HELENA, Mont. – The No . 15-ranked Carroll College Football team came into Saturday’s non-conference tilt with Dickinson State looking for a hot start, and found it in spectacular fashion as they stormed to a 42-7 win on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium.[[{“value”:”
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HELENA, Mont.- The No . 15-ranked Carroll College Football team came into Saturday’s non-conference tilt with Dickinson State looking for a hot start, and found it in spectacular fashion as they stormed to a 42-7 win on Valley Bank Field at Nelson Stadium.
Saturday’s game was Carroll’s Gold Standard game, an ode to the school’s six national championship teams and a run of success unmatched at every level of College Football. The Fighting Saints (2-1) donned gold helmets, and continued a long-running trend of blowing out the Blue Hawks (1-3), extending their win-streak to 16 straight games in the series.
Steady rain throughout the morning gave way shortly after kick-off. Carroll received the opening kick, and Kaden Huot (Helena, Mont. / SR) would connect with Ty Wilkinson (Pocatello, Idaho / R-SO) for 13 yards and a first down on the first play of the game. The offense would sputter from there, however, forced to punt away from near midfield.
Much like Carroll, Dickinson State opened their first drive with a first down completion, before the Saints’ defense stiffened and forced a punt. In that moment, the game turned in a big way.
Gage Norslien (Lewistown, Mont. / R-JR), Carroll’s leading tackler on the season, broke the Dickinson wedge and managed to get a paw on the Blue Hawk punt. Garrett Freeman (Boise, Idaho / R-SO) scooped the loose ball near the 10-yard line, and scampered into the checkerboard endzone to give the Saints a 7-0 lead just 2:24 into the game.
The blocked punt and subsequent return was Carroll’s first scoop and score on special teams since 2024 (Forrest Suero 38-yard TD vs MSU-Northern, October 5, 2024), and perhaps more importantly helped erase any lingering thoughts following a special teams miscue that led to a loss two weeks ago in Butte.
Later on in the first, the Carroll offense would finally find their footing after a slow start. Huot began the drive with a 13-yard rush, then completed consecutive nine-yard passes to Wilkinson and Gavin Vandenacre (Townsend, Mont. / R-SR). On the next play, Peter Minnaert (Boise, Idaho / JR) would provide the first big ground play of the season for the Saints. Minneart bounced a run around the right side of his line, then out-raced everyone on the field for a 44-yard touchdown run, his first of the season and the longest of his career.
While Carroll’s next six points would come on the ground, Gavin Vandenacre did the heavy-lifting on the scoring drive with 78-yards on just two catches. On the final play of the first quarter, Huot would connect with a streaking Gavin Vandenacre on a 48-yard bomb to put the Saints just outside of the red zone. Vandenacre came up clutch again later in the drive, hauling in a 30-yard pass on a third-and-23. Jake Jeske (Spangle, Wash. / R-JR) capped the seven-play, 77-yard drive with his second touchdown of the season, a six-yard score to put the Saints in front 21-0.
Entering Saturday’s game, the Saints hadn’t returned an interception for a touchdown since a Daxon Graham 45-yard pick-six at Southern Oregon in October of 2023.
The three-year drought ended early in the second quarter by Kolbe Coey (Boise, Idaho / R-FR). Coey perfectly jumped an in-breaking route in the middle of the field, then raced untouched 54-yards for the pick-six. The second interception of Coey’s career gave the Saints a 28-0 lead, but it wouldn’t last long.
One interception return for a score is impressive. Two interception returns for scores in a game is memorable. Two interception returns for scores on back-to-back plays is almost unheard of.
On Dickinson State’s very next play from scrimmage, junior-transfer Max Grady (Phoenix, Ariz.) doubled-up the defensive points. The Blue Hawks looked towards the sideline, but Grady made a great break on the out-route for a 30-yard pick-six, the first of his Carroll career.
“Always good to score a touchdown on defense,” said Defensive Coordinator Joe Dunning “To go out and do it on back-to-back plays? Can’t be much better than that.”
Not to be outdone, the Carroll offense put up a one-play score of their own the next time they touched the ball. Following a Dylin McIntyre (Kennewick, Wash. / R-SO) sack on fourth down, Huot and the Saints took over at the DSU 48-yard line with 2:25 remaining in the half. Fresno State-transfer Joshua Johnson (Gardena, Calif. / R-JR) lined-up as the lone receiver on the left side of the field, beat his man on a double-move, and then hauled-in a perfectly placed throw for his first career touchdown to cap a 28-point second quarter outburst for Carroll.
The full team effort gave the Saints a 42-0 lead at the half, reminiscent of some historic performances from the very era of Carroll teams being recognized as part of the Gold Standard game.
“Coach Petrino back in the old days always used to tell us there were four things you needed to win any game; offense, defense, turnovers, and special teams.” Said Head Coach Troy Purcell “I thought the guys really played well, and found a way to win in every aspect today.”
Kaden Huot had an effective, albeit quiet by his standards, afternoon. The senior gunslinger finished 12-16 for 179 yards and a touchdown, while the Carroll ground game was equally as efficient for the first time in the young season. The Saints finished with a season-high 166 yards on the ground, averaging 5.4 yards per carry. Minnaert and Jeske combined for 83-yards and a pair of scores, while freshman Michael Darling (Monroe, Wash.) and redshirt freshman Beau Butner (Spokane Valley, Wash.) combined for 53 yards in the second half.
Gavin Vandenacre led all players with 87 receiving yards on three catches, while Johnson added in 53 yards on another trio of receptions.
Defensively, Gage Norslien continued his strong start to the season, leading all players with 10 tackles, including 1.5 TFL’s and the big-time punt block leading to the game’s first points.
Kolbe Coey was outstanding all afternoon long, finishing with eight total tackles while impacting plays all over the field.
“It was really only a matter of time before Kolbe started making a bunch of plays that people want to talk about.” said Dunning “Coey is a guy we’ve known was going to be that type of guy who will make those sorts of plays, it was just a matter of time before that young guy to find his confidence and really catch his stride.”
Henry Gross (Helena, Mont. / R-JR), fresh off being named the 2026 A.O. Duer Scholarship Award winner, forced a fumble for the third-straight game, recovered a fumble for the second-straight game, and added six total tackles, two TFL, and accounted for 1.5 sacks.
“Coach Purcell talks about it all the time – there’s no luck, there’s only effort.” said Dunning “That is Henry Gross. He’s all effort, all the time, and you’re seeing it on the fumble recoveries because he’s always around the ball and he just hustles.”
The Saints will look to build off the lopsided win, as they wrap up the non-conference portion of their schedule next Saturday in Billings, taking on former Defensive Coordinator and now Rocky Head Coach Randy Bandelow and the Battlin’ Bears at 6 p.m. on Saturday.
Be sure to visit www.carrollathletics.com for a preview of that matchup, and for complete coverage of the Fighting Saints all season long.
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DSU
CC
Total Yards
240
352
Pass Yards
76
212
Rushing Yards
164
140
Penalty Yards
4-32
3-25
1st Downs
16
19
3rd Downs
6-14
5-9
4th Downs
1-2
0-1
TOP
34:17
25:43
1st Quarter
09:54 – CC – Garrett Freeman 0 yd blocked punt return (Eddie Ballanco kick)
0
7
02:59 – CC – Peter Minnaert 44 yd run (Eddie Ballanco kick), 4 plays, 80 yards, TOP 2:05
0
14
2nd Quarter
12:06 – CC – Jake Jeske 6 yd run (Eddie Ballanco kick), 6 plays, 77 yards, TOP 3:01
0
21
08:26 – CC – Kolbe Coey 55 yd interception (Eddie Ballanco kick)
0
28
08:11 – CC – Max Grady 30 yd interception (Eddie Ballanco kick)
0
35
02:18 – CC – Josh Johnson 48 yd pass from Kaden Huot (Eddie Ballanco kick) 1 plays, 63 yards, TOP 0:07
0
42
4th Quarter
05:45 – DSU – Hudsen Grovom 17 yd run (Nik Halvorson kick), 8 plays, 66 yards, TOP 3:20
7
42
Total Yards
DSU
240
CC
352
Turnovers
First Downs
DSU
16
Total Possession
DSU
34:17
CC
25:43
#2 Hogan Carmichael
CMP
4
TD
0
YDS
33
INT
0
#8 Kaden Huot
CMP
12
TD
1
YDS
179
INT
0
#44 Peter Minnaert
Avg
13.0
TD
1
YDS
52
GAIN
52
#13 Michael Darling
Avg
16.5
TD
0
YDS
33
GAIN
33
#33 Jake Jeske
Avg
4.4
TD
1
YDS
31
GAIN
32
#7 Gavin Vandenacre
No
3
TD
0
YDS
87
Long
48
#5 Josh Johnson
No
3
TD
1
YDS
53
Long
48
#11 Ty Wilkinson
No
3
TD
0
YDS
27
Long
13
#17 Gage Norslien
Tackles
10
TFL
1.5
Sacks
0.0
YDS
0
#18 Kolbe Coey
Tackles
8
TFL
0.0
Sacks
0.0
YDS
0
#44 Eli Aby
Tackles
7
TFL
0.0
Sacks
0.0
YDS
0
#7
Gavin Vandenacre
Gavin Vandenacre
87
Josh Johnson
53
Ty Wilkinson
27
Treyton Graham
13
#8
Kaden Huot
Kaden Huot
179
Hogan Carmichael
33
#44
Peter Minnaert
Peter Minnaert
52
Michael Darling
33
Jake Jeske
31
Beau Butner
20
#17
Gage Norslien
Gage Norslien
10
Kolbe Coey
8
Eli Aby
7
Henry Gross
6
Players Mentioned
#13
Daxon Graham
DB
5′ 11″
Freshman
#91
Forrest Suero
DL
5′ 11″
Senior
#22
Beau Butner
RB
5′ 10″
Redshirt Freshman
#18
Kolbe Coey
DB
6′ 0″
Redshirt Freshman
#4
Garrett Freeman
DB
5′ 11″
Redshirt Sophomore
#19
Henry Gross
LB
6′ 2″
Redshirt Junior
#8
Kaden Huot
QB
6′ 3″
Senior
#33
Jake Jeske
RB
5′ 10″
Redshirt Junior
#44
Peter Minnaert
RB
5′ 11″
Junior
#17
Gage Norslien
DB
6′ 1″
Redshirt Junior
Players Mentioned
#13
Daxon Graham
5′ 11″
Freshman
DB
#91
Forrest Suero
5′ 11″
Senior
DL
#22
Beau Butner
5′ 10″
Redshirt Freshman
RB
#18
Kolbe Coey
6′ 0″
Redshirt Freshman
DB
#4
Garrett Freeman
5′ 11″
Redshirt Sophomore
DB
#19
Henry Gross
6′ 2″
Redshirt Junior
LB
#8
Kaden Huot
6′ 3″
Senior
QB
#33
Jake Jeske
5′ 10″
Redshirt Junior
RB
#44
Peter Minnaert
5′ 11″
Junior
RB
#17
Gage Norslien
6′ 1″
Redshirt Junior
DB
”}]]