This time around, it's a little bit different for No. 12-ranked Montana State-Northern coach Mark Samson.
Last season, Samson watched his son Kyle, lead his squad to a 9-3 record from the quarterback position, eventually being named Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Year.
Mark, who is head coach but also works with the quarterbacks and calls the plays, worked with his oldest son extensively throughout his collegiate career.
"We knew when that was done, that it wasn't going to be easy," Mark said. "We went through the season and had a great season and you don't think about it. All of a sudden, it happens."
This season, Mark's second son is in his senior year, albeit a different scenario.
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Second son, Marc, is an All-American defensive back for the Lights, a rather peculiar position considering his father has always been an offensive-minded coach and his eldest brother was a quarterback.
"In middle school, my coaches were always trying to make me into a quarterback," Marc said. "I didn't want to be. I just wanted to play defense."
Marc is looking to stop the Dickinson State offense when MSUN hosts the Blue Hawks at 12:30 p.m. today.
Though they don't share the 1-on-1 time during practice like Mark and Kyle did, Marc and his father are always on the same page at home.
"He doesn't actually coach me," Marc said, "but he still expects the same out of me."
"We talk about it when he comes home," Mark said. "He wants to win as badly as anybody."
MSUN is coming off a banner year in which it made the playoffs, but lost out to Carroll College.
Mark said he isn't sure what to expect of his team, despite being ranked No. 12 in the nation.
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"I don't know if we're that good," Mark said. "We do have a lot of kids coming back. If we do things right, we might have a pretty good team."
In some ways, DSU and MSUN are similar. Both teams' strength is clearly defense. Both teams have new starting quarterbacks.
On DSU's side is the revenge factor. MSUN escaped Whitney Stadium with a 22-14 win last season and the Blue Hawks are hoping to turn the tables this time around.
"Being as young as they are it might take (DSU's offense) a little while to gel, but I feel the exact same way about our team," Mark said.
