HELENA, Mont. – A clash of the top two teams in the Frontier Conference took place on Saturday as No. 9 College of Idaho took on No. 6 Carroll at Nelson Stadium. When the clock read all zeroes, it was the visiting Yotes who came away with a 35-21 win over the host Saints.
It marked the second-straight win in Helena for the Yotes, who won the first of two meetings last fall. But, it was a 21-6 win by the Saints in Caldwell that defeated the Yotes in the season finale last year that left a bad taste in the mouth of many on the College of Idaho sideline.
C of I followed its recipe – a solid running game to complement a potent passing attack to go along with a stingy defense - that has put the Yotes at 7-1 overall and 5-1 in Frontier Conference play on the season.
In the win, the Yotes racked up 149 yards on the ground and 278 through the air as they outgained the Saints by a 427 to 302 margin. Engineering the offensive output was quarterback
Andy Peters, who completed 19 of 33 passes for three touchdowns and ran 15 times for a team-best 81 yards and a touchdown. In seven of eight games, Peters has tossed for multiple touchdowns and was the top ground gainer for the fourth time on the season.
The Boise native connected with five-different receivers in the win, including
Brock Richardson, who had nine catches for 107 yards and
John Kreps, who hauled in four passes for 110 yards and two touchdowns. Ironically, the last time that C of I had two receivers with over 100 yards receiving was when Richardson's brother, Connor and Keegan Crofton had 142 and 101 yards, respectively against Eastern Oregon on October 27, 2018.
After the game, Peters told 406mtsports.com, "It's a little bit of revenge tour from us for last year. We just played how we always play and didn't change it."
"This game means everything to us. Carroll has trumped us three years in a row and finally overcame them. That triumph was for Yotes past and present," said Jacob Arms, who had five tackles and two pass breakups.
"It's a huge win for the team. It is definitely our most complete win of the year," said Kreps. "We have to keep progressing and our job isn't finished yet."
Jon Schofield found his way into the end zone for two more touchdowns for his 17th and 18th touchdown on the season to eclipse the school single-season record for touchdowns of 17 held by Ted Martin (1953), Tom Winbigler (1948) and Darius-James Peterson (2016).
The Yotes defense limited Carroll to 302 yards of total offense – 86 on the ground and 216 through the air.
After a scoreless first quarter, College of Idaho culminated a 12 play, 90-yard drive when Peters scampered in from 11 yards out for an early 7-0 lead. The Saints responded with a 14 play, 73-yard drive that tied the game at seven when Carson Ochoa caught a five-yard touchdown pass from Jack Prka.
Peters led the Yotes with another lengthy drive with a 13 play, 65-yard drive when he connected with
Jon Schofield just before halftime on a 12-yard touchdown pass. Three times during the drive, including the touchdown pass he led a third-down conversion.
With a 14-7 lead, on its second drive of the second half, facing third and one, Peters connected with Kreps for a 71-yard touchdown pass to put the visitors ahead 21-7. Carroll came right back and cut the deficit back to seven when Baxter Tuggle scored on a 13-yard touchdown run.
With a seven-point lead, Peters took the reigns for a 12 play, 75-yard drive with Peters pulling off the magic with a pair of fourth-down conversions. Facing 4th and 5, Peters ran for just enough to get the first down to extend the drive. Then on 4th and 10, he and Kreps connected for a 22-yard touchdown pass to put the lead back to 14, 28-14.
Again, the Saints answered and quickly as they scored on a six play, 61-yard drive that took 2:18 as Duncan Kraft ran it in from three yards to make it a 28-21 contest with 13:19 left in the contest.
A determined C of I sideline led by Peters and Schofield and an experienced offensive line had an answer. Schofield ran for three yards on a 3
rd and 2 play in the drive to get a first down, then the Yotes picked up 15 additional yards after a penalty on the host Saints. Then facing 4th and 1 from the two-yard line, Schofield ran behind a powerful offensive line unit for the record-breaking touchdown for what proved to be the final margin and culminate a 11 play, 80-yard drive.
The final two drives for the Saints did not add points to the scoreboard as they were able to pick up just 34 yards on 11 plays.
Next, College of Idaho will face local rival Eastern Oregon for Senior Day at Simplot Stadium. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m. Fans are encouraged to arrive early for the Senior Day activities where the senior football, cheer and dance and band members will be recognized.
