Football | 10/22/22 | 7:38 AM

HELENA, Mont. - The (RV) Carroll College Football team is back at home for a critical late-season match up with No. 14 Rocky Mountain College at 1 p.m. in Helena.

Coming off of their second bye-week of the season, Carroll (4-2) feels rested, refreshed, and refocused on the team's ultimate goal at hand. Win the next four games, give yourself a shot at a Frontier title, and find a way into the playoffs. Today's game features two teams near the top of the Frontier Conference standings, Rocky (5-1) sits in second, with Carroll right behind them in a tie for third.

This final four game stretch of the season is supremely important for a Saints team that has been inconsistent at times throughout the first half of the season. The Frontier Conference is a gauntlet, and two losses is certainly not a death penalty, but the Saints know that their hopes of postseason play rely solely on handling their business each of the next four weeks.

Carroll enters today's game coming off of a dominant 47-3 performance over a down MSU-Northern team two weeks ago in Havre. The Carroll offense, as has been the case for the previous three games, looked comfortable and moved the ball down the field effectively. After a slow start, the Saints found their rhythm and accumulated 223 passing yards, and 207 rushing yards for seven total touchdowns. Perhaps more impressive, the Carroll defense flexed their muscle in a big way, limiting the Lights to just 42 sack-adjusted total yards in the game.

The Saints No. 14 ranked total defense will be put to the test Saturday, tasked with slowing down a Rocky offense that comes into the game averaging 397.2 yards per game. The Battlin' Bears feature a balanced attack, with back-up Quarterback Geroge Tribble throwing for 637 of Rocky's 1004 passing yards on the year, and Running Back Zaire Wilcox accounting for 483 of Rocky's 1078 rushing yards for the season.

Rocky's defense enters Saturday's contest leading the NAIA in interceptions (12) and defensive touchdowns (4). With weather conditions calling for rain, wind, and mid-40 temperatures, ball security will be a primary focus for Prka and the rest of the Saints offense.

Running Backs Matthew Burgess (Junction City, Ore. / R-JR) and Duncan Kraft (Billings, Mont. / R-JR), Carroll's leading rushers on the year with 310 and 305 rush yards, respectively, will be called on to do the bulk of the running on Saturday and will need to be effective and help keep a Carroll offense that has been susceptible to a mid-game lull on track.

Today's game will be broadcast on SWX, streamed live on the Fighting Saints Network, presented by Point S Tire and Auto Service, and live stats for the game will be available HERE. Catch Stewart Davis and Gary Turcott on the call on Rewind 94.9 FM, or online HERE.

Be sure to visit www.carrolathletics.com this evening for a full recap of the action, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.