HELENA, Mont. - The No. 21-ranked Carroll College Football team came back from a 17-point deficit to beat No. 8 Southern Oregon, 21-17, and remain undefeated in Frontier play at Nelson Stadium on Saturday.

There are wins, and there are WINS.

The Fighting Saints (7-1, 6-0) picked up a WIN on Saturday, overcoming a slew of early mistakes to topple the No. 8 Raiders (7-2, 4-2) in a Frontier Conference classic.

The Frontier Conference Game of the Week did not disappoint, featuring twists and turns throughout.

A disastrous first quarter for Carroll started on the game's opening kick. After winning the toss and electing to receive, the Saints saw a quick change of events with a fumble caused by a big hit on the return.

Southern Oregon took over deep in Carroll territory, but the nation's No. 7 defense would force a quick three-and-out. Brian Batres trotted out to attempt a 28-yard field goal, but the kick would sail wide right and the Saints would escape unharmed.

Turnovers would be the story of the opening half, as the Saints again would see a fumble provide the Raiders with excellent field position on the next possession.

Jack Prka (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / SR) took a shot from an SOU lineman on the next Carroll drive, with the ball squirting free straight to an SOU defender. The Raiders wouldn't waste the second gift from the Saints, as Gunner Yates would take six-straight runs a total of 19 yards for the first points of the game. 

A botched punt attempt on the ensuing Carroll possession once again provided the Raiders with a prime opportunity for points. After taking over at the Carroll 30, SOU would cap a seven-play, 22-yard drive with a 25-yard Batres field goal to extend their lead to 10-0.

The first play of the second quarter resulted in yet another Carroll turnover. A tipped screen-pass on third down was snatched out of the air by Ty Glumbik, and the Raiders would take over at their own 39-yard line.

The Raiders played field position on the ensuing drive, with a punt forcing the Saints inside their own five. Carroll would be forced to punt it right back, and the Raiders would again take advantage of a short field.

Blake Asciutto connected with Gunner Yates through the air for a 16-yard touchdown, capping a four-play 35-yard drive to give the Raiders a 17-0 lead just two minutes into the second frame.

From that point on, the game belonged to Carroll.

A resilient Saints sideline rallied, and Prka engineered a response drive. Several hard runs from Archie LaFurge (Great Falls, Mont. / R-FR) paired with chunk plays from Prka to his two tight ends, Ryan Rickman (Salem, Ore. / R-SR) and Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-JR) would get the Saints down near the goal line. Prka would find Ochoa one final time in the drive on a play action out of a jumbo set to put the Saints on the board, capping an eight-play, 65-yard scoring drive to bring the score to 17-7.

Caden Hansen (Dillon, Mont. / R-FR) came up with Carroll's lone takeaway of the game on the very next Raider possession. Hansen's first career pick gave the Saints instant energy, but the high would be short lived with yet another Carroll turnover just two plays later.

Carroll's third fumble of the half, and fifth total turnover of the game would give SOU the ball back with just under three minutes left in the half. 

The Raider drive would hit a wall near midfield, and Carroll would get a chance to put points on the board with 36 seconds left on the clock and the ball at their own 31.

Prka moved the Saints into field goal range with some great throws to Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-JR) and Lincoln Holmes (St. George, Utah / R-FR), but a last second field goal attempt would be blocked and the Saints would have to settle for the 17-7 halftime score.

Following the 15 minute reset, Carroll looked much more composed in the second half.

Midway through the third, the Saints would find their second score of the game. Three separate third down conversions extended a 10-play, 76-yard grind-it-out drive that culminated with a big man touchdown. Brett Tommasini (Eagle, Idaho / R-JR) punched in his first career rushing touchdown from one-yard out to bring Carroll within one score, 14-17.

On their next possession, the Saints again marched down the field methodically, breaking the will of the Raider defense. Rickman, taking reps in the backfield following numerous injuries, picked up chunks of hard-earned yards on the ground, while Tommasini would add another touchdown to his impressive stat line. The linebacker capped a 10-play, 65-yard drive with another one-yard plunge to put Carroll on top for good, 21-17.

After forcing a turnover on downs, the Saints had a chance to extend their lead to seven, but Nick Clouse's (Seattle, Wash. / R-SO) kick would sail just left of the uprights and the Raiders would have one final chance to win.

SOU advanced all of 36 yards with time dwindling, but the Carroll Defense would hold one final time to secure the second-straight ranked-win of the season.

Carroll dominated the stat sheet, with the exception of the turnover battle. (SOU 5, Carroll 2)

The Saints out-gained the Raiders 336 yards to 233, with 280 of those yards coming through the air. The nation's No. 4 rush defense held Gunner Yates to just 68 yards on the ground, less than half of his season average (129.1 ypg). Yates was still impressive, however, scoring twice to break SOU's all-time season touchdown record.

Jack Prka was effective again, going 22-31-1 for 280 yards and a touchdown.

Chris Akulschin led all players with 86 receiving yards on four catches.

Carroll's leading tackler entering the game, Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-FR) finished with a team-high eight tackles and 1.0 TFL.

The Saints will surely ascend the NAIA Coaches' Poll ranks this week, and will travel to No. 4 Montana Western next Saturday for the most important game in the Frontier Conference this season. A win in that game would secure an outright Frontier Conference Championship.

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

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