HELENA, Mont. - Looking to put a bow on an undefeated Homecoming weekend across the board, the No. 18-ranked Fighting Saints picked up a hard-earned 27-13 win over Rocky Mountain College on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium on Saturday night.

Purple Reign

For the first time since 1998, Carroll (3-1) took the field wearing a purple lid, a homecoming homage to the Petrino-Era Fighting Saints that helped lay the foundation for what has become one of the most recognized names in college football.

New lids, Nelson Stadium's first night Homecoming game, no scoreboard. Saturday night was anything but normal, but the Saints took care of business, wrapping up their non-conference slate with a two-score victory over the Battlin' Bears (0-4) and position themselves in a good spot heading into Frontier play.

"We executed when we needed to," said QB Kaden Huot (Helena, Mont. / JR) "...and we overcame adversity when we had to"

Hout, the transfer gunslinger from the University of Montana had his biggest passing game of his young Carroll career, eclipsing the 300-yard mark while going 22-31 and three touchdowns in the 14-point win. 

Carrying some momentum from last week's win over then-ranked No. 11 Dickinson State, Huot and the rest of the Carroll offense looked sharp on the game's opening drive. He connected with RB Peter Minnaert (Boise, Idaho / SO) on a screen pass to put the first points of the game "on the board" on Carroll's opening drive. The 34-yard touchdown pass capped a nine-play, 75-yard drive and gave the Saints an early 7-0 lead.

Running back Xzavier Ford (Glendora, Calif. / SR) was the next Fighting Saint to find the endzone, plunging in from three yards out on Carroll's next possession - his first of two eventual scores - to give the Purple & Gold a 14-0 lead with just over a minute remaining in the first quarter.

"Starting fast was crucial for us tonight." said Head Coach Troy Purcell "You know, being able to put up 14 and get ahead of a great team like that early - that's awesome."

Carroll's lead should have grown to 21 points on their third possession, but yet another Carson Ochoa (Yorba Linda, Calif. / R-SR) touchdown reception was wiped away due to penalty - his third score of the year negated - instead, the Saints were forced to punt it away.

Braeden Orlandi (Valley Springs, Calif. / R-SO) came away with the game's first takeaway on the ensuing Rocky possession. The All-American caliber safety grabbed his second career interception to give Carroll another shot at points in the opening half, but nothing would matriculate and the Saints would take their 14-0 lead into the break.

As the sun set over the continental divide, and the night sky turned dark, the Nelson Stadium scoreboard came back to life, and the second half would see both teams light up their respective sides.

Rocky put their first points of the game up on their opening drive of the second half, as Austin Drake capped am eight-play 67-yard drive with a field goal to trim the Carroll lead to 14-3.

Hout and the Saints engineered a response on Carroll's next drive, connecting with the game's leading receiver, Chris Akulschin (Gig Harbor, Wash. / R-SR) four times during an 11-play scoring drive. The local product, Huot, had all night to throw, ultimately finding a wide-open Akulschin in the left corner of the endzone to extend the lead to 21-3.

Penalties have been the Saints' achilles heel throughout the non-conference portion of the '25 slate for the Saints, and Saturday's game was no different.

Rocky's only touchdown of the evening, a Garrett Deather three-yard rushing score, came following a pair of after-the-whistle penalties against the Saints extended the drive. Deather's scamper pulled the Bears within two scores as time dwindled in the third, 20-10. The Battlin' Bears did their best to make it interesting, scoring on their next possession as well. Drake hit a 31-yard field goal attempt to pull Rocky within one score at 20-13 with less than 12 minutes remaining in the game.

Determined to put the game on ice, the Carroll offense found a way to make it happen late. 

Facing a fourth and one at Rocky's 41-yard line, the Saints decided to push the envelope. Carroll went for the fourth down attempt, and Huot suprised the Bears with a 15-yard strike to Ochoa to extend the drive with time winding down. Three plays later, Ford touched the checkerboard endzone for the second time of the night - a 21-yard reception with a broken tackle to put Carroll up 27-13.

Rocky's last ditch effort for the comeback was cut short by yet another terrific play from the Carroll secondary. Elijah Larson (Sandpoint, Idaho / R-SR) chased down a Bear receiver near the redzone, punching the ball out of his grasp with precision to curtail what would have been a 33-yard reception. Gunner Giulio (Coer d'Alene, Idaho / R-JR) who leads the Saints in takeaways, came up with the fumble recovery to close the door on any comeback attempt for the second straight year, and Carroll would hold on for the Homecoming win.

"To be able to withstand some body blows there at the end - maintaining, and finding a way to win - just real proud of our guys for playing four quarters of football, never giving up, and staying the course." said Purcell.

Chris Akulschin led the Saints in receiving on the evening, finishing with seven grabs for 107 yards and a score, while Carson Ochoa hauled in eight passes for 102 yards.

"Carson comes in clutch every single time we need him," said Hout of his standout tight end "Third down, Fourth down, whenever we need him he comes up and makes a big play, and I know he's always there when I need him."

The Carroll ground game was effective, but not head-turning. Minnaert, Ford and Huot combined for just 47 yards on the ground with one score, but all were much more heavily involved in the passing attack.

Braeden Orlandi led the Saints with seven tackles, while Elijah Larson, Denavion Ali (Denver, Colo. / R-SR) and Eli Aby (Laurel, Mont. / SR) each recorded six.

Brett Tommasini (Eagle, Idaho / SR) finished with five tackles, three TFL's, three sacks, and a fumble recovery to lead a defensive effort that saw the Saints hold Rocky to just 238 yards of total offense.

Saturday's homecoming win was a milestone for Head Coach Troy Purcell, who became just the third coach in program history to win 40 games (Petrino 163, Van Diest 203).

The Saints will now turn their attention towards Frontier Conference - West Divisional play next week, as they head to the desert for their third all-time meeting with Arizona Christian next Saturday.