Football | 11/09/24 | 9:13 AM

HELENA, Mont. - The No. 14-ranked Carroll Football team will continue their late-season stretch of ranked games, as they take on No. 4 Montana Western at the newly-constructed Bulldog Stadium at 12 p.m. in Dillon.

Few, if any, coaches in the Frontier thought the Fighting Saints (7-1, 6-0) would be in the hunt this season, but Carroll now controls their own destiny in pursuit of conference title No. 46 in program history. A win this afternoon against the No. 4-ranked Bulldogs (7-1, 5-1) would give Carroll an outright Frontier Conference championship, and an auto-bid to the NAIA Football Championship Series.

Last season in Helena, around this same weekend, the No. 12 (Carroll) and No. 13 (Montana Western) teams met at Nelson Stadium in a game with heavy playoff implications. At the time, Carroll had spent the vast majority of the season inside the Top-15 in the nation, reaching as high as No. 6, while Western had fought week after week, climbing from unranked into the conversation.

This season features its share of parallels with that game, as the Bulldogs have spent most of the year inside the NAIA Top-10, while Carroll has finally caught the eye of the raters, ascending at a rapid pace.

On paper, the story line of the day appears to be the NAIA's No. 6 total offense (UMW - 501.1 ypg) squaring off with the nation's No. 4 total defense (CC - 245.9 ypg).

The Frontier Conference has evolved into a league filled with high-powered offenses, but only one school in the league boasts a defense that rankings inside the top-10 in rush yards, total yards, and points allowed - Carroll College. The Saints have been one of the nation's most impressive defenses in 2024, featuring an abundance of experience, depth, speed, size, playmaking ability, and execution. 

Last weekend in Helena, the Carroll defense held then-ranked No. 8 SOU to just 17 points, all on short fields in the first 20 minutes of the game. Entering the week, the Raiders had been averaging 47.9 points per game, but a dominant Carroll defense shut them down en route to a thrilling 21-17 comeback win.

Offensively, Carroll has been equally impressive as of late. QB Jack Prka (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / SR) has thrown for 1,077 yards and eight touchdowns in the last three games, including a record-breaking performance in Caldwell, Idaho in a 43-29 win over then-ranked No. 12 College of Idaho. The senior leads the entire NAIA in completion percentage on the season, completing passes at a 74 percent clip this year.

With injuries throughout the offense, a next man up mentality has taken over, and the Saints are clicking on multiple different fronts.

Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-JR) has been the go-to big play guy for the Carroll offense in recent weeks, while the league's best tight end Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-JR) has provided numerous drive-extending catches, finding soft spots in opposing defenses to keep Carroll on track.

A combination of Archie LaFurge (Great Falls, Mont. / R-FR) and Ryan Rickman (Salem, Ore. / R-SR) in the backfield over the past two weeks has been effective, with two different styles providing their own unique challenges to the opposition.

The Saints will look to keep their offense rolling against a Western defense that enters the week allowing 316 ypg and 20.0 ppg on the season, while the defense will be tasked with slowing down Michael Palandri, who enters the week with the fourth-most passing yards per game in the NAIA (302 ypg).

Kick off for today's monumental game is set for 12 p.m., and a live stream can be found HERE.

Catch Voice of the Saints, Nick Dietzen, and Carroll Hall of Famer, Gary Turcott, call the action live on Rewind 94.9 FM, or 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.

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