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THIS WEEK IN CARROLL FOOTBALL
The Saints enter homecoming week 1-2 after a frustrating 28-14 loss to MSU-Northern that saw Carroll outgain the Lights by a significant margin but untimely turnovers and missed opportunities in the redzone doomed the Saints. Saturday, the Saints welcome No. 9 Southern Oregon, the2015 NAIA Runner-Up, in the only matchup of the season. The Raiders are 1-2 after topping Montana Western 24-20 in Ashland. They have losses to Eastern Oregon and NCAA DI UC Davis on their slate as well.
LAST GAME: CARROLL FALLS TO MSU-NORTHERN 28-14
MSU-Northern capitalized on Carroll mistakes and got into an offensive rhythm in the second half to earn a 28-14 upset over No. 21 Carroll College Saturday at Blue Pony Stadium in Havre.
The Carroll offense was stagnant, gaining just 268 yards of total offense and turned the ball over three times which led to two Northern Touchdowns.Conner Fohn was the offensive bright spot for the Saints grabbing 11 receptions for 181 and a touchdown.
The Carroll defense held Northern to just 220 yards but with short fields, the lights found the endzone four times. Northern got on the board first after a Saints fumble gave the Lights the ball on the Carroll six-yard line. One play later Zach McKinley ran off tackle and slid into the endzone to put MSUN up 7-0 going into the half.
The Saints received the ball to start the second half but on the third play from scrimmage, JT Linder's pass was intercepted by Logan Sprouse and returned to the Carroll five-yard line. Two plays later, Northern QB Jess Krahn found Wyatt McKinley for the six-yard score to give the Lights a 14-0 lead. The Lights again found paydirt to start the scoring in the fourth quarter, this time on a sustained drive. Northern drove 45-yards on 11 plays and scored with 14:55 to play in the game on a Zach McKinley run from five-yards out to go up 21-0.
Carroll got on the board on a two-play 70-yard drive. Both plays were long passes form Linder to Fohn, including a 26-yard touchdown pass that Fohn corralled in the back of the endzone. The PAT was blocked however but Carroll cut the lead to 21-6.
The Lights put things out of reach on the ensuing drive with a 75-yard 10-play drive which culminated in another touchdown from Zach McKinley who scored on an 18-yard dive to put Northern up 28-6.
Carroll answered with a quick drive that culminated in a one-yard touchdown from Dylan Green and a two point conversion from Linder to Kyle Griffth but it wouldn't be enough as the Lights held on for the win.
ABOUT SOUTHERN OREGON
Head coach Crag Howard leads the offensive juggernaut Raiders into Nelson Stadium on Saturday looking to grab the first road win of the season. Southern Oregon is at the top of the conference in scoring offense with 564 yards per game while their defense sits at the bottom of the Frontier giving up 502 yards per game.
All-American candidate wide receiver Matt Retzlaff leads the nation in all-purpose yards per game and ranked in the top-15 in 11 different statistical categories. Jack Singler is listed as the starter at quarterback for Saturday's game after Tanner Trosin went down with an injury against UC Davis. Julius Rucker leads the SOU defense with 24 tackles.
QUICK NOTES
• Carroll hopes to rebound after falling to MSU-Northern 28-14 last Saturday in Havre.
• The Saints started the season with a bang, topping No. 7 Montana Tech 27-24 on a last-minute field goal. The Saints trailed 24-10 with just over nine minutes remaining in the game buts scored 17-points in the final minutes to notch the win.
•Two Carroll receivers made a triumphant return to the field in week one after season-ending injuries in 2014. Kyle Griffith caught six passes for 74 yards and a touchdown and Connor Fohn tallied six catches for 141 yards, including an 80-yard touchdown to spark the Carroll comeback over Montana Tech.
• Fohn comes into the game ranked No. 4 in the NAIA in receptions per game, receiving yards per game, total receptions and total receiving yards. He is also in the top 25 in all-purpose yards per game and all-purpose yards. He is the leading receiver in the conferences at 404 receiving yards.
• With 188 yards against MSU-Northern, Fohn has the individual single-game high for receiving yards in 2016.
• The Raiders have an All-American candidate at receiver of their own in Matt Retzloff. Retzloff is second in the conference in receiving yards with 343 but also has stellar numbers in the kickoff and punt return categories. He ranks in the top 50 in 13 statistical categories.
• Southern Oregon is fourth in the NAIA in total offense, racking up 564 yards per game.
• Southern Oregon is 81st of 85 NAIA teams in total defense, giving up 502.7 yards per game.
• SOU made a return trip to the NAIA Championship in 2015 but struggled in the two meeting with the Saints. Carroll topped SOU 26-20 in the season opener but lost 28-27 in Ashland on a botched field goal.
• Southern Oregon fell to Marian (Ind.) 31-14 in the NAIA Championship.
• Leading rusher Rey Vega is a "Dropdown" transfer from Portland State where he played in three games as a redshirt freshman.
• Southern Oregon has 27 transfers on its roster.
• Ryan Walsh had 48 rushing yards, 58 receiving yards and a touchdown in the win over the Orediggers.
• Linder ranks in the the top-50 in five different statistical categories including Passing Yards per game, total offensive yards per game, pass efficiency, total passing and total offense.
• Tucker Johnson is third in the Frontier Conference for tackles per game at 9.3. David Anderson is ninth at 7.7
• Alec Basterrachea (3.5) leads the Frontier Conference for sacks per gane.
• Carroll ranks sixth in the Frontier for total offense.
• Carroll is the top team in the Frontier for sacks per game at 3.8.
• The Saints are third in the Frontier Conference in total defense
•There are 37 true freshmen listed on the Carroll roster.
• In one of the smallest classes in recent history, only 18 seniors are listed on the roster. Seven of those seniors are listed as starters on the two-deep.
• Head Coach Mike Van Diest has the second-best winning percentage (.838) of any active college football coach with more than ten years of experience. He trails only Ohio State's Urban Meyer. His winning percentage is also the 11th-best of all-time.
