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Saints women take twin bill at tournament

The Carroll College Saints won both games of their first doubleheader in program history Saturday, beating the University of Alberta-Augustana 81-58 and Concrodia 85-50 at the Northern Classic in Havre.

The Saints, who were stranded at a hotel on the outskirts of Havre on Friday, were forced to play a doubleheader after their game with Augustana was postponed due to inclement weather.

The two wins were the Saints' last two non-conference opponents before conference season and improve Carroll to 11-5.

"I don't know what happened today. I think the girls were just really excited to get out of the hotel," Saints head coach Shawn Nelson said. "I was really worried about the fatigue of playing two games, but it didn't bother us at all." Story

Saints win fourth in a row, beat Dickinson St.

The Carroll College men's basketball team extended their winning streak to four as they muscled over the Dickinson State Blue Hawks 74-57 Tuesday night in Billings at the Rocky Mountain Classic.

The win improves the Saints to 10-1, and was Carroll's last non-conference tilt before conference play starts next Friday, Jan. 9 at Montana Tech. Carroll used stellar defense to hold the Blue Hawks to just 24 first-half points.

"This was our best defensive effort of the year," Saints head coach Gary Turcott said.

Senior post Chris Kaschmitter, who drew three offensive charges and tallied two steals, was instrumental in the defensive pressure. Story

Championship Game Score

The University of Sioux Falls Cougars are the 2008 NAIA National Champions,  leaving the Saints with 5 championships out of the last 7 years.

All of the offense has been in the 4th quarter and a bit of defensive points as well. First half was largely a defensive battle with the Cougars making 1 of 2 fields goals, and recovering a blocked punt for a touchdown. Field conditions were wet and rainy, much like last year. 

Saints, Cougars tout offense in title game

With so much talk about defense in what is likely to be a close game between the top-ranked Carroll College football team and the University of Sioux Falls, one major subject has slipped through the cracks - offense.

Both the reigning national champion Saints and the Cougars - who face off in a rematch of the 2007 title game today at 10 a.m. MST - have built their offenses around the ability to put themselves in good field position and find a way to the end zone.

Facing off against two of the best defenses in the nation - the Cougars rank No. 1 in scoring, total and rush defense while the Saints rank in the top 11 the same three categories - both offenses will be struggling to find the holes that they can take advantage of. Story

Koeppen named Player of the Year

Carroll College's senior linebacker Owen Koeppen doesn't hold a single record or lead a statistical category in the NAIA. Instead, he's been the anchor of the Saints defense that has won one national title in his years with the program and has led them to their second-straight championship game when they face the University of Sioux Falls today at 10 a.m. MST.

He has received AFCA All-American status for two consecutive seasons and was named by Victory Sports Network as the Defensive Player of the Year in 2007. After this weekend, he can add one more title to his resume: NAIA Player of the Year. Story

Purple crush

This small Southern city of roughly 36,000 citizens has never seen so much purple.

From the school colors of the nearby private preparatory academy, Darlington, with its unique shade, to the streets filled with Carroll College and University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) fans donning their favorite outfits, the past few days have simply been a purple craze. Story

‘The Woman Who Saved Football’

Football is more than just a sport in this city. It's a piece of history that lives in the hearts of the townspeople and embues the very streets and buildings.

It was a young man from Rome who nearly brought the sport to an end when his own life was cut short on the playing field. On Oct. 30, 1897, Vonalbade Gammon, a star fullback for the University of Georgia, took a snap and dashed against the defensive line from the University of Virginia. Story

Saints: More than a name

John Camino walked up to the young boy with a hearing aid on his right ear and asked him if he wanted to play. The two sat on a blue circular rug with colorful animals - a yellow squirrel, an orange fish and a green salamander among them - rolling and tossing a miniature soccer ball back and forth.

For Camino, a 225-pound sophomore running back for Carroll College, the activity certainly wasn't the kind of ball he's used to playing. He wasn't barreling down the football field, smashing into linebackers and leaving them on the ground. But what he was doing was connecting - in a special way - with Landon Swanson, a 4-year-old with a significant developmental delay and hearing loss. Story