DILLON, Mont. - The No. 14-ranked Carroll Football team fell 27-14 to No. 4-ranked Montana Western at Bulldog Stadium in Dillon on Saturday.

Turnovers were the story of the game, as the Fighting Saints (7-2, 6-1) came up with four takeaways, but saw a fourth quarter interception derail their momentum against the Bulldogs (8-1, 6-1).

Following a short opening drive by the offense, the Carroll defense got their day started with a bang. Cam Pruitt (Boise, Idaho / R-SR) forced a fumble just a couple of plays into the game, and Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-FR) scooped the loose ball and returned it 14 yards for the score to give the Saints a quick 7-0 lead.

The Carroll defense again would force a fumble on the very next Bulldog possession. Garrett Worden (Laramie, Wyo. / R-SR) blew through the line, sacking Bulldog quarterback Michael Palandri at the Western 26, stripping the ball and recovering it in the process to give Carroll an instant redzone opportunity.

Four plays later, Jack Prka (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / SR) would be sacked on a fourth-and-one, and the Saints would come away empty-handed on a potential scoring opportunity.

Western settled into the game, taking a 12-play, 65 yard drive into Carroll territory, but a John Mears field goal attempt would not connect and Carroll would retain their 7-0 lead.

At the tail-end of the first quarter, the Bulldogs would get on the board. Michael Palandri connected with his favorite target, Eli Nourse, on a 32-yard touchdown pass to even the game at 7-7.

Carroll saw a missed field goal of their own, as Nick Clouse's (Seattle, Wash. / R-SO) 42-yard attempt on the next Carroll possession would sail wide left as the game remained deadlocked.

With four minutes remaining in the half the Carroll defense would force their third fumble of the game, halting a promising Western drive. Ben Mehlhaff (Eugene, Ore. / R-SR) pounced on the loose ball to give the Saints possession at their own 34 with a chance to score and take a lead into half.

Prka connected with Lincoln Holmes (St. George, Utah / R-FR) on a 19-yard pass play to move the Saints into plus-territory, but Holmes was flagged for illegal touching after stepping out of bounds, and Carroll would be forced to punt it back with under two minutes left in the half.

Western seized the opportunity, capping a nine-play, 60-yard drive with a Mears field goal from 36-yards to enter the halftime break with a 10-7 advantage.

Coming out of the break, Western would extend their lead. Mears would knock down his second field goal of the game, this one from 42-yards out, to finish a 10-play drive and give the Bulldogs a 13-7 lead.

Neither team could get much going offensively in the third quarter, as both sides exchanged a series of punts.

Just over a minute into the fourth quarter, the Carroll defense would again give their sideline a spark. Pruitt forced his second fumble of the game, this time recovering his own handiwork, giving Carroll possession deep in Montana Western territory once again.

Prka would strike quick, finding Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-JR) in the endzone on the first play of the Carroll drive to give Carroll their first lead since the opening minutes, 14-13.

On the next Carroll possession, Western would come away with a momentum-shifting interception. Keegen Muffich would jump a route near midfield, picking off Prka to halt any chance the Saints had at growing their fourth quarter lead.

The Bulldogs took advantage of the opportunity, scoring on a quick-hitting three-play drive capped by a Pete Gibson rushing touchdown from one-yard out, regaining the lead, 20-14.

Carroll went three-and-out on the response drive, before a methodical Bulldog drive would seal the win for the home team. Western salted the game away on a 13-play, 76-yard scoring drive that chewed over seven minutes off of the clock. Gibson finished things off with his second touchdown of the game, a 10-yard run to put things out of reach at 27-14.

The four-turnover performance by the Carroll defense also included five sacks, but Carroll's inability to extend drives on offense would prove to be the deciding factor. The Saints went just 3-14 on third down (21 percent), providing the Bulldogs' high-powered offense with enough opportunities to earn the win.

Carroll's offense was anemic, finishing with just 167 total yards on the afternoon.

Jack Prka went 14-33 for 131 yards, one touchdown, and two interceptions. Archie La Furge finished as Carroll's leading rusher, accounting for 50 yards on 10 attempts.

Daxon Graham (Dillon, Mont. / R-JR) and Eli Aby (Laurel, Mont. / R-JR) each posted 10 tackles to lead the Saints, while Hunter Peck (Windsor, Colo. / SR) finished with an impressive six tackles, 3.0 TFL, 3.0 sack afternoon.

Western's Palandri went 23-32 for 239 yards and a touchdown passing, while adding another 89 yards on the ground.

The Saints and Bulldogs are now tied atop the Frontier Conference leaderboard at 6-1, with Western holding the head-to-head advantage that would give them the auto-bid to the NAIA FCS should both teams win next week.

Carroll will now travel to Butte next Saturday, looking to avenge their lone other loss on the season in a crucial regular season finale against Montana Tech.

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

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