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THIS WEEK IN CARROLL FOOTBALL
The Saints head to Butte to face archrival Montana Tech with both teams sitting near the middle of the pack in the Frontier Conference. The Carroll College Saints unleashed a spectacular offensive performance against MSU-Northern last week
and hope to carry that on against a very capable Tech team.

LAST GAME: ARNTSON LEADS RUSHING ATTACK AGAINST MSU-N

Saturday at Nelson Stadium in front of 2,122 in attendance, Ryan Arntson ran into the Saints record books, threatening a 39-year-old record. On just 18 carries, Arntson rushed for the second highest mark in school history with 267 yards and added two touchdowns as the Saints handled the Montana State-Northern Lights 56-7.

"I haven't done that in awhile," Arntson said of his big day. "It definitely felt good. I gotta give all my credit to the linemen and the receivers blocking down field especially on that first run."

Arntson's big day came as a byproduct of lead running back Major Ali's suspension. Arntson learned on Thursday he'd be starting -- and he made the most of it.

On the Saints very first play from scrimmage, after the defense turned away the Lights, Arntson reeled off a 92-yard run, one of the longest runs in Saints' history.

The Saints swapped three-and-outs with the Lights, forcing two punts before putting together another impressive drive in the quarter. Quarterback Hunter Bledsoe replaced Kolby Killoy and on his very first play in the game he scored -- like Arntson earlier -- by heaving a 24-yard touchdown pass to Troy Arntson.

The Arntson brothers shared the backfield on several occasions against Northern, with Troy handing off to Ryan on at least one play.

Bledsoe struck again on the Saints' next drive after the Lights turned the ball over on downs. This time, Bledsoe found Eric Dawson for a 21-yard touchdown pass.

Anywhere the Saints could put the part-man, part-wrecking ball, they did. Dawson rushed five times for 16 yards and two scores and caught four passes for 38 yards and another score.

"He's running all of our plays," Saints coach Mike Van Diest said. "He's just a terrific ball player. He's as good of a football player as we've ever had here. We've had some great ones at tight end, running back, whatever. He's a great one."

The Saints forced another quick possession out of Northern and went back to work.

A 24-yard run by Arntson put the Saints on the move. A 14-yard pass to Dawson, followed by a punishing four-yard touchdown run put the Saints up 28-0. Northern battled back to get a touchdown on the board with a few minutes left
in the half. Northern quarterback Tommy Wilson forced his way into the end zone from a yard out to prevent a shutout.

"Their quarterback... I'm a big fan of Wilson," Van Diest said. "I like how he competes. He does a lot of things well. I'm glad we don't have to play him anymore. He's a good player. He's a tough kid."

With a 28-7 lead at half, the Saints knew it was paramount to finish the game. In most games this season, the Saints had played well in the first or second half, but been unable to play sharp for the entirety of the game.

The Saints were in cruise control the rest of the way.

QUICK NOTES

• In sophomore running back Ryan Arntson's first career start, he compiled
the second most rushing yards in a single game in school history. Arntson
finished with 267 yards on 18 carries and two touchdowns.

• The Saints were without junior running back Major Ali, who leads the
team in rushing with 612 yards, after he served a one-game suspension
for a violation of athletic department policy.
• The Saints unleashed a vicious rushing attack against Northern, piling up
409 rushing yards.

• Saints backup running back Griphen Le scored on his first rushing
attempt, going 45 yards for a score in the fourth quarter.
• Carroll's total defense is the best in the Frontier Conference, allowing just
336.8 yards per game. That mark is No. 23 in the NAIA.

• The Saints' offense, on the other hand, has room for improvement. The
Saints score 17.4 points per game and average 348 yards per game, both
among the lowest marks in conference.

• The Saints defense has grown each week. Against College of Idaho, the
Saints recorded five takeaways. Two weeks ago, against Montana Western,
the defense scored a touchdown. Carroll forced a fumble and several
fourth down turnovers against Rocky. Against MSU-Northern, the Saints
forced two fumbles and recovered both.

• The Saints have recorded a takeaway in five consecutive games.

• 65-35: Carroll has shown a commitment to the run, electing to rush the
ball 65 percent of offensive snaps.
• The power of the takeaway: Carroll is 3-1 when it creates a positive
turnover margin.

• Carroll continues to look for consistency from the quarterback position.
Redshirt freshman Kolby Killoy and true freshman Hunter Bledsoe have
each had their chances to lead the offense.

• Killoy started last week before Hunter Bledsoe entered the game and
threw a touchdown pass on his first play. Bledsoe finished the game and
completed 8-for-12 for 119 yards and two touchdowns.

• Carroll junior linebacker Chase Bowen is averaging 8.6 tackles per game,
the third best mark in the Frontier Conference, and No. 46th mark in the
NAIA.

• Cornerback Ryan Beaulieu is ranked No. 4 in the NAIA in passes
defended per game (1.9).

• Defensive back Drew Melton is also ranked highly in passes defended
per game, coming in at No. 13 in the NAIA with 1.7 each contest.

• Melton became the first individual to record two takeaways in a single
game for the Saints this season when he picked of College of Idaho
quarterback Darius-James Peterson twice.

• Another DB, Isazah King, is highly ranked in passes defended, ranking
No. 46 with 1.1 knockdowns per game.

• Carroll DB McBride Galt is No. 32 in the NAIA in total interceptions
with three. He returned his latest interception for a touchdown against
Montana Western.

• Carroll returns three all-conference performers from a season ago, two
on offense and one special-teamer.

• Carroll lists 35 true freshmen on the roster.

• In one of the smallest classes in recent history, the Saints list only 10
seniors on the roster, all of those as starters on the two-deep.

• Coach Mike Van Diest has the 13th-best winning percentage (.794) of
any active college football coach with more than 10 years of experience.
He ranks 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.

• Van Diest was selected to join the NAIA Hall of Fame this season. He will
be inducted this winter.

• MTT RB Jed Fike is No. 5 in the NAIA in rpg with 129.3.