DILLON — Dane Broadhead had to pass the test.

With starting quarterback Gary Wagner carried off the field, Broadhead, a true freshman from Rupert, Idaho, came in to guide the Carroll College offense against the University of Montana-Western Bulldogs on Saturday. He couldn’t have performed much better.

Broadhead completed 11-of-15 passes for 91 yards as he pushed the No. 1 Saints to four more scoring drives, opening up a 7-0 lead to win 31-6.

Of course, it took one botched throw and a subsequent spectacular play by junior wide receiver Kipp Curtis to settle the young rookie’s feet.

After Western’s Sean McKinney pulled down Wagner on a scramble, leaving the quarterback with a high-ankle sprain, Broadhead came in and two plays later faced a fourth-and-5 situation. Sitting on the 32-yard line, the Saints were too far for a field goal and too close for a punt.

So, they decided to go to the air. The result: Broadhead threw a pass that went straight to the numbers of Western’s Zac Marold. Marold threw his arms up, but the ball bounced off his chest, tumbled over his helmet and landed into the hands of Curtis, who had backtracked to make Broadhead’s first official completion.

“It was funny, I was walking back to the huddle, Marshall McEwen, our tight end, he goes ‘sometimes it’s better to be lucky than good,’ ” Broadhead said. “I couldn’t help but laugh then. That really calmed me down.”

Curtis turned upfield for a 14-yard gain on the play and the first down. Broadhead followed up with two completions to senior receiver Travis Browne around a 1-yard rush by senior Sean Herrin. Browne’s second catch, an 8 yarder, landed the Saints on the 2-yard line. Herrin needed just one more chance to reach the end zone, making it 14-0 with 2:06 left in the first half.

The 37-yard drive, which began with Wagner’s scramble and ended with the 2-yard punch, solidified the 6-foot-2, 210-pound Broadhead as not only a top-rate recruit, but the first true freshman to sling a ball for the Saints in Van Diest’s 10-year tenure as head coach.

“That’s why we recruited Dane. We knew coming in him and Matt Ritter were going to give a great battle during two-a-days,” Van Diest said. “And both of them were so close, we just kind of had a gut feeling that Dane maybe picked up things a little bit (faster).

“A lot of kudos for the offensive line. Any time a freshman quarterback comes in or a backup, there’s always a tendency for a defense to blitz. Our offense, I think had a good scheme and picked that up well.”

After a close first quarter that ended in a scoreless tie, the Saints O-line began opening up holes and allowing its running backs to make the plays they needed to score all four of the Saints’ touchdowns.

Of course, they can also thank the defense for the great field position. Every touchdown drive started on Western’s half of the field.

The first score, a 2-yard jaunt by junior running back Gabe Le, came after sophomore cornerback Matt Waldenberg knocked the ball loose from a receiver’s hands and senior linebacker Brandon Day pounced on it on Western’s 18.

After a failed run attempt, Wagner hit sophomore receiver Christian Prosperie 2 yards short of the end zone and Le wasn’t even touched as he strolled in for the score to make it 7-0 with 13:44 left in the first half.

Two series later it was senior linebacker Rick Young’s chance to knock the ball loose, this time on a quarterback sack. Young broke from the left side of the field, sped by the offensive line unseen and wrapped up Western’s Garrett Graves, punching the ball from his grip. Western recovered the football but lost 6 yards in the process.

“We wanted to turn Rick loose,” Van Diest said. “A couple times, with the four wide receiver sets, we stayed with the four-man rush and Rick had great pressure. He had a great sack down near the goal line and caused a fumble I wish we could’ve picked up and taken for a touchdown.”

After Western’s punt landed the Saints on the 37 yard line, Broadhead came in and put together the second scoring drive of the game.

Carroll held the 14-0 lead as the two teams headed into the second half.

Senior kicker Zach Thiry booted a 41-yard field goal to give the Saints a comfortable 17-0 lead to start the third quarter, and just two plays later Carroll regained the ball, thanks to an interception by senior free safety Cody Lamb.

Broadhead completed two passes as Le and Herrin split running duties before Herrin scored his second touchdown of the game on the 45-yard drive.

“We wanted to establish the run game,” Herrin said. “The O-line did a great job today blocking. It was consistent. We were getting four yards every time and that’s what we asked for.”

With the Saints’ second- string defense on the field, Western’s Derrick Pluff scored the team’s lone touchdown. The 3-yard run capped the Bulldog’s 11-play, 75-yard drive with 6:35 left in the game. After a two-point conversion failed because of a fumbled snap, the Saints held a 24-6 lead.

Sophomore running back John Camino answered on the next drive, however, carrying the ball eight straight times for 51 yards and a touchdown with 1:36 left in the game.

The Saints’ three running backs combined for 164 of the teams’ 298 net yards. Le led the squad with 50 yards on 17 attempts. Camino’s long drive landed him with 44 net yards and Herrin was 37 yards on 14 attempts.

Wagner completed 6-of-12 attempted passes for 54 yards before leaving the game.

McEwen, a senior, ended with seven receptions for 48 yards to lead the Saints. Browne’s four catches gave him 35 yards for the most among the wide receivers.

Graves finished 5-for-15 before Micah Mamiya came in to lead the Bulldogs. He completed 12 of his 19 pass attempts for 102 yards.

The Saints (2-0), who started their season off with a 41-22 win at Azusa Pacific, return to Nelson Stadium this Saturday for their home opener against Rocky Mountain College. Kickoff is scheduled for 1 p.m.

Carroll 0 14 10 7 n 31

Western 0 0 0 6 n 6

First quarter

No scoring

Second quarter

CC n Gabe Le 2 run (Connor Janhunen kick), 13:36. Key play: Christian Prosperie catches 15-yard pass from Gary Wagner at the Western 2.

CC n Sean Herrin 1 run (Janhunen kick), 2:06. Key play: Dane Broadhead’s 9-yard pass to Kip Curtis is caught after bouncing off defender’s helmet on fourth down and four.

Third quarter

CC n Zach Thiry 41 FG, 9:12. Key play: Broadhead connects with Le on a 9-yard pass play on third and nine.

CC n Herrin 1 run (Janhunen kick), 4:58. Key play: Cody Lamb intercepts a pass on Western’s 45.

Fourth quarter

MW n Derrick Pluff 3 run (run failed), 6:35. Key play: Micah Mamiya hits Craigh Cornelius on a 39-yard pass play bringing Western to the Carroll 18.

CC n John Camino 1 run (Janhunen kick), 1:36. Key play: Camino rushes 25 yards to the Western 26.

CC MW

First downs 19 10

Rushes-yards 43-172 20-52

Passing yards 151 125

Comp-att-int 17-27-0 18-36-0

Penalties-yards 6-60 2-20

Fumbles-lost 1-0 2-1

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING n CC: Gary Wagner 5-24, Gabe Le 16-44, Sean Herrin 13-39, Dane Broadhead 1-11, John Camino 7-55, team 1-(-2). MW n Derrick Pluff 10-33, Jordan Clary 5-19, Garrett Graves 3-7, Micah Mamiya 2-(-7).

PASSING n CC: Gary Wagner 6-12-0-60, Dane Broadhead 11-15-0-91. MW: Garrett Graves 6-17-1-28. Micah Mamiya 12-19-0-97.

RECEIVING n CC: Travis Browne 4-36, Marshall McEwen 7-57, Christian Prosperie 2-18, Kipp Curtis 2-20, Gabe Le 1-9, Brian Sloan 1-13. MW: Colton Woods 4-45, Connor Fuhrman 1-5, Craigh Cornelius 5-49, Michael Guelff 4-17, Martin Iosefo 1-4, Derrick Pluff 1-(-3), Pono Matthews 1-5, Omar Rodriguez 1-3.

Assistant Sports Editor

Jeff Windmueller: 447-4065 or jeff.windmueller@helenair.com