BUTTE, Mont. - After facing a 17-point hole at the halftime break, the Carroll Football team battled back in a strong second half effort - ultimately falling short, 31-21, in their NAIA Football Championship Series Second Round game against (3) Montana Tech on Saturday Afternoon at Alumni Coliseum.

It was a tale of two halves for the Fighting Saints (9-3, 5-1), and strong second half performances from Quinn Stamps (Chelan, Wash. / R-SR) and Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-SR) were not enough to overcome the early Oredigger (12-0, 6-0) advantage.

Execution was the story of the game, as the Orediggers found a way to make the big plays, while the Saints saw several opportunities slip through their fingers. Moving the ball wasn't the issue, as Carroll outgained the Diggers 411 total yards to 397 over the course of the game, but the glaring discrepancy was in critical downs. The Saints were well below their season average for conversions, going just 4-12 on third down and 1-4 on fourth down attempts in the loss, while Tech was 7-12 on third down.

A promising opening drive for the Saints ran out of steam in the redzone, as Carroll elected to go for it on fourth down, coming up just short of the sticks at the Tech 21 yard line. Three plays later, Jarrett Wilson rattled off a 60-yard run to flip the field and set up the game's first score - a 15 yard jet sweep by Levi Torgerson.

Following a missed field goal on Carroll's second-straight redzone trip on the ensuing drive, Tech once again found a big play on third and long. Wilson found a streaking Torgerson down the seam for a 66-yard touchdown to double the lead at 14-0 in the first.

The Carroll defense stiffened near the goal line on Tech's next possession, securing what appeared to be a momentum-shifting stop on fourth down from the one, but a false start negated the play - backing up the Diggers five yards and they'd walk out with three points on a chip shot field goal.

Late in the first half, quarterback Kaden Huot (Helena, Mont. / JR) suffered an injury, and Quinn Stamps was called on to lead the comeback effort. 

On Stamps' first drive, Carroll once again got into the redzone with under a minute remaining in the half, but their drive would again end on a failed fourth down attempt. 

Coming out of the break, the Saints forced a quick three-and-out, leading to their first points of the game. Stamps would connect with Gavin Vandenacre (Townsend, Mont. / R-JR) for 37 yards, setting up a 14-yard touchdown grab for Carson Ochoa just two plays later to narrow the gap, 21-7.

Torgerson found the scoring column again on Tech's next possession, this time throwing a 21-yard touchdown pass to Jarrett Wilson to give the Orediggers a 24-7 lead with 5:28 left in the third.

Stamps engineered a response drive, picking up Carroll's lone fourth down conversion with a seven-yard scamper of his own, then followed it up with a 23-yard strike to Ochoa for the All-American tight end's second score of the afternoon.

The Saints dug into their bag of tricks, securing a surprise onside kick following the score. Peter Minnaert (Boise, Idaho / SO) broke a 24-yard run, and then Stamps found Ochoa for a third score of the game, a 28-yard strike to cap a stretch of 14 points over an eight-minute stretch - pulling within three at 21-24.

The game's final points came in the fourth quarter. Carroll found themselves pinned at their own one-yard line, still trailing by three. The Orediggers brought the heat on a third down attempt, and a blindside blitzer would hit Stamps in the endzone - forcing a fumble that would be recovered by Tech to give them a 31-21 lead with nine minutes remaining.

Again, Carroll would drive the ball deep into Oredigger territory as they looked for a comeback win, but another failed fourth down attempt at the three-yard line would seal their fate. Tech took over with just over four minutes remaining and picked up enough first downs to run out the clock and move on to the Quarterfinal.

Stamps was resilient in his relief role. The redshirt senior finished 13-25 for 187 yards and three touchdowns, while adding 21 yards on the ground.

Carson Ochoa capped his illustrious career with one final big stat line. His five catches for 125 yards pushed him over the 2,000-yard mark for his career. His three touchdowns moved his season total to 11 - more than any other Carroll tight end in program history.

Xzavier Ford (Glendora, Calif. / SR) led the Saints in rushing with 70 yards on nine attempts, while Connor Sullivan (Kalispell, Mont. / R-JR) was great in the return game, averaging 48 yards per kickoff return.

Defensively, Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-SO) led the Saints with 11 tackles and 1 TFL. Forrest Suero (Helena, Mont. / SR) was outstanding in his final game as well, tallying nine tackles, 2 TFL, and a half sack.