Football | 10/26/24 | 10:09 AM

HELENA, Mont. - The (RV) Carroll College Football team will look to grab their first marquee win of the season, as they will square off with No. 12 College of Idaho at Simplot Stadium in Caldwell, Idaho at 1 p.m.

The Fighting Saints (5-1, 4-0) are back in the receiving votes portion of the NAIA Coaches' Poll, looking to ascend even further should they knock off the No. 12-ranked Yotes (6-2, 4-1).

For the Carroll Football team, the playoffs start now.

The Saints have arguably the toughest stretch of games to close the season in the entire NAIA, playing four ranked teams (C of I, SOU, UMW, MT), with three of those games on the road.

It's a tall task, but one the Saints feel they are ready to tackle.

Carroll enters the weekend with a perfect 4-0 record in conference play, sitting atop the Frontier Conference standings. College of Idaho is right behind them, checking in with a 4-1 record in league play.

Saturday's battle in Caldwell, on paper, appears to be a clash between one of the NAIA's best offenses (CoI - 491.6 ypg - No. 8) and one of the nation's toughest defenses (CC - 233.7 ypg - No. 6). The high-powered Yote offense is averaging 42 points per game (No. 15), led by Andy Peters, who has thrown for 2252 yards and 21 touchdowns on the season.

While the Yotes offense is certainly potent, the Carroll defense is equally, if not more, impressive. The nation's No. 7 scoring defense (12.3 ppg) is ready for the challenge, and feel confident heading into the road test. One reason for the confidence is boasting the reigning Frontier Conference and NAIA Defensive Player of the Week, Hunter Peck (Windsor, Colo. / SR). Peck had a monster game in last week's win over Eastern Oregon, finishing with nine tackles, 3.0 TFL, and a pair of sacks.

The Carroll front seven is as good as any unit in the NAIA, but the secondary has been matching the output as well. Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-FR) leads the team in tackles (42), while Elijah Larson (Sandpoint, Idaho / R-JR) had an outstanding outing last week, totaling five pass break-ups, the most from any Saint this season.

Offensively, the Saints appear to be finding a rhythm as well. Quarterback Jack Prka (Coer d'Alene, Idaho / SR) remains the NAIA leader in completion percentage (72.9 percent), and is coming off of his best passing game of the season (21-28, 355 yds, 2 TD). The senior signal-caller has never lost in Caldwell, winning both appearances dating back to 2021. The 2021 game was Prka's first start, and the 2022 win in Caldwell gave Carroll its 45th conference title and a trip to the NAIA Football Championship Series.

Kick-off from Simplot Stadium is slated for 1 p.m.

A pay-per-view stream of the game can be found HERE, and live stats can be followed HERE.

Catch Voice of the Saints, Nick Dietzen, call the action live on Rewind 94.9 FM, or online 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.

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