CALDWELL, Idaho - The No. 21 Carroll College Football team capped off their 2022 regular season with a 21-6 victory over No. 11 College of Idaho on Saturday to earn a share of the Frontier Conference Championship, and a spot in the NAIA Football Playoffs.

Carroll (8-2) knew exactly what was at stake heading into the biggest Frontier Conference game of the season on Saturday. Win, and lock in your spot in the upcoming NAIA playoffs. Lose, and get ready for offseason workouts. Standing in their way was No. 11 College of Idaho (8-2), who had secured at minimum a share of the Frontier Title with their victory over Eastern Oregon last week. 

The Saints did not disappoint, making big play after big play to earn a hard-fought road win, and more importantly, another Frontier Conference Championship, No. 45 in program history.

With conditions at Simplot Stadium much milder than those in Helena, Carroll received the opening kick and got things started.

After a pair of seven yard completions from Jack Prka (Coeur d'ALene, Idaho / SO) to Jaden Harrison (St. George, Utah / R-JR), Carroll would be forced to punt on their opening drive.

College of Idaho would take over, and zip down the field on a nine-play, 72 yard drive, but would decide to go for it on fourth down where Jon Schofield would be stopped short of the line to gain and Carroll would take over possession again.

The Yotes would make the first impact play of the game on the next Carroll drive. Keegan Croteau would pick off a Prka pass that sailed over his intended receiver to give College of Idaho the ball near midfield.

Neither team were able to put any points on the board in the first quarter.

Prka marched the Saints down the field on a 15-play, 61 yard drive, spanning the end of the first and the beginning of the second quarters, but the promising Carroll drive would come up empty again when Keegan Croteau grabbed his second interception of the game in the end zone for a touchback.

The Saints would not be outdone, however, with Tug Smith (Newport, Wash. / R-JR) grabbing his first interception of the season and stealing momentum back from the Yotes. Smith's interception would prove vital to the outcome of the game, as his turnover created the first points of the game just four plays later.

Prka threw a bomb down the left hashes, hitting Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-FR) for a 63 yard touchdown to give the Saints a 7-0 lead midway through the second quarter. The touchdown was the Frontier Conference leading eighth of the season for the Redshirt Freshman.

Six plays later, on the ensuing College of Idaho possession, Andy Peters would throw his second interception of the game to Rex Irby (Boise, Idaho / SR). Irby, playing in front of family and friends in his home area, would not be finished on the day.

After a Carroll punt, time would run out for the Yotes, and the Saints would carry their 7-0 lead into the second half.

Both teams would exchange a series of punts before Spencer Fiske would give College of Idaho their first points of the game, hitting a 25-yard field goal to bring the score to 7-3.

Fiske would add another three points, this time on a 34-yard field goal, on the Yotes' next possession, cutting the Carroll lead to just one point, 7-6.

As mentioned earlier, Carroll made big plays throughout the game, perhaps none bigger than Prka's 57 yard strike to standout Tight End Tony Collins (Fort Worth, Texas / SR), on the third play of Carroll's response drive to give the Saints a 14-6 lead with 1:22 left in the third quarter.

Midway through the fourth quarter, Prka and the Saints would provide the final blow to College of Idaho's outright Frontier Conference title hopes. Carroll would cap off a nine-play, 71 yard drive with an absolutely perfect toss from Prka to Camron Rothie (Hamilton, Mont. / R-JR) in the back corner of the end zone to give the Saints a 21-6 lead.

Rex Irby would put an exclamation point on the win, grabbing his second interception of the day, picking off Ryan Hibbs to seal the 21-6 win for the Saints.

Jack Prka finished the day 17-27 for 275 yards, three touchdowns and two interceptions. Duncan Kraft (Billings, Mont. / R-JR) led Carroll in rushing with 52 yards on 13 attempts. Chris Akulschin continued his mammoth last half of the season, leading Carroll in receptions (7) and receiving yards (133).

Yotes Quarterback Andy Peters, who left the game in the second half with a leg-injury, finished 11-21 for 130 yards and two interceptions. Allamar Alexander finished with 67 rush yards to lead the Yotes.

Tucker Jones (Hamilton, Mont. / R-SO) had a big day defensively for the Saints, finishing with nine total tackles (seven solo, two assisted), and Garrett Kocab (Phelan, Calif. / R-SR) finished his day with six solo tackles. Zach Spiroff (Helena, Mont. / JR) had five tackles and two pass break-ups.

Saturday's game marked the third consecutive season that Carroll and College of Idaho have met with playoff hopes on the line for at least one of the teams. Carroll is 3-0 in those games, and much like the spring 2021 season, their win today clinches them the Frontier Conference's automatic berth into the NAIA Playoffs by virtue of the defensive points allowed tiebreaker (Carroll - 133, College of Idaho - 181).

Carroll will now await two things:

First, the Final NAIA Football Coaches' Poll tomorrow. A stipulation to the conference auto-bid is that the school must be ranked inside the Top-20. Carroll currently holds the No. 21 spot, but today's win over No. 11 College of Idaho should give them a boost in the ratings.
Second, if they are ranked inside the Top-20, the NAIA selection show will take place at 5 p.m. (MST) and Carroll will find out their first round opponent.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com tomorrow for updates on the NAIA Playoffs, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.