Saints praise defensive depth, balance

HELENA – Carroll College’s defense is all about momentum, teamwork and friendship.

The wins follow.

The Saints defense has shut out its last two playoff opponents, holds the opposition to an NAIA-best 9.4 points per game and is happy with its role in Carroll’s success.

“The big thing for our defense is getting the ball back to the offense,” said A.J. Porrini, who has four interceptions and 65 tackles this season. “It’s a huge momentum shift every time we intercept a pass, get a fumble, even three-and-out. It helps get everybody fired up.”

For the fourth straight year, Carroll is playing in the NAIA national championship game. Top-ranked Carroll (13-0) takes on second-ranked St. Francis of Indiana (13-0) in Savannah, Tenn., on Saturday. It’s a rematch of last year’s championship, which Carroll won 15-13 to claim its third straight national title.

The Saints defense is balanced and earned the NAIA player of the game award as a unit after Carroll’s 55-0 semifinal win over Sioux Falls on Dec. 3. The Cougars got no closer than 40 yards from the goal line, but no single defensive player stood out.

“Everybody depends on everybody else,” said coach Mike Van Diest. “One person has one gap and you have to trust that person next to you to do their job so you can do your job.”

Gary Cooper has 121 tackles and 4.5 sacks this year while Regan Mack has 58 tackles, an interception and a fumble recovery. Jeff Shirley has 55 tackles and 11.5 sacks.

Seamus Molloy has 75 tackles, Josh Schmidt (Gonzaga Prep) has 69 tackles including four sacks, and Jeff Pasha has 67 tackles. Phil Lenoue (G-Prep) has nine sacks and Matt Thomas has four interceptions.

“It’d be easy for one person to slide up and try to make 20 tackles, or for Jeff Shirley to get six or seven sacks a game,” Cooper said. But that would mean playing out of their scheme.

“We care about winning more than just stats.”

No team has scored more than 21 points against the Saints this season.