carroll football

Carroll’s offense clicks in second half, rolls by Eastern Oregon 48-10

Eastern led 10-7 in the second quarter and, despite trailing 14-10 at the half, had fans asking about the last time it beat Carroll.

Then the third quarter arrived.

Carroll scored three touchdowns in an 84-second span and rolled to a 48-10 victory in a Frontier Conference game at Community Stadium in La Grande, Ore.

Junior Gabe Le ran for 119 yards and two touchdowns, freshman Dane Broadhead threw for 183 yards and two touchdowns and the Saints' defense collected five sacks and four turnovers in the win, which moved them to 6-0 overall, 5-0 in conference games. Story

Grading the Saints

PASS OFFENSE: B

Quarterback Dane Broadhead completed 15 of 22 passes for 183 yards and two scores, but the freshman also took three sacks, and completed just two passes longer than 19 yards. Broadhead completed 3 of 5 passes on third downs, all of which resulted in first downs.

PASS DEFENSE: A

A week after EOU quarterback Chris Ware threw for five TDs and ran for three more, the Saints stuffed the Mounties through the air. Ware hit just 16 of 35 passes and the Saints sacked him five times. And, they picked off three passes, returning two, er, one for a touchdown. Grades

Owen Koeppen Letts go in win

Leon Lett lives! Just ask Carroll College football player Owen Koeppen.

On the third play of the Saints' game at Eastern Oregon University Saturday, Koeppen, a senior linebacker, stepped in front of a pass and returned it 60 yards for a touchdown. Almost.

With a wall of blockers leading him, Koeppen ran and celebrated the touchdown along with the rest of his teammates on defense and on the sideline, except the ball didn't cross the goalline.

"I think I may have been a foot away," Koeppen said after the top-ranked Saints won 48-10 to improve to 6-0 overall. "We were all celebrating, but I just didn't run all the way to the end zone, the old Leon Lett play." Story

Carroll football set to clash with Eastern Oregon

Carroll College is headed for another defensive test when its football team travels to play Eastern Oregon in a Frontier Conference game in La Grande Saturday.

The Saints improved to 5-0 and remained No. 1 in the latest NAIA poll after a 31-13 victory over Montana Tech Saturday, and face another inspired opponent this weekend.

The Moutaineers scored 76 points, including 35 in the fourth quarter, in a 76-55 win over Rocky Mountain Saturday and improved to 2-2 on the season. Story

Unstoppable: Carroll improves to 5-0 on season, crushes Montana Tech 31-13

On the first play from scrimmage, Carroll College's Gabe Le took the handoff down the left side of the field, cut back and found room to roll.

Thanks to a big hole and a great downfield block by wide receiver Brian Sloan, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior running back went 56 yards for the score without being touched.

And he was just getting started. Story

Grading the Saints

Rush defense — With the exception of Tech’s first scoring drive, the Saints held strong, allowing just 75 yards rushing. Kudos to the Saints’ defense for eventually stopping the option, but they still allowed a TD run. Grade: B

Pass defense — Komac went 21-for-35 for 218 yards and a touchdown. The touchdown came against Carroll’s second-string defense, but so did the second interception of the game, which gives him 11 on the season, the most in the NAIA. Grade: B Grades

Toughness sells Le to teammates

When the going gets tough, the Carroll College football team turns to Gabe Le.

Le’s 123-yard rushing, 61-yard receiving performance Saturday against No. 15 Montana State University-Northern solidified him as one of the premier running backs in the Frontier Conference.

Facing a defense that had allowed an average of 90 yards per game on the ground, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior cut through a storm of defenders and helped the No. 1 Saints gain some very needed yardage.

Carroll won the game by a slim 17-10 margin, even though it outgained the Lights in total yardage: 419-267. Two turnovers and 101 yards in penalties made it tough for the Saints to put together a lasting drive. Story