The Prospector (Helena, Mont.) 1916-2015, September 22, 2005, Image 6

6 t Football opens with three big wins By Tom Cotton Helena Independent Record Saturday's Carroll College- Montana State-Northern football game made one thing very clear— the Lights are much improved, but they have a ways to go before they can compete with the No. 1 team in the country. Carroll College (3-0) used an impressive passing attack to put away MSU-N (1-2) 31-14 in the Saints' Frontier Conference opener. It was the 13th straight win by Carroll over the Havre school. \They played hard, no doubt about it,\ said Carroll quarterback Tyler Emmert. \My hat's off to coach (Mark) Samson and those guys. They've taken a program that if you score on them they would quit and turned it around. They got after it.\ The Lights held the Saints to just three points in the first quarter and had a chance to tie the game in the first half. They also had several chances to make things uncomfortable for the Saints in the second half. However, for all the grit the Lights showed, Carroll ultimately overwhelmed MSU-N thanks in large part to an aerial display by Emmert and his receiving corps. Emmert reached several mile­ stones in the game (see sidebar) and spread the ball around to nine different receivers. \I think we expect so much from him,\ said Carroll College coach Mike Van Diest. \It is so impressive, what he has accom­ plished. To have over 10,000 yards passing and over 1,000 yards rush­ ing, not every quarterback has that. I am glad he got a chance to do that in front of the home crowd. They love Tyler like we all do. He deserves all of the accolades and honors that come his way.\ Emmert took several shots down field against the Lights who, used man-to-man coverage for most of the contest. He tried to hook up with Tyler Peterson, but was just off the mark on a few occasions in the first stanza. The Saints were able to scratch out three points in the first quarter, when they took their opening drive of the game and moved 43 yards in 10 plays. However, unlike in recent years, Northern answered the score with a big play of their own. Running back Don Saisbury, a former Capital product, made a leaping grab of a Kyle Samson offering and rolled 70 yards down field. That set up the Lights on the Saints eight yard line, but no points came of the effort as Chaz Kountz misfired on a 21-yard field goal. The Saints also had a golden offensive opportunity go awry midway through the second quar­ ter as they steadily moved down- field mixing the run and pas before the drive stalled at the MSU-N one-yard line. On fourth- and-one Van Diest decided against the field goal and Emmert was stuffed by Josh Glahn and Marc McBryan on the quarterback sneak. The score remained 3-0 Carroll until an outburst by the Saints with under two-minutes to go in the half. Emmert hit a wide-open Dustin Michaelis on a 34-yard touchdown with 1:39 left. After two Northern offensive plays, Phil Lenoue pounced on a fumble setting up the Saints again in solid field position. Carroll moved crisply downfield with Emmert completing two pass­ es to Peterson and another to Bryce Doak. It was, however, a run that ended the drive and it came in rather unconventional fashion. With enough time left for one final play, the Saints ran a fake field goal. Holder Zach Bumgarner saw an opportunity present itself when the Lights lined up to block the kick and he took advantage of it. The Saints had worked on a fake field goal play all week in practice and Bumgarner rolled in untouched from seven yards out for the sec­ ond score of the game. \They left one guy on the side and were spread to our right so we could run our option to the left.\ Bumgarner said. \They had one guy to take me or the pitch guy and he took the pitch guy.\ Bumgarner had nine catches for 143 yards in the game and he put the Saints up 24-7 with a 43-yard touchdown grab early in the fourth quarter. \All week we had some idea of what coverage they would be in,\ Bumgarner said. \We worked on a lot of things that we could take advantage of this week.\ The sec­ ond half saw Northern score two touchdowns, but they were ulti­ mately done in by costly penalties. Midway through the fourth quarter, the Lights commit­ ted two key per­ sonal foul penal­ ties leading to the score that salted away the game for the Saints. The first came on a crazy play, when a snap sailed over Carroll punter Ben Chaet's head and the ball was apparently recov­ ered by McBryan in the end zone for a touchdown. However, a per­ sonal foul was called on Northern not only negating the score, but giv­ ing the Saints a first down on the Northern 23-yard line. Two plays later another personal foul set up the Saints on Northern's three yard line, two plays after that Tyler Peterson grabbed his fifth touchdown of the year and gave Carroll a command­ ing 31-7 lead. \It can be frustrating,\ Northern coach Mark Samson said about the personal fouls. \I just hope the kids learn and don't make the same mistakes next week. We've got to beat Rocky and get that good feel­ ing back. Northern was paced by Samson's 254 yards passing. The Lights only managed 116 yards on the ground. Carroll's Ryan Grosulak nearly equalled that mark with 113 yards on the ground. Carroll will head to Dillon next week to face the University of Montana-Western Dustin Michaelis runs for a first down in the Satints’ homecoming against Western. Saints volleyball falls short to MSU-Northern in five games By Staff Writer Helena Independent Record The Carroll College volleyball team could not hold on to MSU Northern in Saturday's Frontier Conference showdown. The Lights upended the Saints in five games 30-28, 30-25, 30-24, 30-26 and 15- 11 . The Lights opened strong with a 30-28 victory over the Saints in game one. Carroll answered right back, taking both games two and three with 30 points. The Saints were kept afloat by Tiffany Rochelle's 19 kills and three aces on the night. Natalie Solomon had 17 kills, while teammate Rosie Meyn had 14. Carroll however was unable to keep momentum in their favor. The Lights edged Carroll in games four and five, securing a token Frontier Conference victory and putting an end to a long series of road games for the Saints. Carroll will have a while to recuperate and refocus for their home opener on Friday. The Saints will host UM-Western at the Carroll College P.E. Center at 7 p.m. THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 22, 2005 VOLUME 89, NO. 1