GLENDALE, Ariz. - The Carroll College Football team made the most of their first trip to the desert, blanking Arizona Christian 28-0 on an unseasonably hot night in Arizona.

The Fighting Saints (3-1. 2-0) moved into sole possession of the Frontier Conference lead with a commanding shutout victory over the Firestorm (1-2, 1-1).

Even with the sun completely set by the time kick-off rolled around, temperatures were in excess of 100 degrees at the ACU Football Field, making Saturday night's contest the hottest game on record in program history.

Carroll won the toss, and elected to put their offense on the field first. A quick three-and-out would result in a punt, but the Carroll defense, playing lights out as of late, would force a three-and-out of their own.

The first scoring drive of the game for Saints saw a healthy balance of both run and pass. Jack Prka (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / SR) was efficient, hitting four pass plays of 10-plus yards, while Peter Minnaert (Boise, Idaho / FR) tallied 34 rush yards. The 11-play, 80-yard drive was capped with a Minnaert rushing touchdown, and Carroll went on top 7-0.

On the ensuing possession, the Carroll special teams unit came up with a game-changing play. Jake Jeske (Spangle, Wash. / R-FR) blew up an ACU punt attempt following another quick Firestorm drive. Jeske hammered the ACU punter, setting up the offense with a short field in which they would capitalize.

Archie LaFurge (Great Falls, Mont. / R-FR) capped a quick four-play drive with his first collegiate touchdown. The speedster from the Electric City scored from five yards out to give the Saints a 14-0 lead with just over 12 minutes remaining in the half.

The Firestorm would move the ball into Carroll territory on their next drive, but after stalling out at the 40, Nestor Heguera came up short on a 55-yard field goal attempt to give the ball back to Carroll with good field position.

Several Minnaert runs later, Prka would connect with All-Conference tight end Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-JR) on a 36-yard touchdown pass to extend the Saints' lead to 21-0.

After securing a turnover on downs on the next Firestorm drive, Carroll would light the scoreboard up again before the half. Prka hit wide receiver Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-JR) on a deep 42-yard pass down the right side of the field. Asher Croy (Bozeman, Mont. / R-JR) would score the first touchdown of his Carroll career on a one yard plunge, and the Saints would enter the break up big, 28-0.

Arizona Christian's Wing T offense was non-existent in the first half, as one of the nation's best defenses shut down opportunity after opportunity. The Carroll defense held ACU to just 72 yards of total offense in the opening half, continuing a run of dominance in recent weeks.

The pace slowed dramatically in the second half.

Arizona Christian would dominate time of possession in the third quarter, with Carroll's offense only having the ball for 4:36 in the frame.

The Firestorm offensive output increased in the third, but the Carroll defense would come up with two separate fourth down stops to keep the scoreless streak intact.

The fourth quarter would see a couple of exchanges of possession, but the Firestorm offense simply didn't have an answer for the nation's No. 15 scoring defense, and Carroll would walk out with a 28-0 win.

Prka finished his night 14-20 for 185 yards and one touchdown.

Four different running backs saw action for the Saints, combining for 150 yards on the ground. Peter Minnaert led the charge, finishing with 97 yards and one score, but left the game early with an injury in the fourth.

While any number of Carroll defenders could be recognized for their efforts, Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-FR) made an extremely strong case for player of the game. Carroll's leading tackler heading into the game, Orlandi racked up 12 total tackles on the evening. Cameron Pruitt (Boise, Idaho / R-SR) and Ben Melhaff (Eugene, Ore. / R-SR) also had great nights, finishing with 8.0 and 7.0 tackles, respectively.

The dominant defensive effort saw the Saints hold their opponents to fewer than 200 yards (199) for the third consecutive game, while pitching their second straight shutout, a feat Carroll hasn't accomplished since the 2007 season.

Up next, the Saints will welcome MSU-Northern to Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium next weekend for a 1 p.m. Frontier Conference clash ahead of the bye week.

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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