It probably wouldn't be a true NAIA national football playoff if Carroll College didn't face St. Francis (Ind.) somewhere down the road.

Well, this season it certainly will be. It was announced Sunday morning that the two teams will meet once again in the semifinal game when the No. 2 Saints host the No. 5 Cougars Saturday in Nelson Stadium.

The two teams have faced off three times in the last six years, including once in a semifinal and twice in the national championship game. The Saints won all three contests en route to their four straight titles from 2002 to 2005.

"It just shows how good St. Francis has been over the past six or seven years. They're in the semifinals or finals every year," said Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest. "They know how to win during the regular season and know how to win during the playoffs. That's very evident of their close game in Bethel."

St. Francis defeated No. 4 Bethel, Tenn., 30-27 in the quarterfinals on Saturday, while the Saints sent No. 11 Morningside home in a 27-16 win.

The Cougars have certainly been a regular in the national playoffs over the last decade. Last season they were defeated by the University of Sioux Falls (S.D.) 23-19 in the 2006 championship game.

The year before that, Carroll College beat them in a convincing 27-10 win for the title. And in 2004 Carroll beat them when placekicker Marcus Miller, now a senior, sent a last-second field goal through the uprights for a 15-13 championship victory. The year before that, the Saints beat them in the semifinals.

"They're intense games. They're very talented teams and you look at the speed and the players on both sides of the field, there's just tremendous players that played in those games," Van Diest said. "They got better as the years went on and we got better, and we were fortunate to win those games. We played hard, and those games could've easily gone either way.

"That's what makes a great rivalry, that's what makes great competition is the respect both teams have."

Van Diest said St. Francis head coach Kevin Donley has always had a team with a lot of class and certainly a lot of success on both offense and defense.

"Kevin, I'm sure, does what he does best. He's run some unbalanced offenses in the past, he's run some spread offenses. He's had some tremendous, tremendous running backs and firepower," Van Diest said. "Their defenses have just been phenomenal; I don't imagine that's changed a whole lot.

"It'll be interesting to see the film and see what new wrinkles they do have."

Both teams will have a lot of confidence heading into the semifinals. The Saints are 13-0 on the season, while the 11-1 Cougars lost their only game to then-ranked No. 6 Ohio Dominican 30-20.

It was their first regular season loss in 54 games. Since then they have been on a six-game win streak while Ohio Dominican lost in the quarterfinal round to No. 9 Missouri Valley (10-2).

The semifinal game is scheduled to begin at noon on Saturday.

Tickets will be on sale from 7:30 a.m. to 6 p.m. Monday through Friday in the Carroll P.E. Center. Season ticket holders will have until Monday at 6 p.m. before their tickets go on sale.