GAME NOTES l LIVE VIDEO l LIVE AUDIO l LIVE STATS

THIS WEEK IN CARROLL FOOTBALL

The Saints celebrate Senior Day and Military Appreciation Day, honoring 15 seniors, and look to end the season on a three-game winning streak and post the team's first winning season since 2014. First, the Saints will have to take care of Eastern Oregon and the Mountaineers' challenging offense.

LAST GAME: SIPES TIES RECORD, SAINTS HANDLE TECH 35-14

Behind Shane Sipes' school-record-tying four receiving touchdown and three interceptions by the defense, the Carroll College Saints defeated Montana Tech 35-14 on Saturday at Alumni Coliseum during the Orediggers' Senior Day.
 
"I respect Chuck Morrell so much for his program and what he's done since he's been here," Saints coach Mike Van Diest said. "He's a great coach. His team, they play football the way it's meant to be played. For us to come over here and do what we did today is just a credit to these players. Win or lose, we always come back in practice on Monday. This was fun."

Montana Tech took its opening drive and scored in just three plays when Jet Campbell hit Will Hunthausen for a 33-yard touchdown.

It was a short-lived lead. The Saints scored on the very next drive. Freshman quarterback Hunter Bledsoe tossed up a 19-yard pass to Sipes to knot the game at seven.
The Saints' defense locked in after that.

"After that first drive I wasn't so sure, but we had to scramble a little bit," Van Diest said of his defense. "They did a good job. They came back. We got a pass rush and some pressure."

Bledsoe's day ended in the second quarter after the young QB took a big hit.

The Saints moved to redshirt sophomore Kolby Killoy who didn't miss a beat, though the Saints went to a little trickery first.

With time winding down in the second quarter, the Saints put senior wide receiver at QB in the red zone. Arntson rolled out before finding Joe Farris for the Saints' second touchdown of the day. A blocked PAT meant the Saints led 13-7 going into the half.

Killoy kept the Saints momentum rolling in the third quarter, hooking up with Sipes for a 24-yard touchdown pass to give the Saints a 19-7 lead.

Tech stormed back and Campbell found all-conference receiver Dion Williams on a fade route to cut the Saints lead down to 19-14.

Carroll's defense did the job again and the Saints continued to drive. But, just when it looked like the Saints stalled out, Nick Howlett and Van Diest stayed aggressive.

Looking at a fourth-and-19, the Saints kept the ball in Killoy's hands. The redshirt sophomore heaved a 30-yard touchdown pass to Sipes. Killoy hit Eric Dawson on the two-point conversion and the Saints led 27-14 late in the third quarter.

Sipes wasn't done yet, either.

And the Saints secondary was just about to get started.

Ryan Beaulieu, Parker Bernhardt and Drew Melton all reeled in interceptions, thwarting any hopes of Tech passing their way back into the game.

And, for good measure, Sipes slammed the door shut with a 53-yard touchdown grab. 

QUICK NOTES

• The Saints' offense is rolling. After a breakout game against Montana State-Northern, the Saints followed that up with a beatdown of Montana Tech. The Saints had three different quarterbacks throw touchdowns as the Saints threw five total touchdowns to put up a 35-14 win. 

• Sophomore receiver Shane Sipes tied a school record with four receiving touchdowns in the win. The standout from California hauled in six catches for 171 yards and four scores. The four TDs tied Scott Davis and Kevin McCutcheon for most in a single game. 

• The result gave the Saints their fifth win of the season. Carroll had finished the previous three seasons with 4-6 records. 

• The fifth win also means the Saints have a chance to finish the season with a winning record for the first time since 2014. 

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

• 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 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. Against Montana Tech, the secondary sealed the game with three interceptions. 

• The Saints have recorded a takeaway in six 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 4-1 when it creates a positive turnover margin.

• Kolby Killoy and Hunter Bledsoe have both played a high amount of snaps for Carroll at quarterback. 

• Cornerback Ryan Beaulieu ranks No. 1 in the NAIA in passes defended per game (2.1). 

• Defensive back Drew Melton is also ranked highly in passes defended per game, coming in at No. 5 in the NAIA with 1.9 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. 42 with 1.1 knockdowns per game. 

• Carroll DB McBride Galt is No. 42 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 14 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 won his 200th game this season when the Saints beat Linfield.

• 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. 

• Eastern Oregon quarterback Kai Quinn passes for 309.9 yards per game, the No. 4 mark in the NAIA.