HELENA, Mont. - On a picture perfect afternoon for football in the Capital City, No. 14-ranked Carroll handled their business, closing out the 2025 Regular Season with a 12-0 shutout over Eastern Oregon on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium.

One week removed from being held to their lowest offensive output in eight years, the Fighting Saints (8-2, 5-1) put on a defensive show of their own - holding the Mountaineers (4-6, 3-3) to just 104 yards of total offense.

A quick glance at the box score might suggest that no one on the Carroll defense played particularly well, but a deeper dive highlights just how dominant the unit was in the shutout victory. A prideful Carroll defensive unit held Eastern Oregon to just 41 total plays, limiting them to just 21:45 time of possession. Purple jerseys and white hats were all over the field, shutting down nearly everything thrown their way all game.

The Mountaineers were just 2-12 on third down over the course of the afternoon, as the Saints allowed next-to-nothing through the air. Carroll allowed just 20 passing yards, holding EOU's Elia Kirisimasi to just 8-18 passing - an average of only 2.5 yards per completion.

Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-SO), the first Saint to record 100-plus tackles in a season since 2013, led Carroll with eight tackles on the afternoon, while Eli Aby (Laurel, Mont. / R-JR) added seven with one TFL and a pass breakup. 

Saturday's strong effort was the fourth time this season that the Saints have held an opponent to fewer than 200 yards of total offense (MSU-N - 158, DSU - 136, SU - 193, EOU - 104).

The dominant defensive effort marked Carroll's third shutout of the season, something that hasn't happened since the 2007 National Championship season (Five shutouts).

While they didn't light up the scoreboard by any stretch of the imagination, the Carroll Offense had a nice bounce-back performance following their subpar showing last weekend. 

For just the second time this season, the Saints rushed for more than 200 yards, finishing the day with 204 yards on the ground split between four players. Peter Minnaert (Boise, Idaho / SO) got the lion's share of the carries, finishing with 93 yards on 16 attempts. Xzavier Ford (Glendora, Calif. / SR) added 41 yards on 10 carries, while Jake Jeske (Spangle, Wash. / R-SO) tallied 39 yards on seven totes.

Quarterback Kaden Huot managed the game well, finishing his afternoon 13-23 for 146 yards and a touchdown. His lone touchdown pass of the day came five plays after an Eastern Oregon special teams mistake saw a bad snap sail over the punter's head and out of the endzone for a safety. The junior navigated the pocket well, buying enough time to find Lincoln Holmes (St. George, Utah / R-SO) all alone in the back corner for six - putting Carroll up 12-0 in the third quarter.

It was an all-around quiet day for the Carroll receivers, as only three players recorded a catch on the day. Holmes had five for 40 yards and a score, Minnaert caught three out of the backfield, and Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-SR) led all players with six grabs for 103 yards.

With the win, Carroll has made a very strong case for selection as an At-Large team in the upcoming NAIA Football Championship Series. The NAIA FCS Selection show is slated for Sunday evening at 5 p.m. (MST). To watch the selection show live tomorrow evening, click HERE.