Search Articles:

 

Breaking News......... More than 180 competitors triple-test their endurance in Helena......... Billings youth soccer teams hits road - in Europe......... BREAKING NEWS: Storm knocks out power, ignites wildfires in Helena......... Shakespeare in the Parks hit hard by recession, trying not to fold......... Local News......... Cancer patient completes race in 8 hours, 45 minutes........Changes to GI Bill alters tuition benefits by state........Court ruling doesn't change NorthWestern's plan for power line........PSC commissioner wants to kill NorthWestern project........Fast times in Missoula Marathon; everyone had a ballPosted on Sunday, July 12........Downtown Missoula building will be tall and eco-friendly........

HELENA - The Carroll College football team has Georgia on its mind. Especially after Tuesday's practice.

The No. 1 Saints had their last football practice of the year in the friendly but bitterly cold confines of Nelson Stadium.

Carroll will head out of Helena Regional Airport Wednesday morning on its way to the NAIA national championship in Rome, Ga., where they'll face off with the second-ranked University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) Cougars on Saturday.

With the temperature stuck below zero and a slight wind drawing tears to everyone's eyes, the Saints skipped across the frozen tundra of their home field covered from head to toe in sweat gear, hoping to stretch their legs out one more time before sticking to their seats for takeoff.

Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest said earlier in the week that the Saints would practice outside no matter how far the mercury dipped on the thermometer.

The Saints have been stuck inside the Carroll P. E. Center the past few days and needed to work more on their timing between receivers and freshman quarterback Matt Ritter.

“We needed our timing before we go down there, and one last practice in our stadium, especially for us seniors,” said senior receiver Travis Browne, a Stevensville product who is making his second trip to a title game after last year's 17-9 win over Sioux Falls for the championship.

Players were fighting to keep moving during the practice to stave off chattering teeth.

“I was shivering at the start, but once I got running around I warmed up pretty easily,” Browne said. “Once you stopped for a rest everything would freeze.”

Last week, when an arctic front moved into the state, senior defensive end Greg Thompson provided a personal comfort for some of the players.

“He's got an ice fishing hut he built that folds down,” said senior linebacker Owen Koeppen. “He dragged it out there and set it up. A couple of injured guys jumped into it to stay warm.”

There were no shelters to house them this time, but Van Diest did call practice a few minutes short.

“There weren't many spectacular plays with ski gloves and boots, basically,” Koeppen said.

Temperatures are certainly expected to be higher in Georgia, though the forecast calls for the possibility of rain throughout the week and a 30-percent chance during the game Saturday.

The Saints won't mind so much.

“It will be nice to put on a normal pair of cleats for once and step on some grass, whether it's raining or not,” Koeppen said.

---

---

Add your comment now! Write your comment in the form below.
(Email address is for verification only. If you'd like to email a story, look for the link above)

---