HELENA — As No. 12 Carroll College sits atop the Frontier Conference West Division standings after knocking off then-No. 8 Montana Western in Dillon Saturday, MTN Sports' Jonny Walker sat down with Fighting Saints head coach Troy Purcell.
A full transcript from the video interview with Purcell is available below:
MTN Sports: You go to Montana Western, and for the first time since 2015 you beat the Bulldogs in Dillon. How did you pull it off?
Troy Purcell: Gosh, just a commitment by our team and coaches to continually get better throughout the season and overcome adversity over there. There was a little bit of rain — I mean, both sides had to overcome that. Western is a very, very good football program, and they do things right there. And they got a bunch of tough kids. And it's a hard place to play. And it was just our day.
MTN Sports: I remember last week we asked you how you thought the offense was coming along. Now with a 40-point performance from your team and a five-touchdown performance from your quarterback, how do you think the offense is coming along?
Troy Purcell: The offense is still getting better. I think quarterback Kaden Huot now having six games under his belt and the offensive line and the receivers getting more experience, it has enabled everybody to play faster. And when you're playing faster, great things happen because you can time things up better. And your quickness, your steps, your everything accelerates. And so, it's good to see on both sides of the ball — special teams and everything else that goes along with the game. And being able to play fast is key.
MTN Sports: When we look at the Frontier Conference West Division standings, I don't think the importance of that game could be overstated. But there's still four games left to go. How do you make sure the team remains focused?
Troy Purcell: We stay the course. We have a stay-the-course mentality. Never be too high and never be too low. And get to that next rep and next play. And just like a season, you enjoy it on Saturday — win or lose — and then learn from it and move on to Sunday and prepare yourself for the next contest.
MTN Sports: When you look ahead to Simpson this weekend, what do they do really well? What challenges do they present?
Troy Purcell: They like to send a lot of pressure on defense. You know, you'll see a seven-up, eight-up in different variations, man coverage behind it. Or they'll be dropping eight out of it. As an offense, they run a triple-type option. They got some good, good athletes. They're young athletes right now on some positions, but they're good athletes. And so, it's an up-and-coming program that’s going to continue to get better.