GAME NOTES |
WATCH |
LISTEN |
STATS
THIS WEEK IN CARROLL FOOTBALL: Saints Host Defending Champs The Carroll College football team takes to Nelson Stadium for their home opener against the No. 23-ranked Rocky Mountain Battlin' Bears on Saturday.
The Saints will be hungry for a victory, battling to a bitter finish against the No. 25-ranked Montana Western Bulldogs a week prior. Having been so close to a victory in the final few minutes, the Saints will be eager to show their home crowd what this team is capable of. The Battlin' Bears have jumped out to a 2-0 record early this season, defeating No. 9 Dickinson State and Montana State-Northern. The defending Frontier Conference champions will be a a big test.
QUICK NOTES
* Major Ali's 63-yard reception against Montana Western was his longest play of his career with the Fighting Saints. His previous long was a 48-yard rush in 2018.
* Multi-use running back: Ali's 77 yards receiving against Western surpassed his previous career total. Prior the game against Western, Ali possessed 51 career receiving yards over the past three seasons.
* Devan Bridgewater made his first career start and commanded the offense well. Bridgewater went 19-for-42 for 326 yards and a touchdown. He was sacked twice on the day.
* It's the first 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.
* It's the most a Saints quarterback has thrown for in his starting debut since Linder's aforementioned debut against Tech.
* The Saints' offense put up over 500 yards of total offense against Western in Week 1. The last time the Saints recorded at least 500 yards of offense came against Montana State-Northern on Oct. 27, 2018, a game the Saints won 56-7.
* Though a small sample size, the Saints' 513 offensive yards give the Saints the best total offense in the Frontier Conference.
* The Saints did not turnover the ball. It's the first time since Nov. 3, 2018, against the Montana Tech Orediggers where the Saints played a clean game.
* True freshman Matthew Burgess rushed for 106 yards on 15 attempts for one touchdown. It was the most yards by a true freshman running back since Ryan Arntson ran for 131 yards on 14 carries against Montana State-Northern on Oct. 28, 2017.
* 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.
* Troy Purcell on the sidelines means Saints fan have a new head coach on the sidelines for the first time in 20 years.
* Purcell played at Carroll under Bob 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.
* A season after winning the Frontier Conference, the Battlin' Bears are now coached by first-year head man Chris Stutzriem.
* Stutzriem previously served as an offensive coordinator for the Battlin' Bears under former head coach Jason Petrino.
* Over two games, Rocky Mountain and College of Idaho's offense are leading the Frontier Conference, scoring 38 points per game.
* Rocky starting quarterback Nate Dick suffered an foot injury last week, reported the Billings Gazette. Junior quarterback Drew Korf came in and threw for 323 yards and five touchdowns against Montana State-Northern.
* Dick and Korf had previously both seen time in Rocky's offense, as the Battlin' Bears employed a two-quarterback system. Who handles the offense going forward remains to be seen.
* Rocky running back Sam Sparks is No. 2 in the Frontier Conference with 114.5 rushing yards per game.
* The last time the Saints and Battlin' Bears met, Rocky surged to a 35-14 lead by halftime and then swapped touchdowns with the Saints in the second half.
* The Saints received a 1-0 forfeit victory against the Battlin' Bears after Rocky self-reported playing with an ineligible player in the season opener.
