HELENA, Mont. – The Carroll College football team dominated the run game both offensively and defensively, holding Montana Western to just 78 yards on the ground while rushing for 250, led by Major Ali with 175 yards and a touchdown on 27 carries in a 24-15 win.
 
The Saints set the tone in both halves with touchdown drives. Western went three-and-out on their first drive, and the Carroll marched 85 yards, highlighted by a 66-yard pass to the four-yard line from Reese Hiibel to Chase Fossum. The long pass set up a one-yard touchdown by Major Ali, it would be his lone score, but the start of a big day for the sophomore.
 
The Bulldogs responded with a game-tying, 61-yard drive, capped by a one-yard touchdown run by Hunter Thomsen with 4:50 left in the first quarter.
 
After a short Carroll drive, the Bulldogs took the lead on a 43-yard field goal from Mark Kharchenko with 8:09 left in the first half. The Saints tied the game at 10 with 1:40 left on a 35-yard field goal from Dylan Torgerson.
 
Western responded with a quick drive and a 34-yard field goal to close out the scoring in the first half to take a 13-10 lead into the break.
 
The Carroll defense would hold the Western offense scoreless in the second half, and the Saints offense would rush past the Bulldogs.
 
Carroll opened the second half with a 75-yard drive, capped by a 25-yard touchdown pass from Hiibel to Shane Sipes in the corner of the end zone to give Carroll a 17-13 lead.
 
After trading three-and-outs, the Bulldog offense drove to the Carroll seven-yard line before the Saints stuffed the drive on four straight run plays. The drive would provide a template for the bulk of Western's second-half drives. UMW QB Bennett Gibson would push the Bulldogs into Carroll territory before the drive would ultimately stall.
 
The Saints added to their lead in the early fourth quarter with a 16-play, 93-yard drive that ate 8:27 off of the clock. The drive was capped by a touchdown run from Eric Dawson out of the wildcat formation on third and goal from the 13-yard line. After taking the snap, he slipped in the backfield but somehow kept his feet only to find four Bulldog defenders on him. He broke away from all four and got dove for the pylon over the top of another Western player and crossed the plane to put Carroll up 24-13.
 
The Bulldogs got their only second-half points on special teams. A UMW punt pinned the Saints at their own seven-yard line. Afte a holding penalty put them even deeper. The Saints were forced to punt from their own end zone.  The snap was low, and Torgerson's punt was blocked but recovered by the Saints in the end zone for a Western Safety to cut the lead to 24-15.
 
On the ensuing Western drive, Gibson's pass was intercepted by Parker Barnhardt with 4:45 to play. Ali and Ryan Walsh combined to carry the ball seven times for 50 yards to consume the remaining time on the clock and close out the win.
 
The Carroll offensive line was huge in the win. The Saints had just three negative plays all game, and all three were due to slips on the icy field conditions. The Carroll defensive front also came up huge. Carroll tallied eight tackles for loss and a sack to help set the tone. The Carroll defense allowed the most rushing yards in the last four games, but it was still just 78 yards. Thomsen led the way for Western with 54 yards, Nate Simkins added 29.
 
Ali's 175-yard performance was just the tip of the iceberg in the run game. Ryan Walsh ran for 42 yards on eight carries, Dawson had 39 yards and a touchdown on four carries. Ryan Arntson, Shane Sipes and Troy Arntson combined for another 33 yards.
 
Hiibel was 7-17 for 146 yards, a touchdown and an interception on the day. Gibson was impressive for Western. He was 19-31 for 260 yards and interception but failed to get the ball into the end zone.
 
Melvin Walser had six catches for 146 yards, and Nate Simkins added four catches for 56 yards.
 
The win is the third-straight for the Saints. It is the first win streak for Carroll since the 10-game win streak of the 2014 season. The Saints can close out the season at .500 with a win at Eastern Oregon next Saturday in the season finale.