HELENA — Carroll College was stifled Saturday in a top-10 NAIA matchup and saw its unbeaten run through the 2023 season come to an end.
Andy Peters accounted for four touchdowns to lead No. 9 College of Idaho to a 35-21 victory over the No. 6-ranked Saints at Nelson Stadium. The loss gives Carroll a 6-1 overall mark and a 4-1 record in the Frontier Conference. C of I improved to 7-1 overall and 5-1 in the league.
Peters threw for 278 yards and three touchdowns, and rushed for 81 yards and anther score. He connected with John Kreps for two TD throws, including a 71-yarder that gave the Yotes a 21-7 lead with 10:21 left in the third quarter.
Carroll pulled within 21-14 with a 13-yard touchdown run by Baxter Tuggle later in the third and then to 28-21 on a short scoring run by Duncan Kraft but couldn’t close the gap closer than seven points in the second half.
Both Kreps and Brock Richardson eclipsed 100 receiving yards for the Yotes, while Jon Schofield caught a touchdown pass from Peters just before halftime to give C of I a 14-7 lead. Schofield also had a 2-yard TD run to cap the scoring in the fourth quarter.
Carroll QB Jack Prka threw for 216 yards with a touchdown to Carson Ochoa. The Saints running game was limited to 86 yards and an average of 3.9 yards per carry.
Elsewhere in the Frontier ...
Rocky Mountain 28, No. 16 Montana Tech 21
BILLINGS — Rocky Mountain College quarterback Graedyn Buell had four total touchdowns as the Battlin’ Bears toppled No. 16 Montana Tech 28-21 at Herb Klindt Field.
Buell threw two touchdown passes to DeNiro Killian Jr. in the third quarter as Rocky overcame a 21-7 deficit, the second of which capped an eight-play, 80 yard drive. The win evened the Bears’ overall record at 4-4 and pulled them to 2-4 in the Frontier. Tech is now 4-3 overall and 3-2 in the league.
Buell threw an 8-yard TD pass to Matthew McGrane to tie the game 7-7 in the first quarter. His 1-yard touchdown run pulled Rocky within 21-14 in the second quarter.
Blake Counts rushed for a pair of 2-yard TDs in the first half as Tech took a two-possession lead. Orediggers’ QB Blake Thelen opened the scoring with a 80-yard touchdown throw to Wyatt Alexander.
Buell threw for 265 yards with no interceptions for Rocky. The Bears’ Joseph Dwyer caught six passes for 124 yards. Buell also had 133 yards rushing. The Bears’ defense sacked Tech’s Thelen four times and intercepted him once.
Southern Oregon 42, MSU-Northern 13
HAVRE — Blake Asciutto threw for 266 yards and three touchdowns as Southern Oregon cruised past Montana State-Northern 42-13.
Asciutto fired TD passes to Jackson Clemmer, Ted Wickman and Moku Noa as SOU took a 21-0 lead at halftime. The advantage grew to 35-0 in the second half on Avery McCuaig’s 23-yard touchdown run. Noa had six catches for 156 yards. His TD reception went for 75 yards.
With the win, Southern Oregon improved to 4-3 overall and to 3-2 in the Frontier. MSU-Northern is now 1-6 overall and 0-5 in the league.
The Lights found the end zone in the fourth quarter on a 1-yard run by Mason Dionne. Northern’s defense also scored when Braydon Cline forced a fumble at its 35 and Champ Robertson recovered it and returned it to the end zone.
No. 15 Montana Western 34, Arizona Christian 30
GLENDALE, Ariz. – The Michael Palandri-Eli Nourse connection continued to shine Saturday as Montana Western held off Arizona Christian 34-30 on the road late Saturday.
Nourse caught 10 passes from Palandri, including an 8-yard touchdown pass in the second quarter. Nourse was on the receiving end of 101 of Palandri’s 266 passing yards as the Bulldogs improved their overall record to 6-1 and their Frontier mark to 4-1.
Palandri also threw a 64-yard TD pass to Isaiah Thomas to give Western a 34-24 advantage with 4:05 left and give the Bulldogs enough cushion after ACU scored a late TD and Western blocked the ensuing extra point.
Palandri also had 65 rushing yards and a touchdown while Pete Gibson carried the ball for 68 yards. D.J. Kirven scored a rushing TD for the Bulldogs, as well.
