HELENA, Mont. - The No. 12-ranked Carroll College Football team dropped their second game of the 2023 season, falling 38-17 to No. 13 Montana Western at Nelson Stadium on Saturday afternoon.

The Fighting Saints (7-2, 5-2) couldn't find a way to translate first half success into the second, while the Bulldogs (8-1, 6-1) found their stride in the final two quarters to pull away for the 38-17 win.

Carroll began the game with a 15-play 70-yard drive, with a good mix of the run game and pass game. The drive would stall out in the red zone, before a Spencer Berger (Billings, Mont. / SO) field goal attempt would be blocked by Western.

After forcing a quick Western punt, the Saints would again march down the field. Jack Prka (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / JR) led an 11-play scoring drive, connecting with Jake Brown (Hayden, Idaho / R-JR) on a nine yard touchdown pass to give Carroll a 7-0 lead just under a minute into the second quarter.

The Bulldogs would respond with a quick strike. Michael Palandri hit Dylan Shipley on a 45-yard strike to even the score at 7-7 with around eight minutes left in the half.

Another time-consuming Carroll drive on the ensuing possession would culminate with a beautiful pass from Prka to Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-SO) in the back-left corner of the end zone, and Carroll would take a 14-7 lead with 1:22 remaining in the opening half.

Palandri engineered a quick-hitting response drive, and found Jon Kirkley across the middle of the field to cap a six-play, 72-yard drive, spanning just one minute of game time to even the score at 14-14.

A pooch kick attempt to the up-man, Ryan Rickman (Salem, Ore. / R-JR) would prove costly for the Bulldogs. Rickman bolted up the left side of the field, and his 57-yard return would allow Berger to knock down a 32-yard field goal as the horn sounded to give Carroll a 17-14 lead at the break.

The wheels would fall off for the Saints from that point forward. 

Western would grab a lead that wouldn't be surrendered at the 10:26 mark of the third quarter. Palandri would push into the end zone from one yard out to finish  a 12-play, 74-yard scoring drive on the Bulldogs' opening possession of the half.

Four Bulldog interceptions over the final two quarters would spell disaster for the Saints.

The Carroll offense simply couldn't get anything going in the second half, while the Bulldogs saw Palandri connect with Jon Kirkley for touchdowns passes of 38 and 19-yards, as well as a 19-yard field goal from John Mears to close out the top-15 win.

Prka finished his day 22-43 for 177 yards, with two touchdowns and four second-half interceptions.

Carson Ochoa had an outstanding day, pulling down 10 receptions for 111 yards and a touchdown, while Chris Akulschin followed behind with 44 yards on six receptions.

The Carroll run game was a non-factor, finishing with just 78 total yards on the afternoon.

Palandri went 21-33 for 388 yards and four touchdowns, with three different receivers going over the 100-yard mark (Dylan Shipley 138, Eli Nourse 123, Jon Kirkley 122).

The Saints will now turn their attention towards another ranked opponent next weekend, with No. 22 Montana Tech coming to town for a senior day matchup that now becomes a must-win for the Saints' postseason hopes.

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