HELENA — Carroll College football fans can rejoice once again as the Fighting Saints returned to the practice field to open their 2023 fall camp workouts Monday morning.
Fifth-year coach Troy Purcell looks to get his team locked in with more than three weeks until the season opener against Montana Tech in Butte on Aug. 31.
“Continuing to improve and get better, every time we get out here,” Purcell said of the team's goals. “Continue to ask each guy, they’re supposed to set a measurable goal each day, so at the end of 100 practices, well, you got better at 100 things.
“So we have a focus and a point of emphasis and a 'why' to come out at practice, not just to get better, but actually a specific point that you can measure, and I think that stage was set today.”
Purcell made leadership and teamwork a strong point of emphasis while discussing his quarterback room this year, saying Jack Prka “started as a true freshman and he’s just done an outstanding job. A tremendous leader.”
Prka is now in his junior year and had plenty to say about his Saints heading into the new season: “It’s a team game and I love that about football. As a leader I got to be more vocal, and I’ve been really trying to work on that.”
Carroll’s first game against Tech will not count toward the Frontier Conference standings but will still be a match-up between two two teams picked among the top three in the league's preseason coaches poll.
“Man, I hope there’s a lot of people there, and it’s going to be a good game. We’re going to have an exciting show to watch, and I’m excited about it,” Prka said.
Along with Prka in the quarterback room, the Saints will have junior Chase Coyle, sophomore Quinn Stamps, and a couple of freshmen in Noah Fuailetolo and Isaiah Claunch, the latter a graduate of Billings West High School.
