Football | 10/14/23 | 10:35 AM
HELENA, Mont. - The No. 7-ranked Carroll College Football team will hit the gridiron again this afternoon for the first time in two weeks as they face-off with Eastern Oregon in at 2 p.m. (MST) in La Grande, Ore.
The Fighting Saints (5-0, 3-0) are off to their best start since the 2010 national championship season, and will look to keep things rolling this afternoon against the Mountaineers (2-4, 2-2).
Even while idle, Carroll moved up in the NAIA Coaches' Poll this past week. The Saints, who did not play last weekend, jumped up to No. 7 in the national poll, their highest rank since 2014.
Last week's bye week presented the Saints with the unique opportunity to have a true halfway point of their season. The Saints survived the first half of their schedule unscathed, a goal set by the coaching staff and a challenge propositioned to the team dating back to last December;
start fast.
The Saints have answered the call, and will now look to do something that they have been very good at under Head Coach
Troy Purcell's tenure;
finish.
Carroll has a combined record of 16-3 over the final five games of the season ('20-21 only four games) under Purcell's watch, including last season's 5-0 sprint to the finish in which they toppled College of Idaho on the road to secure a share of the Frontier Conference title and the league's atuo-bid to the NAIA Football Championship Series.
The 2023 Saints will get their chance to repeat last year's impressive end of the season, and everything starts today at Community Stadium.
The Mountaineers have been a real thorn-in-the-side to the Saints over the past ten meetings, leading the series 7-3 in that time span. However, Carroll appears to have turned the corner, having won each of the last three meetings between the two schools.
Last season in Helena,
Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-SO) posted a career day, finishing with nine catches for 158 yards and three touchdowns in what would be a blowout 37-3 win for the Saints.
The game in La Grande was a much different story. A late game blocked PAT and subsequent return for a score, plus a last second
Spencer Berger (Billings, Mont. / SO) field goal lifted the Saints to a narrow 25-23 win.
An added week of rest and preparation should benefit the Saints heading into this afternoon's contest, giving the nation's No. 4 total defense (234.8 ypg) a chance to see plenty of film on an Eastern Oregon team that will lineup in as many different formations as Carroll will see this season.
Offensively, the Saints will look to hit the Mountaineers with a balanced attack. At times in 2023, the Saints have shown that they can move the ball through the air with the best of the best in the NAIA, but have lacked some production in the run game. Getting the trio of
Duncan Kraft (Billings, Mont. / R-SR),
Baxter Tuggle (Laramie, Wyo. / R-SR), and
Max Lehman (Meridian, Idaho / R-SO) rolling will be a key to Carroll's success both in today's game, and the back-half of the season.
This afternoon's game will be streamed
HERE, and users will have to pay to access.
Mark Browning will have the call live on Rewind 94.9 FM, and online
HERE.
Live stats can be followed
HERE.
Visit www.carrollathletics.com this evening for a full recap of the action, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.
