HELENA — With No. 18-ranked Carroll College coming off a convincing 35-7 win over No. 11 Dickinson State on the road last week, MTN Sports' Jonny Walker sat down with Fighting Saints head coach Troy Purcell.
Carroll hosts its homecoming game Saturday against Rocky Mountain College. A full transcript from the video interview wit Purcell is available below:
MTN Sports: Your team is coming off a big win last week against the No. 11 team in the country, 35-7. Through three games now, how do you evaluate this team?
Troy Purcell: Yeah, I think we're continuing to improve. And so that's the most important thing. As long as you're getting better each day, then the games will — if you're supposed to win or supposed to lose, as long as you're getting better. And then by the end of the year, you're playing your best.
And so, I think that continuation has been huge for our team. The bye came at a real good time. We got to full strength with everybody on the team, physically ready to go. And they traveled well.
MTN Sports: You’re playing back at home this weekend for your second home game of the season. It’s also your second game in that evening, nighttime, slot under the lights. How do you feel about that afternoon kickoff versus the nighttime kickoff?
Troy Purcell: As a coach, it's probably a lot more fun if you give me a noon kickoff. You know, even more than 1 o'clock. They're just a long day on Saturday, but the atmosphere is unreal. You know what I mean? You've got to play as many night games as you can. It's exciting for the fan base and everything else that goes along with it.
MTN Sports: Let’s talk about Rocky Mountain coming to Helena on Saturday. What is special about this team? What's different about this team compared to the three you've already played?
Troy Purcell: Man, they played three ranked opponents coming into this, and they're a really good football team. They might be 0-3 — is what it says on paper. But man, they're a very talented, very good football team playing ranked opponents for the first three games. And you're going to see an explosive Air Raid-type offense coming out and a very attacking defense. And it should be a great battle.
MTN Sports: You put up 35 points against Dickinson State last week. What does the offense need to do to keep that momentum rolling the rest of the season?
Troy Purcell: I think the offensive line is jelling. Kaden Huot at the quarterback position is really starting to get comfortable while he's starting to play a lot faster. Our whole team is playing faster. So, that's exciting. Offense, defense and special teams — so that continued growth will help propel us into the next game.
