CALDWELL, Idaho – Baxter Tuggle scored on a 3-yard touchdown run with 56-seconds remaining, as Carroll College rallied from a two touchdown deficit to spoil Homecoming for The College of Idaho, winning 28-21, at Simplot Stadium.
Nick Calzaretta rushed for 122 yards and two touchdowns and
Keagan McCoy broke the career sacks record in the loss for the Yotes (3-2, 3-2 Frontier), who squandered a 21-7 third quarter lead.
Freshman quarterback Jack Prka engineered back-to-back fourth quarter touchdown drives for the Fighting Saints (2-3, 2-3). The signal caller hit Camron Rothie on a 38-yard pass to convert on 3rd-and-11 and capped the drive with a 26-yard touchdown pass to Kyle Pierce to tie the score with just under five minutes left.
Following a C of I 3-and-out, Prka came up big again, eluding pressure and finding Tony Collins on a 41-yard catch and run to set up the winning score.
The Carroll defense did the rest – holding the Yotes to just 22 yards in the fourth quarter.
Things started quickly for the hosts, as Calzaretta busted a 46-yard run on the Yotes first play from scrimmage and capped the drive with a 3-yard scoring run for a 7-0 first quarter lead.
While the Coyote defense controlled the line of scrimmage, the offense was unable to cash in red zone opportunities – missing a 26-yard field goal, failing on two fourth down attempts inside the 10-yard-line and turning the ball over on a fumble.
The Saints capitalized on a short second quarter punt – with Tuggle sprinting 31-yards for a touchdown.
However, C of I answered late in the half, as following a 28-yard
Hunter Gilbert punt return,
Jack Rice found
Jake Nadley in the end zone for an 18-yard touchdown – giving the Yotes a 14-7 halftime lead.
The Coyotes would march 63 yards on their first possession of the third quarter – as Rice found
Hunter Juarez for 21 yards and
Ben Hruby for 16 more – with Calzaretta finishing the drive with a 2-yard scoring run. However, the squad would be limited to just two first downs the rest of the way.
Rice finished 9-of-25 for 109 yards in the loss, adding 51 rushing yards. Juarez added four receptions for 57 yards.
McCoy finished the day with 1.5 sacks, pushing his career total to 15 – surpassing Danny Garcia for the No. 1 spot in the C of I record book.
Carroll won despite rushing for just 40 yards on the afternoon – aided by six C of I sacks. Prka finished 15-of-27 for 231 yards and the two touchdowns, with Tuggle rushing for a team-high 70 yards.
C of I hits the road next Saturday, traveling to Butte to face Montana Tech.
NOTES:
- C of I rushed for 174 yards in the loss – well above the 95 yards Carroll allowed through four games, but below their own 247-yard average on the season.
- The Coyote defense recorded 11 tackles for loss – with the Fighting Saints held to 1.1 yards per carry. Cole Schmidt had a career-high six tackles and added 2.5 sacks
- Gilbert averaged 14 yards per return on six punts, while Allamar Alexander and Caden Cobb combined to average 27 yards on five kickoff returns
- C of I was flagged six times for 85 yards in the loss – all by the defense (four pass interference calls, two defensive holding calls)
- Jacob Batubenga and Dylan Martinez led C of I with nine tackles, with McCoy recording a season-high seven stops
- Calzaretta recorded his 12th career 100-yard rushing games and has rushed for 3,147 yards in his Coyote career – 266 yards away from tying Darius-James Peterson's school record. His two touchdowns pushed his career rushing touchdown mark to 35.
- C of I converted just 4-of-15 third down opportunities and were 1-of-4 on fourth down
- Announced attendance was 4,056 – despite the game occurring alongside the Boise State-Nevada game
