SAVANNAH, Tenn. (AP) -Offensive MVP Gabe Le rushed for 116 yards and two third-quarter touchdowns to help Carroll College beat defending champion Sioux Falls 17-9 on Saturday for the Montana school’s fifth NAIA title in the past six years.
“Our offensive line played real well,” said Le, who was soaked in mud after a game played on a sloppy field in steady rain. “We turned it on and got it done.”
The Saints (15-0) are 64-6 in the last six seasons, including other unbeaten seasons in 2003 and 2005. Carroll ended Sioux Falls’ 27-game winning streak. The Cougars’ last loss was a 55-0 decision to Carroll in the 2005 NAIA semifinals.
“Our offense answered the bell,” Carroll coach Mike Van Diest said. “The depth we had on our defensive line made a difference. This was an unbelievable team a lot of people contributed a lot of different ways.”
Sioux Falls (13-1) took a 6-3 lead on Ryan Lowmiller’s 1-yard run early in the second half, but a penalty backed them up for the PAT, which fell short.
Carroll scored on back-to-back drives ending with touchdown runs of 20 and 2 yards by Le, the second giving the Saints a 17-6 lead with 34 seconds left in the third quarter.
“We’re at our best when we are behind,” Saints quarterback John Barnett said. “Answering with our first touchdown was big, but getting the snap (from center) was most crucial.”
Barnett was 6-of-10 for 9 yards and rushed for another 28 yards.
Sioux Falls’ final score was a 27-yard field goal by Matt Lindgren with 2:47 remaining. Carroll recovered the ensuing onside kick.
Sioux Falls was held to 38 yards of total offense in the first half and came off the field trailing 3-0 on Marcus Miller’s 25-yard field goal.
“We didn’t really make any adjustments at half,” Sioux Falls coach Kalen DeBoer said. “We started throwing the ball around and Carroll turned around and threw it right back at us.”
Sioux Falls quarterback Chad Cavender, the NAIA player of the year, was 12-of-30 for 116 yards in his final college game. Erik Cimpl led the Cougars in rushing with 64 yards.
Both teams had a hard time holding on to the ball because of the wet conditions. Carroll fumbled six times, losing the ball three times, while Sioux Falls lost two of its three fumbles.
“We kind of threw it on the line,” DeBoer said. “We needed a turnover to get a big play. When it bounced Carroll’s way, they did (make the play).”
Thiry was largely responsible for Carroll’s first-half success, punting four times for an average of 43.8 yards.
“(Carroll) ran misdirections at us and we struggled,” Sioux Falls defensive back Robbie Tiff said. “We were prepared but we missed tackles.”
Carroll had 134 yards of total offense for the game, while Sioux Falls finished with 186.
Carroll’s Owen Koeppen was named the defensive player of the game with six tackles and a forced fumble. Brandon Day also had six tackles while Nick Mildragovich had five tackles. The Saints blocked a punt late in the first half and a field goal in the second.
“This is an unbelievable team,” Van Diest said. “Our coaches thought this team is pretty special. We didn’t have one guy with an ego. There are lot of people that contributed. It’s a great team and one of most fun teams to be around not because of 15-0 but to be at practice everyday was fun.”
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