.

Mike Waldman, Marcus Johnson and Connor O'Neill also stood out for the Oredigger defense.

Freshman Travis Farewell, who split punting duties with Zach Reisenauer, booted a school-record 92-yard punt.

Silva ran for 113 yards for the Lights (4-3, 4-3), who travel to Eastern Oregon next week.. Lear passed for 235.

The Orediggers will take on Rocky Mountain College next Saturday  in their first home game in more than a month.