HELENA — The Carroll College football team had a pretty good weekend.
The Saints won their ninth consecutive game, claimed the Frontier Conference championship and received the No. 1 ranking in the final NAIA football poll on Sunday, giving them home field advantage throughout the NAIA playoffs.
Carroll (9-1) hosts No. 14 Valley City State (9-1) of North Dakota in a first-round game Saturday. Kickoff is at noon.
“We love our hometown fans; we love our Nelson Stadium,” said Carroll running back Dustin Rinker, who rushed for 170 yards and four touchdowns in Carroll’s 69-12 win over College of Idaho. “It’s going to be a big advantage for us moving forward. We’re just pretty thankful for all the circumstances that have led to this happening since the season-opening loss. It’s a pretty good position to be in.”
Valley City State won its fourth straight North Star Athletic Association championship this season. Carroll has beaten Valley City State three times in the NAIA playoffs, most recently a 47-0 win in 2011.
Southern Oregon, which had split with Carroll during the regular season, fell 31-27 to Eastern Oregon on Saturday.
With their second conference loss, the Raiders fell four spots to No. 8 in the NAIA poll, but will still host a first-round game against ninth-ranked MidAmerica Nazarene of Kansas.
Eastern Oregon, which finished the season with four straight wins, fell just outside the 16-team playoff bracket.
Carroll has won an NAIA record six national titles, claiming championships from 2002-2005, 2007 and 2010. They were runners-up in 2008 and 2011.