Idaho State football begins season Saturday against North Dakota with first full capacity home game since 2019

POCATELLO, Idaho (KIFI) - Idaho State hosts North Dakota Saturday afternoon to begin its 2021 campaign, and Saturday's game represents the Bengals' first game with a full capacity crowd inside Holt Arena since 2019. Head Coach Rob Phenicie and the team can't wait to see a packed arena.

"During the spring, I think our max was 2,900, and you could hear them," Phenicie said. "It was loud. We want to get 10,000, 11,000, 12,000 into that place where it's loud, it's hot, where it's difficult for the other team's offense to operate and put an exciting product on the field for the fans to watch and come back and cheer on."

Senior linebacker Oshea Trujillo said the full capacity crowd will help everybody, players and fans alike, to enjoy the game and help the Bengals win.

"I don't think people realize, once people come in, how loud it can get when it's full, when it's packed out," Trujillo said. "So I can't wait until one of those games so the guys can experience the fans, because the fans feed off that as well. 'That side is loud, why aren't we loud?' So it's just having all those people in there, getting loud, so it should be fun."

The Bengals and Fighting Hawks do battle at 1:00 p.m. inside Holt Arena. Per university guidance, masks are required inside the venue.