LA GRANDE, Ore. - The No, 7-ranked Carroll College Football team certainly didn't play their cleanest game of the 2023 season, but found a way to topple a pesky Eastern Oregon team, 14-6 on Saturday afternoon.

The Fighting Saints (6-0, 4-0) were lifted to victory by a pair of fourth quarter touchdowns to beat the Mountaineers (2-5, 2-3) for the fourth-consecutive meeting.

Saturday's showdown in La Grande started with a bang. The Mountaineers attempted an onside kick on the opening kick-off, but would be unsuccessful and Carroll would start with great field position. Carroll would be unable to do much with the game's opening possession, however, and were forced to punt it away.

Eastern Oregon's first drive of the game was a quick on as well, as Carroll forced a three-and-out. 

Another Carroll drive would fizzle out just outside of field-goal territory and the Saints would be forced to punt once again.

Thomas McGree (Butte, Mont. / R-JR) would pick off a Quincy Glasper pass on the next EOU drive, but a costly roughing the passer penalty would negate the play and keep the ball in the hands of the Mountaineer offense.

The teams would exchange a series of punts before Eastern Oregon found the game's first real scoring chance.

An eight-play, 89-yard drive, featuring a number of misdirection plays would come crashing to a halt with the Mountaineers knocking on the Carroll doorstep. A throw to a lineman who had reported as eligible was fumbled at the one-yard line, and the ball would bounce out of the end zone for a touchback, instantly erasing the first scoring opportunity, and Carroll would take over at the 25.

The Carroll offense simply couldn't keep things moving, and would continue to punt the ball back to the Mountaineers for the remainder of the half.

The Saints would play bend-don't-break defense, and put up a tremendous effort back up against their own goal line towards the end of the first half.

With just 19 seconds remaining, Ethan Cutler would knock down a 20-yard field goal to cap an impressive 13-play, 82-yard drive for the game's first points, and EOU would carry a 3-0 lead into the halftime break.

After a pair of punts to begin the second half, Cutler would double the Mountaineers lead with a 25-yard field goal, his second of the game, to make things 6-0 in favor of EOU.

Finally, after three quarters of frustration, the Carroll offense would find their rhythm. 

A 13-play, 76-yard drive that spanned the end of the third, and beginning of the fourth quarters would culminate with Jack Prka (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / JR) pushing into the end zone behind his line to give Carroll their first points, and more importantly, a 7-6 lead at the 11:18 mark of the final frame.

The Carroll defense, who had already played an outstanding game to that point, would once again provide some breathing room on the ensuing possession.

EOU's Glasper was sacked on third down, fumbling the ball in the process. Helena High School product Forrest Suero (Helena, Mont. / SO) would scoop the loose ball and rumble to the goal line for Carroll's second defensive score in their last three games, extending the lead to 14-6 where the game would finish.

The Saints had a woeful afternoon passing the ball, with Jack Prka finishing his day with a line of 6-16-0 for just 46 yards. The Saints' signal caller did, however, punch in the ultimate game-winning touchdown on the ground, and finished with 10 rushing yards on the day.

Duncan Kraft (Billings, Mont. / R-SR) finished with 88 yards to lead a Carroll rushing attack that totaled 167 yards on the day.

The nation's No. 4 defense again showed why they are one of the NAIA's best, allowing just 253 total yards, and only 15 total rush yards in the contest.

Tucker Jones (Hamilton, Mont. / R-JR) led all Saints with nine total tackles on the afternoon.

Carroll will now focus all of their attention on what will be a top-10 matchup, and potential NAIA game of the week, next Saturday at Nelson Stadium as the Saints host No. 10 College of Idaho at 12 p.m.

Visit www.carrollathletics.com for a preview of that contest, and to stay up to date with everything going on in Carroll Athletics.