By The Fighting Saints crushed the Simpson Blackhawks 52-0 at Homecoming, Saturday.
After a tough loss against Montana Tech and a close win against Rocky Mountain College, the Fighting Saints finally exploded.
The Homecoming landslide began with a touchdown pass thrown by senior Jack Prka, who is from Coeur d’Alene, Idaho, and majoring in Elementary Education.
The Saints were up 38-0 at the half.
“Today was a great win,” said Lincoln Holmes, a St. George Utah native, who caught a touchdown pass from Prka. “The atmosphere here was great. A lot of people came out. A lot of alumni, a lot of old Saints. It was just a great day.”
Jack Prka
Holmes is majoring in Health Sciences.
“We have a lot ahead of us and the energy with the football team, the brotherhood, we’re all coming together and it’s a great day to be a Saint,” said Holmes.
The fourth quarter began play with the final score of 52-0. Even though there were no points gained during the last quarter, momentum continued when sophomore Bodie Smith intercepted a pass made by the Red Hawks. Smith is from Whitefish, Montana, and is pursuing a degree in Pre-Elementary Education.
“This was an unbelievable game for a Homecoming game and any time you have the tradition or you’re playing for your brothers, and playing for someone, you love this game and you kind of dedicate the game,” said head coach Troy Purcell. “Having everyone come back and see the new field, all the old timers that were promised this for the last 15 years, actually get to see it live and watch us go out and perform. We had a whole bunch of kids get a lot of time in a great game with a great atmosphere.”
Keel Potter
Purcell has been coaching Carroll’s Football team since 2018. Success has followed Purcell throughout his football career. Purcell cracked into coaching in 1991 at Regis High in Stayton, Oregon. From there, he moved into coaching in Montana at Eureka, Havre, and Bozeman high schools, until eventually becoming the assistant coach at the University of Idaho. Each of these coaching positions has resulted in multiple championships, playoff opportunities, and also coaching pro football players such as NFL Chargers tight end, Will Dissly, and former NFL players Brock Coyle and Marc Mariani.
Purcell said he is excited for the team to enjoy the game and night, and then they will be going back to work.
The Saints aim to continue this momentum with their first away game of the season against Arizona Christian University on Sept 28.
Keel Potter
