HELENA, Mont. - The No. 12-ranked Carroll Football team is back on home turf for the final time in the 2026 regular season, hosting Southern Oregon in a Senior Night game on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium.

The Fighting Saints (6-1, 3-0) enter the game off a well-deserved bye last weekend. Now, they have their sights set on a three-game stretch that will determine their season, beginning with tonight's 6 p.m. kick against the Raiders (3-5, 2-2).

While it's been two weeks since they last played, the Fighting Saints found a way to gut-out a win on the road in their last outing - a 45-31 win at Simpson. It was in no way the prettiest win of the year, but a win is a win and the Saints remain unbeaten in divisional play. The game turned into a bit of a shootout, but Carroll maintained a two-score advantage all the way through, fending-off a late Simpson charge at what would have been far and away the biggest win in their program's history. Make no mistake about it, this year's Simpson team is a much-improved unit, and the Redhawks are well on their way to competing on a regular basis in the Frontier. Perhaps the closer than anticipated matchup was just what the Saints needed, a small wake-up call after a month of blowouts, refocusing the group ahead of a big final three games.

The Fighting Saints and Raiders have squared-off 20 times in program history, and nearly every meeting has provided fireworks in one way or another. Carroll holds the slimmest of leads in the series, which dates back to 2001, with 11 wins to Southern's nine. Of the 20 all-time meetings, 14 have been decided by one score or less, nine games have been decided by a field goal or less, and three have been decided by just one point, including last year's remarkable 41-40 last minute comeback in Ashland. Since 2012, the pair have faced-off as Frontier opponents, but the first two games in the all-time series came back in 2001 and 2002, a pair of postseason games won by the Saints that helped kick-start the dynasty. The two schools are the Frontier's only Football National Champions, Carroll owning six titles, and Southern winning the 2014 championship after knocking-out the Saints in a snow-globe NAIA Quaterfinal classic at Nelson Stadium. Dating back to 2015, both teams have six wins apiece, each winning six in-a-row. It's been Carroll with the upper-hand in recent years, putting their six-game series win streak on the line on Saturday.

Carroll enters the weekend on the doorstep of yet another undefeated regular season at home. Since its grand opening in 2001, Nelson Stadium has been one of the most difficult places for opposing teams to play at in all of College Football. Since 2003, the Fighting Saints have had a total of eight unbeaten seasons on home turf, and will look to add to it this weekend. In that same timespan, the Saints are 124-26 at home, winning games at an 82.6 percent clip. Carroll has won 15 Frontier titles since moving into the on-camps facility, and aims to add a 16th here in '26. 

The Saints come into the weekend averaging 43.0 points per game, good enough for No. 8 in the entire NAIA. No Carroll team has averaged 40 or more points per game in a season since 2014, but this year's group has a legitimate shot at it. Southern Oregon has a bottom-20 defense on the season, allowing 39.3 ppg. Meanwhile, the Carroll offense comes in off a bye, with a full extra week of preparation and film work, and most importantly rest and recovery. 

The last time the Saints and Raiders met on Valley Bank Field wide receiver Gavin Vandenacre suffered one of the most gruesome injuries in recent Carroll history. Vandenacre got rolled up from behind, suffering a compound fracture of his lower leg. Last year, he played a key role in Carroll's improbable comeback win in Ashland. While he only finished with one catch for four yards, it was a TD reception that pulled Carroll within one score with time dwindling. While it doesn't go into the stats, the now-redshirt-senior also came down with perhaps the single most important catch of the game, a two-point conversion that put Carroll in front 41-40 with just seconds remaining. He put up his biggest game of the season against Simpson, leading all Carroll receivers with 92 yards on three catches. The number would have been even larger, but he had a 60-yard TD reception called back on a phantom offensive pass interference call. Vandenacre enters the week second on the team with 17 grabs for 351 yards, but has yet to find the endzone. Coming into the week off his best performance of the year, look for the big WR to play a big role down the stretch for the Saints.

Connor Sullivan, who broke free with a 91-yard kick return touchdown on the opening kick of the second half against Simpson, earned Frontier Conference Special Teams Player of the Week honors for his efforts. He's the third Saint to earn the weekly honor this season (Norslien, Ballanco).

17 Carroll seniors will be recognized for their outstanding contributions to the program ahead of Saturday evening's kick, as the group prepares for their final scheduled home game inside Nelson Stadium.

Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com this evening for a full recap of the action, and for complete coverage of the Fighting Saints all season long.

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