Football | 03/13/21 | 11:07 PM

Box Score BILLINGS, Mont. -- The Carroll Football team opened their Spring season on Saturday afternoon with a 14-12 victory over Rocky Mountain College. It was their first game since November 16th of 2019, and the Saints took advantage of their opportunity to get back on the gridiron.

The Saints started off the first half with the ball and went three and out. Then, on the punt, Carroll snapped the ball out of the back of the end zone for a safety. Rocky jumped out to a 2-0 lead.

After a TJ Abraham fumble recovery, the Saints took advantage of a short field and connected on their first touchdown of the season. Quarterback Devan Bridgewater hit Jaden Harrison in the end-zone from 13-yards out to give Carroll a 7-2 lead. 

Both teams exchanged stops throughout the rest of the first half until there was three minutes left in the second quarter. Then, the Saints struck again. Matthew Burgess ripped off a 43-yard run to get Carroll inside the red zone. Burgess then caught a shovel pass from Bridgewater and took it in for a 10 yard touchdown. 

At the half, Carroll led Rocky 14-2. 

In the third quarter, Riley Garrett of Rocky kicked a field goal to make it 14-5. Carroll's defense held strong in the red zone to limit the drive to just three points. 

With 7:18 left in the ball game, Rocky cut it to a two-point ball game after Quarterback Drew Korf connected with Donavan Sellgren for a 95-yard touchdown. 

From there, the Saints were able to convert when they needed to offensively to close out the game and earn the 14-12 victory. 

With the win, Carroll starts out Head Coach Troy Purcell's second season at the helm 1-0. They will hit the road once again next Saturday to take on Eastern Oregon. 

Rocky, now 0-1, will travel to Caldwell, Idaho to face off with 1-0 College of Idaho next weekend.