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HELENA, Mont. -- The Carroll College Fighting Saints kickoff the Troy Purcell era with a challenging road opener against the No. 25 Montana Western Bulldogs.
The Saints (0-0) will debut a new look and an energized unit, looking to start the season off right.
The Saints return all-conference selections Major Ali and Shane Sipes on offense, to highlight a few of the major contributors coming back.
Sipes should be fresh in Saints' fans memories after tying the school record of four touchdown catches in a single game from a season ago after he tortured Montana Tech's secondary.
Ali, of course, has been toting the ball with power for the past three seasons, providing a reliable battering ram for an offense that craved running the ball under the past leadership.
Overall, the Saints return 15 starters on the team -- eight on offense and seven on defense. Beyond that, Carroll brings back a ton of experience on both sides of the ball.
Coaches and media picked the Saints to finish seventh in the league in the preseason poll, adding plenty of wood to the fire for an already excited football team.
Purcell has been a proven program builder at the high school level. He's built state championship programs in Havre and in Bozeman, winning three football championships with the Hawks.
Now, he'll begin the building process with the Saints, who will be looking to break up three consecutive seasons of 4-6 Frontier Conference records.
Standing in the Saints' way in Week 1 are the Bulldogs.
Western brings back Frontier Conference Defensive Player of the Year and AFCA and AP All-American Jason Ferris, a linebacker who has been a central figure in the 'dogs defense for several seasons. His fellow linebacking corps returns, too.
UMW also brings back all-conference wide receiver Walker McKitrick, who will once again be a big target for Western quarterback Jon Jund.
Kylar Prante also comes back in the running game, which will be led by three starters returning on the offensive line.
A season ago, the Saints lost a heartbreaker against the Bulldogs at home, seeing a potential game-tying touchdown pop out of their hands into the arms of a defender for an interception. Carroll fell 16-10 that game.
In the rematch in Dillon, the Saints trailed 13-10 at the beginning of the fourth quarter, but couldn't find the right mixture to overcome the then-No. 19-ranked Bulldogs.
This season, of course, is a whole new ball game, as the Saints look to begin a new chapter in their storied history and chase national championship No. 7.
That starts in earnest on Saturday against the Bulldogs of Montana Western.
