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THIS WEEK IN CARROLL FOOTBALL
The Saints look to rebound from an 0-2 with the MSU-Northern Lights coming to Nelson Stadium. Both teams are looking for their first game. The two teams have common opponents in Rocky Mountain and Montana Tech. The Saints played much tighter to Montana Tech than the Lights but MSU-Northern was a late kick return for a touchdown away from beating Rocky Mountain.
LAST GAME: SAINTS FALL TO ROCKY MOUNTAIN
Carroll College football turned the ball over twice in the first quarter, and Rocky Mountain built a 27-0 first-half lead, en route to a 40-14 victory Saturday at Nelson Stadium in Helena.
The Saints offense appeared to be clicking on their first drive until an interception on the three-yard line by Keenan Fagan.
The Bears then responded with a 12-play 80-yard drive which was capped by a field goal.
On the Saints' second play from scrimmage, Ryan Walsh fumbled the ball which was recovered on the 22-yard line by the Bears. Four plays later, Jacob Bakken scrambled for a four-yard touchdown to go up 10-0.
In the second quarter, the Bears added a field goal, a 70-yard touchdown from Mason Melby and an 11-yard touchdown run from Sam Sparks.
After trading possessions to start the third quarter, a 57-yard pass from Tanner Gustavsen to Shane Sipes set up a one-yard run from Major Ali for the touchdown to cut the lead to 27-7.
Rocky Mountain responded with an eight play, 74-yard drive to set up a one-yard touchdown for Melby to put the lead at 34-7.
After a Carroll drive stalled, Chandler Arbizzani covered a muffed punt for the second consecutive week. The Saints responded with a three-play 43-yard drive capped by a beautiful pass from Gustavsen to Joe Farris in traffic for the touchdown to cut the lead to 37-14.
Rocky added a field goal on their last drive to close out the 40-14 win.
Gustavsen was 14 for 26 for 170 yards with two interceptions and a touchdown. The Saints combined for 106 yards, led by freshman Ryan Arntson with 34 yards on five carries. Sipes caught two balls for 66 yards, and Farris had 51 yards on four catches and a touchdown.
The Saints host MSU-Northern next Saturday at Nelson Stadium.
ABOUT MSU-NORTHERN
The Lights are one of the most prolific offenses for yards in the conference with 472.5 yards per game but are scoring only 26 points per game. Quarterback Tommy Wilson is ninth in the NAIA in total offense and passing yards per game and ball hawking Garret Fowler is in the top 50 in both forced fumbles and interceptions.
Head Coach Aaron Christensen is 1-22 in his third season at the helm for the Lights.
QUICK NOTES
• Carroll plays the second consecutive home game against MSU-Northern. The two teams split the series last year with both teams winning on their home turf.
• Carroll returns eight starters on offense, including three offensive linemen, two receivers, the tight ends and a pair of running backs. Starting quarterback Tanner Gustavsen also saw starting action in a pair of games and played in seven games total.
•Gustavsen was threw two touchdown passes and ran for another in the season debut against Montana Tech in Butte. He was 17 of 29 for 200 yards with no interceptions. He also ran for 23. Against Rocky Mountain, he was 14-26 for 176 yards, a touchdown and two interceptions.
• Tight End Eric Dawson made an impressive return from a medical redshirt year with five receptions for 79 yards and a touchdown and a 15-yard touchdown run out of the Wildcat formation in the season opener against Montana Tech.
• Ryan Walsh ran the ball nine times for 54 yards and added four receptions for 39 and a touchdown in the season opener. He had six carries for 35 yards against the Battlin' Bears.
• Carroll running backs combined for 122 yards in the opener and 104 last week.
• Joe Farris caught his first career touchdown pass against Rocky. He tallied four catches for 52 yards.
• In the opener, the Saints and Diggers were tied at 21 at halftime and stats were very similar, before the Saints struggled to find an offensive rhythm in the second half.
• Carroll is seventh in the Frontier in total offense/game after two games.
• Tanner Gustavsen is sixth in the conference in total offense per game, just a yard behind.
• Dylan Torgerson is ranked sixth in the NAIA in Punt Yards per attempt at 43.4 yards per attempt.
• Ryan Beaulieu ranks 25th in the NAIA for total punt return yards and 42 for passes defended.
• Gustavsen ranks 43rd in pass efficiency, 45th in the NAIA in passing yards per game and 45th in total passing, 46th offense per game and 48th in total offense.
• McBride Galt is ranked20th in the NAIA in passes defended per game, Ryan Beaulieu ranks 12th in the NAIA.
•There are 36 true freshmen listed on the Carroll roster.
• In one of the smallest classes in recent history, only 14 seniors are listed on the roster, 12 of those seniors are listed as starters on the two-deep.
• Head Coach Mike Van Diest has the sixth-best winning percentage (.815) of any active college football coach with more than ten years of experience. He is ranked 23rd all-time from any division.
• Van Diest has the highest winning percentage of any coach in NAIA history with 10 or more seasons. Second is Charlie Richard who coached at Baker (Kan.) from 1980-90, 92-94.
• MSU-Northern is running a high-powered offense. They are ranked 10th in the NAIA in first downs per game and 12th in passing yards per game.
• The Lights are 48th in the NAIA for Scoring offense per game.
• Aaron Christiansen is in his third season, he is 1-22 as a head coach.
