HAVRE, Mont. – Four tackles, one fumble recovery, and one interception from Gunner Giulio helped propel the No. 25-ranked Fighting Saints to a season opening 20-0 win over MSU-Northern

"Effort going towards the ball." Said Giulio "Good things happen when you've got guys running towards the football, Coach P talks about that all the time."
 
Good things indeed happened for Giulio and the Carroll College (1-0) defense in their season-opening shutout over the Lights (0-1). The redshirt-junior was a key cog in a defensive effort that surrendered only 150 total yards, and more importantly, zero points.
 
"…I felt that the defense played really good as a whole today. We had pursuit. There was always five or six guys in on tackles, and you can't be stopped when you get that many people around the ball."
 
Following a nine-play, 62-yard opening drive by the Lights, Carroll's defense stood their ground near the redzone, forcing a turnover on downs to set the tone for the rest of the day.
 
The defensive stand provided transfer quarterback Kaden Huot (Helena, Mont. / JR) an opportunity to go grab an early lead in his first series as a Saint.
 
On his first collegiate snap, Huot evaded the rush, rolled to his right, and delivered an 18-yard strike to Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-SR) to get things moving.
 
"There were no nerves." Said Huot of his first start. "No nerves - just anxious and excited energy to get it going."
 
Huot and the Saints would march down the field on a 12-play, 55-yard drive of their own, but the offense sputtered in the redzone, forcing a field goal attempt from Spencer Berger (Billings, Mont. / SR). Berger blasted a 36-yard attempt right down the middle, giving the Saints their first points of the season and a 3-0 lead early.
 
After a quick three-and-out by the Lights, Carroll would start their second scoring drive of the game in plus territory at the Northern 46.
 
Huot connected with Lincoln Holmes (St. George, Utah / R-SO) for 21 yards to kick-start the drive. Six plays later, the dual threat QB would plow across the goal line for his first career rushing touchdown to give Carroll a 10-0 lead.
 
The first of Gunner Giulo's (Coeur d'Alene, Idaho / R-JR) big plays came in the early stages of the second quarter. Lights quarterback Ashton Platt lofted a ball high across the middle, and the Carroll safety high-pointed it for the team's first turnover of the year.

After the pick, the Saints would put together another 12-play drive. This time, moving 54 yards down the field, but were again forced to attempt a field goal after stalling out in the redzone. Berger added three more points to the board with a 39-yard boot, giving Carroll a 13-0 advantage.
 
For the next quarter-plus, the Saints would be stuck on the 13-point lead, with a new-look offensive unit working through some growing pains.
 
Huot spread the ball around the field throughout the game, completing passes to seven different receivers. However, '24 All-American tight end Carson Ochoa was his target of choice. Ochoa was highly impressive in the opener, hauling in seven passes for 85 yards.
 
Moving the ball down the field wasn't an issue for the offense. Huot finished his day 21-33 for 256 yards and 35 yards rushing.
 
"We worked the kinks out." Said Hout "We've definitely got to get in the film room this week, but I thought we did a good job of moving the ball down the field. Finishing drives and getting in the endzone has got to be a priority for us the rest of the way."
 
Penalties were the Achilles heel of the Carroll attack on Saturday. One of the least penalized teams in the nation in recent years had a series of untimely penalties that negated some explosive plays and wiped points off the board. In total, the Saints were flagged 10 times for 121 yards.
 
The 13-0 stalemate continued into the fourth quarter, until Giulio came up with his second momentum-shifting play of the afternoon.
 
The safety got things done on special teams, diving on top of a muffed punt to give the Saints an instant redzone opportunity that they wouldn't let go to waste.
 
Just one play later, Huot tossed the first passing touchdown of his career to give the Saints a three-score lead with time dwindling.
 
Huot threw a beautiful ball down the far sideline, and Ty Wilkinson (Pocatello, Idaho / R-FR) made a fingertip grab at the goal line. The 26-yard touchdown reception was the first of the young tight end's career and helped close out the road win.
 
Unsurprisingly, the rock-solid Carroll defensive effort was led in part by a team-high eight-tackle performance from Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-SO). The 2024 First Team All-Frontier safety led Carroll in tackles a season ago and picked up right where he left off.
 
"Game one? Tried to get that click back" said Orlandi "Getting back into the speed of the game, and putting a zero on the scoreboard is all we can ask for."
 
A team-wide 13.0 tackles for loss, three sacks, two forced fumbles and an interception was a pretty good start for a Carroll defense that finished Top-20 in both scoring and total defense a year ago.
 
"…Everyone knew their assignments, knew what we were doing. Northern plays with a lot of eye-candy, and we didn't have one blown assignment – just guys doing their job. Every week we preach 'Do your 1/11' and I think today it was pretty evident that all the guys did their 1/11."
 
The Saints will get right back to work tomorrow, preparing for their home opener next Saturday at 6 p.m. in Helena, as they host No. 11 Montana Tech in an early-season ranked rivalry game.