DILLON, Mont. - On the road, and in the rain, the No. 14-ranked Carroll Football team picked up a monumental win over No. 8 Montana Western, 42-34 to remain unbeaten in Frontier Conference - West play on Saturday afternoon at a soggy Bulldog Stadium.

A team who entered the weekend known for its defensive prowess, the Fighting Saints (5-1, 2-0) showed they have the offense to match in a 42-34 shootout with the two-time defending Frontier Champion Bulldogs.

"Great team win against an unbelievable opponent." said Head Coach Troy Purcell "Proud of our coaches and players for just staying the course - never too high, never too low. It just shows that belief, and doing everything you can to win this rep, and the next rep keeps you in a position to go get it done in the fourth quarter."

Rightfully so, Montana Western quarterback Michael Palandri entered the Top-15 battle with the national attention as one of the NAIA's top gunslingers, but it was Carroll's signal-caller Kaden Huot (Helena, Mont. / JR) who put up the most impressive performance of the day.

Huot, the 6-3 junior transfer from the University of Montana, was phenomenal in a hostile environment and challenging conditions - completing 22 of his 36 attempts for 349 yards and five touchdowns through the air, while leading all players with 50 rushing yards and one more score on the ground to help Carroll come away with its first win in Dillon since 2015.

"It feels good." said Huot. "I keep getting more comfortable and confident in this offense, and everyone around me. O-Line's doing a great job blocking, backs are doing a great job running, and the receivers are out there making plays. When we come together as a group like that, we can be special."

While Huot's big passing day is worth the praise, a fearless run on fourth down with less than a minute remaining in which he sacrificed his body - hurdling a Bulldog defender and stretching for the sticks - was arguably the most important play of the game. Huot's heady hurdle gave Carroll a first down by mere inches, sustaining the final drive and denying Western's high-powered offense a last-minute opportunity at the comeback.

"It was a pass play and I was trying to find Ochoa or Ty, and I just couldn't find them open. So it was like, I gotta go get this first down. I don't even remember jumping, I just remember landing and after they measured, the sideline going crazy because we knew we had it."

Seven different players were on the receiving end of Huot's 22 completions, none more impressive than Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-SR) who finished with a game-high 193 receiving yards on eight catches - two of which were touchdowns of 40-plus yards. 

The Carroll defense embodied their 'bend-don't-break' mentality, doing their jobs extremely well in the ranked-win.

Entering the game, Western was No. 12 in the nation, averaging 466.4 yards per game. Carroll held the Bulldogs' potent attack to a total of 329 yards, 137 less than their season average, and their fewest yards in any game this season. In total, UMW finished with just 20 net rushing yards. 

Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-SO) was impressive again, finishing with a game-high 10 tackles and three pass break-ups, while the linebacker duo of Brett Tommasini (Eagle, Idaho / SR) and Eli Aby (Laurel, Mont. / SR) each added nine tackles.

"I feel like for the majority of the day we were firing on all cylinders." said Orlandi of the defensive effort "We've got nothing but respect for those guys. They've got ballplayers and playmakers all over the field, but at the same time we think we're the best defense in the nation and want to combat anyone. Again, respect to those guys, they pushed the ball on us a couple of times - but it's a bend-don't-break mentality and that's what we did."

"They're one of the best offenses in the country." said Aby "Three great receivers - and that quarterback is unbelievable. You're going to give up points to a team like that, but we just kept on fighting and found a way to win."

Carroll put the first points on the board late in the first quarter with a one-yard plunge through the line by Huot, following a 26-yard completion to Gavin Vandenacre (Townsend, Mont. / R-JR) to set up the score. The rainy conditions led to a poor snap on the PAT, and the attempt would be blocked to limit Carroll to just six points. 

Western responded with back-to-back touchdown passes of 39 yards to Seth Shook, and 46 yards to Eli Nourse on their next two possessions to jump into a 14-6 lead with 9 minutes remaining in the second quarter.

Facing a third and 11 deep in their own territory, Carroll hit their first big play of the afternoon on the ensuing drive. Momentum swung heavily in Carroll's favor when Huot hit Akulschin, who had blown past single coverage, on a 75-yard go-route for six. Huot then found Vandenacre all alone in the back of the endzone on the two-point attempt, leveling the score at 14-14 near the midway point of the frame.

After leaving the desert with no takeaways in last week's win over Arizona Christian, Forrest Suero (Helena, Mont. / SR) came away with the defense's first big play of the game. The All-Conference lineman intercepted Palandri at the Western 25 to give the Saints an instant redzone opportunity.

Huot and the offense made good on the pick, putting together a five-play, 25-yard drive capped by Ty Wilkinson's fourth receiving touchdown of the year - a six-yard pitch and catch in the left flat that would ultimately put Carroll on top for good.

WIlkinson's fourth receiving score of the year is the second-most by a freshman since 2014 (Shane Sipes - 7), and marked back-to-back weeks with a score.

Western moved the ball into Carroll territory on their next possession, but an intentional grounding penalty, paired with solid play in the defensive backfield resulted in a turnover on downs, giving Carroll the ball back with just over a minute remaining in the half.

Huot engineered a seven-play, 68-yard drive that featured passes to three different receivers and several scampers of his own to put Carroll on the board one more time before the break. With just 18 seconds remaining, Carroll doubled their lead on a Hout-Vandenacre seven-yard touchdown to put a bow on perhaps their best half of the season, leading 28-14.

Coming out of the half, Western received the kick and moved down the field with relative ease. Palandri would throw his second touchdown pass of the game to Eli Nourse from 10-yards out, capping a quick seven-play, 77-yard scoring drive. However, in a mirror of the game's first scoring drive, the PAT attempt would be blocked, and Carroll would continue to lead 28-20.

The Saints moved the ball near the redzone on their first possession of the second half, but a sack and false start penalty would put Carroll in a third and 25 situation. Akulschin once again burned his man, and Hout hit him in the endzone for a 40-yard touchdown to extend the Carroll lead out to 35-20 midway through the third.

Huot's fifth passing touchdown of the game came late in the third, as he found his favorite target Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-SR) in the back right corner for the All-American tight end's third touchdown of the season, and second in as many weeks.

Carroll's defense initially held on the ensuing Western possession, but the steady rain led to a muffed punt return by the Saints. The Bulldogs pounced on the ball deep in Carroll territory, swinging momentum in their favor for the first time since the first quarter.

Two plays into the fourth, Western's Aidan Lammers scored from four-yards out to cut into the deficit 42-26 where it would remain following a failed two-point attempt.

Midway through the fourth, Dillon-native Caden Hansen (Dillon, Mont. / R-SO) grabbed his second career interception, and Carroll's second pick of the day, on a Palandri attempt to Nourse deep across the middle. A blind-side block on the return would back Carroll up to their own 12.

Looking to put together a time-killing drive to help put the game on ice, the Carroll offense made their lone mistake of the day. Hout threw an ill-advised pass across the middle, and Western's Connor Dunlea would snatch it and rumble 26-yards to the endzone for a pick-six to bring the Bulldogs within one score at 42-34 with 7:34 remaining.

Gunner Giulio (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / R-JR), who entered the game with five takeaways on the season (3 INT, 2 FR) once again showcased his ball-hawking ability on the Bulldogs' final offensive possession of the game. His fourth interception of the season was Carroll's third takeaway of the day, and curtailed Western's final opportunity to try and tie with just over two minutes remaining.

The win was Carroll's first in the series since the 2022 season, and a small bit of revenge for a pair of losses over the past two seasons that would keep the Saints from a Frontier title. 

While there are still four more Frontier games remaining on the schedule, there's no overstating how important the victory was towards securing Carroll's hopeful 46th conference championship. The Saints are now the lone 2-0 team in the Frontier - West, with No. 22 College of Idaho sitting at 1-0 following their bye this weekend.

"We're in the driver's seat now." said Suero "We just gotta keep our heads down and steer it right the rest of the way"

The Saints should see their position in the NAIA Coaches' Top-25 Poll rise this week, as they head into a 1 p.m. home game next Saturday against Simpson.