The long, restful Thanksgiving weekend got back to the reality of gritty game preparation for the Carroll College football program when it learned about its upcoming opponent Saturday night.

The top-ranked Saints are scheduled to play No. 7 Lindenwood University of St. Charles, Mo., Saturday at 12:07 p.m., in the semifinals of the NAIA playoffs.

Carroll is 13-0 and aiming for its sixth national championship in seven years, while the Lions (11-1) are playing in the semifinals for the first time.

The program won its first playoff game last week.

"It's nice to know who we're playing," Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest said. "We feel a lot better than we did a couple days ago."

No. 2 Sioux Falls, S.D., will play host to No. 3 St. Francis, Ind., in the other semifinal. Both of those teams are unbeaten.

The semifinal winners meet Dec. 20, in Rome, Ga.

Lindenwood played its way into the final when Halley Ferrell kicked a 25-yard field goal with three seconds left to lift the Lions to a 34-31 win at Morningside, Iowa.

Quarterback Ben Kisner, went 32-for-47 for 445 yards and three touchdowns for Lindenwood.

Kisner drove the Lions 52 yards in 34 seconds to set up the winning field goal.

A week after scoring 65 points and piling up 541 yards of total offense, LU totaled 566 yards and 30 first downs.

Lindenwood's loss came to MidAmerica Nazarene, Kan., in its opening game of the season.

"They've got one of the best passing offenses in the nation," Van Diest said. "And, a tough defense, too.

"Technically, they scored an upset because they were on the road, but that wasn't much of an upset."

The Lions are averaging 40 points and 461 yards of offense per game and have given up just five sacks all season.

Kisner has thrown for more than 3,000 yards and 30 touchdowns.

"They've been in the playoffs before, so we know they're a good program," Van Diest said, "we just haven't played them, so this will be some uncharted territory for us."

Carroll, 13-0, had the week off after its quarterfinal opponent, Northwestern Oklahoma, forfeited for using ineligible players.

Sioux Falls beat visiting Langston, Okla., 50-13, and advanced to the semifinals for the fourth straight season.

The Cougars, who are ranked No. 1 in several defensive categories, held Langston to just 150 total yards and recorded their 34th straight home win.

St. Francis earned its sixth-straight appearance in the semifinals with a 31-20 victory over visiting Cumberlands, Ky.

Daniel Carter rushed 17 times for 105 yards and two touchdowns for St. Francis, which won its 52nd straight home game.

The Cougars held Cumberlands to just 196 total yards.

Carroll's run to the NAIA national title last year included wins over St. Francis in the semifinals and Sioux Falls in the final.

Sports Editor Cliff Pfenning:

447-4070 or cliff.pfenning@helenair.com