HELENA, Mont. - Halloween has come and passed, November is here, and the Carroll Football team is once again right in the postseason hunt with the weeks winding down in the 2025 Regular season. Saturday afternoon brings the final road test of the year, as Carroll takes on Southern Oregon at 2 p.m. at Raider Stadium in Ashland, Ore.

With just three games remaining on their 2025 slate, the Fighting Saints (6-1, 3-0) are right where they hoped to be at the beginning of the campaign. 

The Saints enter the week ranked No. 8 in the latest NAIA Football Coaches' Poll, and remain atop the Frontier Conference - West standings with an unbeaten mark in conference play - winners of their last five games.

Carroll has the opportunity to do something not many teams in program history have accomplished with a win on Saturday in Ashland. A win would give them a perfect 5-0 mark on the road for the second time in the last three seasons.

A potential victory will not come easy, however, as they take on a Southern Oregon program that historically has been one of the most competitive series in the NAIA. Saturday will mark the 20th all-time meeting between the teams, with Carroll owning a slim 10-9 advantage dating back to 2001. 

For years, the Saints struggled to come out of Ashland with a victory, suffering several tight losses - including multiple by just one point. Things have changed in recent seasons, however, as Carroll enters the weekend with five straight wins, including a pair at Raider Stadium, since 2021.

The two schools are the only Frontier Conference institutions to have hoisted the NAIA National Championship trophy, Carroll with six ('02-'05, '07, '10), and SOU with one in 2014.

Coming off a bye week, the Saints have had a chance to rest, reset, and refocus as they face a three-game sprint to a hopeful conference title No. 46 and return to the NAIA Football Championship Series.

Offensively, the Saints are enjoying some of their most success in the last decade-plus. Quarterback Kaden Huot (Helena, Mont. / JR) has thrown for 300-plus yards in each of his last four games, and enters the week just shy of 2,000 yards passing on the season. The yards have equated to points as well, as the junior is No. 7 in the NAIA with 22 TD passes on the year. 

Wide Receiver Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-SR) has been outstanding in recent weeks as well, with four TD receptions in the last two games.

While the offense has been doing their part, the Carroll Defense has been flat out dominant for the majority of the 2025 season. The Saints are among the NAIA elite, entering the week as the No. 7 scoring defense (13.7 ppg), No. 14 passing defense (166.1 ypg), No. 6 rushing defense (76.0 ypg), and No. 5 total defense (242.1 ypg).

Kick-off from Raider Stadium is set for 2 p.m. (MDT).

A pay-per-view stream can be found HERE, and live stats can be followed HERE.

Catch Voice of the Saints, Stewart Davis, call the action live on Rewind 94.9 FM in Helena, or online HERE.