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The Fighting Saints host Montana Tech on Saturday in a noon kickoff in Nelson Stadium. To keep a shot at playoffs alive, the Saints will need their best effort of the season to knock off a third Top 25 team when the Orediggers come to town.
* Turning over a new page: In seven consecutive games, the Saints have recorded at least one takeaway from their opposition. The Saints recorded two interceptions and two fumble recoveries against MSU-Northern last week.
*Both interceptions went to defensive back Brian FauntLeRoy. FauntLeRoy ranks No. 7 in the NAIA in interceptions per game at .600.
* Rex Irby had two picks a week prior, including one he returned for a 37-yard touchdown. His efforts earned him Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Week. Irby is the first Saint to win the award since Nov. 6 of 2017 when Parker Bernhardt claimed the honor.
* Road-weary no more: Carroll's consecutive road wins over MSU-Northern and Rocky have the Saints sitting in the upper echelon of the Frontier Conference.
* The Saints now own two wins over NAIA Top 25 teams: Rocky and Western. Carroll is 2-1 this season against teams in the Top 25.
* Freshman running back Matthew Burgess is averaging 105.1 rushing yards per game, good for No. 15 in the NAIA. He's scored 12 touchdowns this season and his 72 total points are No. 7 in the NAIA. Burgess has four games where he's scored two or more touchdowns.
*Burgess won his second Frontier Conference Offensive Player of the Week on Oct. 21. His career-high 183 rushing yards and two touchdowns powered the Saints. Burgess previously won the award after rushing for 153 yards and three touchdowns against No. 23 Rocky Mountain on Sept. 14. Burgess is the first Saint to win the award since Mac Roche won it in Sept. of 2015.
* The last time the Fighting Saints had a running back record three rushing touchdowns in a game was when Carroll's all-time leading rusher Dustin Rinker accomplished the feat against Valley City State in the NAIA Playoffs in 2014. Matt Burgess has done it twice.
* Sometimes, you gotta win ugly: Carroll showed it can win any style of game on Saturday, defeating Montana State-Northern in a gruesome, penalty-laden affair.
* Sophomore tight end Tony Collins' 85 yards against No. 22 UMW on Oct. 19, 2019, were his career-high for a game.
* Devan Bridgewater's 300-yard game to open up the season was the second time the Saints have passed for over 300 yards since Sept. 3, 2016, when quarterback JT Linder threw for 330 yards, two touchdowns and an interception when he completed 19-of-33 passes against Montana Tech as the Saints defeated the Orediggers 27-24. More recently last season, Kolby Killoy threw for 309 yards against Eastern Oregon on Senior Day.
* Bridgewater is averaging 235 yards per game so far this season, which ranks No. 23 in the NAIA. He's accounted for 16 touchdowns this season.
* Flirting with 500: In three games this season, the Saints have put up 500 or more yards of total offense. The Saints rank No. 18 in the NAIA in yards per game at 428.4.
* The last time the Fighting Saints were ranked in the NAIA Top 25 was September of 2016 when they held a ranking of No. 21. This week, the Saints received votes but did not crack the Top 25.
* Good call, coach: With a conversion rate of 45.5 percent, the Saints own the No. 8 mark in the NAIA for third down conversions. The Saints are No. 9 on fourth down conversions, converting at a 63.6 percent clip.
* Keeping the QB clean: Carroll's offensive line has only given up an average of .800 sacks a game. It's the No. 3 mark in the NAIA.
* Senior cornerback Isazah King recorded a career-high four pass break-ups against Western. Prior to that, King had broken up three passes in a single game in two instances, against Rocky on Aug. 23, 2018, and then two weeks later against Linfield Sept. 8, 2018.
*Freshman DB Zach Spiroff rank No. 3 in the NAIA in passes defended per game at 1.8.
* Saints coach Troy Purcell played at Carroll under Bob "Putter" Petrino, who posted a 163-90-2 record (.644) from 1971-1998. In Petrino's first season at the helm, the team went 2-3.
* The Saints were picked to finish seventh in the Frontier Conference by coaches and media.
* Carroll has won six championships, the most of any current member of the NAIA. Texas A&I won seven before changing affiliation.
* Carroll gave RMC its first loss of the season and then the Battlin' Bears lost three more games before grabbing a 57-39 win over MSU-N.
* Montana Radio Company play-by-play talent Stewart Davis will call Saturday's game, joining Saints legend Gary Turcott in the booth. The game will be broadcast on Rewind 94.9 FM. Carroll College and MRC parted ways with former Saints radio voice Jason Walker earlier this week. Carroll Athletics wishes Walker well in his next endeavor and thanks him for his years of service covering Carroll College Athletics.
