DES MOINES, Iowa – The No. 16 Carroll Football team came up just short in the NAIA Football Championship Series opening round on Saturday, falling to No. 2 Grand View 17-14.
 
The Fighting Saints (8-2) saw their 2022 season come to a close on Saturday afternoon in a blustery, cold game at No. 2 Grand View.
 
Carroll, the No. 15 seed in the NAIA FCS, gave the No. 2 seeded Vikings all that they could handle in what would be the second-most tightly contested opening round contest of the weekend.
 
Morning sunshine gave way to cloud cover, wind, and light snow flurries as kickoff approached. The Saints won the coin toss, deferring to the second half and giving Grand View the game's first chance at points.
 
Grandview, headed straight into the 20-plus miles per hour wind, went three-and-out on their opening series.
 
The Saints would put together a 21 yard six-play drive on their first offensive series, but would ultimately turn the ball over on downs. Carroll would get to the Vikings 31 yard line, but elected to go for it on fourth down instead of attempting a 48 yard field goal. Duncan Kraft (Billings, Mont. R-JR) would be stopped at the line of scrimmage giving the ball back to Grand View.
 
Neither team were able to put any points on the board in the first quarter, with both teams exchanging punts. Grand View would eventually advance as far as the Carroll 31, but would also come up empty-handed on a fourth down attempt.
 
In the second quarter, Grand View Quarterback Johnny Sullivan would put together a 15-play, 87-yard drive, spanning nearly seven minutes and resulting in the first points of the game.
 
After a Carroll offsides penalty extended the drive, Grand View would get the ball all the way down to the Saints' four-yard line. The Carroll defense would stand tall and force the Vikings to settle for a 21-yard Nathan Hamilton field goal to put Grand View on top, 3-0.
 
With just over a minute left in the half, and Grand View back in possession, Carroll's Zach Spiroff (Helena, Mont. / JR) would give the Saints a jolt. The Defensive Back was able to pounce on an Avery Gates fumble, giving Carroll one final chance to score before the break.
 
Quarterback Jack Prka (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / SO) would quickly march the Saints into Viking territory, setting up Spencer Berger (Billings, Mont. / FR) with a 39-yard field goal attempt into the wind with just seconds left on the clock.
 
Berger would strike the ball well, and while it was dead on-line, the stiff breeze would halt the ball's progress and the kick would come up just a few feet short, keeping the score 3-0 in favor of the Vikings at the half.
 
Carroll would provide the first strike of the second half.
 
After initially forcing a three-and-out, the Vikings would be penalized for roughing the punter, extending Carroll's half-opening drive.
 
A Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-FR) end-around for twenty yards would set the Saints up in Viking territory. Facing a fourth-and-two from the Grand View 25, Prka would connect with Tony Collins (Fort Worth, Texas / SR) on a beautiful play-action pass to give Carroll a 7-0 lead.
 
On the ensuing Viking drive, Tug Smith (Newport, Wash. / JR) would come down with his second interception in as many weeks, giving the Saints the ball back and keeping momentum on their side.
 
That momentum would be stolen quickly.
 
Three plays later, Grand View would recover a Carroll fumble, and take possession deep in Saints' territory. In just three more plays, Sullivan was able to hit Wide Receiver Carson Rollinger for a 20-yard touchdown, regaining the Viking lead at 10-7.
 
A shanked punt on Carroll's next drive would again provide Grand View with a short field, and once again, in just three plays Sullivan would connect with Nate Wilcockson for a 17-yard touchdown to give Grand View the largest lead of the game, 17-7 with just a minute left in the third quarter.
 
Carroll's offense, now with the wind at their back, came up empty on their first two drives of the fourth quarter, and were forced to punt it away several times.
 
Again, the Carroll defense flexed its muscle, only allowing the Vikings one first down in the fourth quarter.
 
With three and a half minutes left in the game, Prka engineered an eight-play, 49-yard drive, capped off with a five-yard touchdown pass to Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-SO), cutting the Viking lead to 17-14 and giving Carroll a chance.
 
The Saints were unable to recover their onside kick attempt however, and unable to stop the clock they would fall, 17-14.
 
Jack Prka finished the day 18-35 for 183 yards passing and two touchdowns.
 
Duncan Kraft led the Saints in rushing with 48 yards on 15 attempts.
 
Tony Collins led all players in both receptions (7) and receiving yards (97), also finishing with a touchdown in his final game as a Fighting Saint.
 
Johnny Sullivan went 16-27 for 168 yards and two touchdowns passing for the Vikings.
 
Grand View Running Back Ali Scott led all players with 125 yards rushing on 29 attempts.
 
Kaden Gardner (Spokane, Wash. / R-SO) led the Saints with eight tackles on the afternoon.
 
The Carroll defense showed why they are ranked in the Top-10 in the NAIA today, holding a Viking offense that came into the contest averaging 440 yards per game and 42 points per game to just 301 total yards and 17 points, far and away their lowest production on the year.
 
Although not the result that Coach Troy Purcell and his Saints were hoping for, Carroll has many reasons to walk out of Iowa with their heads held high.
 
The Saints finish the year as Co-Frontier Conference Champions, ranked No. 16 in the Final NAIA Coaches' Poll.
 
The coaching staff will hit the recruiting trail hard starting on Monday, and the team will begin off-season workouts shortly in preparation to defend their Frontier title heading into 2023.
 
Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com for all of your Carroll Football information this winter, and to stay up to date with everything going in Carroll Athletics.