HELENA, Mont. – The top two defensive teams in the Frontier Conference lived up to their reputations, as Carroll College forced five turnovers in a 21-6 victory over College of Idaho at Nelson Stadium.
Despite the loss, the No. 18-ranked Yotes (7-3, 7-3) finished the regular-season in a 3-way tie with Rocky Mountain and Montana Western atop the Frontier Conference standings – their third-straight league crown. C of I will learn their postseason fate tomorrow afternoon, when the NAIA announces its 16-team Football Championship Series field.
The Saints (6-4, 6-4) were stifled by the C of I defense for the majority of the afternoon – but used four big plays to post their 21 points.
C of I drove the length of the field in the first quarter – converting a 4th-and-1 at the Saints 11. However, on the next play,
Ryan Hibbs found
Caden Cobb in the flat – but Cobb was ruled to have fumbled out of the end zone before crossing the goal line – ending the Coyote drive.
Two plays later, Baxter Tuggle raced 80-yards for a Carroll score and a 7-0 lead.
The Yotes used a 15-play drive to score their lone touchdown, as
Nick Calzaretta converted a fourth down on a short run and
Ben Hruby caught a 9-yard pass to set C of I up on the Carroll 1-yard-line. Calzaretta capped the drive with a touchdown run – but the extra point was missed, as the Saints kept a 7-6 lead.
Carroll added to the lead in the second quarter – capitalizing on a C of I fumble – as Jack Prka connected with Kyle Pierce on a 34-yard touchdown pass. The Saints would push the lead to 21-6 before halftime, as Prka scrambled on a fourth down run to move the chains and Tuggle closed the 84-yard drive with a 6-yard scoring run.
C of I's defense forced seven second half punts and limited the Saints to just 81 total yards after the break – but the Coyotes could not find an answer – driving four times inside the Carroll 35-yard-line, but did not score.
Calzaretta rushed for 79 yards and a touchdown the Yotes, with Hibbs finishing the day 21-of-44 for 175 yards.
Jake Nadley led all receivers with 10 receptions for a career-high 103 yards.
Tuggle rushed for 123 yards and the two touchdowns for Carroll, with Duncan Kraft adding 114 yards rushing on 19 carries. Prka finished the day 3-of-14 for just 46 yards through the air.
NOTES:
- The Yotes were penalized by the officiating crew for wearing illegal uniforms (grey/dark road jerseys instead of white/light jerseys) – with C of I forced to burn a time out at the start of each quarter and a 15-yard unsportsmanlike conduct penalty at the start of each half
- Tanner Leaf led the C of I defense with 10 tackles, while Keagan McCoy recorded a sack, tying the single-season record of 7.5 sacks set by Danny Garcia in 2019
- The 46 passing yards by Carroll were the fewest by a C of I opponent in the 8-years since football returned to the College (previous low was 75 pass yards by MSU-Northern in 2016)
- C of I held Carroll without a third down conversion – finishing 0-for-10 on the afternoon
- Calzaretta pushed his season rushing total to 978 yards and moved into tenth-place on the Frontier Conference all-time rushing list with 3,503 yards
- The five turnovers by the Coyotes were a season-high and the first time the Yotes lost the turnover margin this season
- The NAIA FCS field will be announced Sunday at 5 p.m., with the Yotes having to be ranked in the Top-20 of the final poll tomorrow be under consideration by the committee
