ASHLAND, Ore. — Kaden Huot threw a touchdown pass to Carson Ochoa with 56 seconds left and then found Gavin Vandenacre for an ensuing two-point conversion as No. 8 Carroll College survived unranked Southern Oregon 41-40 in a wild Frontier Conference game Saturday.
Carroll took possession trailing 40-33 with 1:39 remaining and put together a six-play, 42-yard drive that produced the winning points. Huot completed passes to Lincoln Holmes, Chris Akulschin nad Peter Minnaert along the way before connecting with Ochoa for 14 yards for a touchdown.
Saints coach Troy Purcell elected to go for two and the gamble paid off as Huot found Vandenacre for the go-ahead points.
Southern Oregon got the ball back with less than a minute on the clock but could only get to its own 46-yard line before Dom Montiel threw incomplete on fourth down to give the ball back to Carroll with 15 seconds left.
Carroll took a 20-3 in the first half but found itself trailing 34-27 in the fourth after back-to-back Montiel touchdown passes. Carroll answered on a 4-yard TD pass from Huot to Vandenacre, but Spencer Berger's point-after kick blocked and the Saints still trailed 34-33.
Trevor Jaasko then returned an onside kick for a touchdown to put the Raiders up 40-33, but — crucially — Brian Batres' point-after kick also missed. That allowed Carroll the opportunity to reclaim the lead late, which it did in dramatic fashion.
Huot finished with 267 passing yards and five touchdowns through the air. Ochoa was on the receiving end of four of those, and finished with 108 receiving yards. Vandenacre also caught a TD pass in addition to his game-winning two-point reception. Minnaert had 95 rushing yards and score.
With its sixth straight win, Carroll is now 7-1 overall and 4-0 in the Frontier Conference West division. The Saints welcome No. 15 College of Idaho (also 7-1, 4-0) to Helena next Saturday for a game that will go a long way to deciding the division title.
