On the first play from scrimmage, Carroll College's Gabe Le took the handoff down the left side of the field, cut back and found room to roll.

Thanks to a big hole and a great downfield block by wide receiver Brian Sloan, the 5-foot-11, 210-pound junior running back went 56 yards for the score without being touched.

And he was just getting started.

Le ran for 169 yards on only eight carries and scored another touchdown, a 63-yarder in the second quarter, to lead the No. 1 Saints to a 31-13 homecoming win over rival Montana Tech.

"I definitely, really wanted to finish them this week. I hate getting run down," said Le, referring to being caught from behind. "I had a great block from a receiver on the back side, I had a great block by a (tackle) on the front side. It just did it for me."

Le, the offensive MVP of the 2007 NAIA national championship game, has become even more the go-to running back after a season-ending injury of senior Sean Herrin. Le has certainly been making the difference in the Saints' offense.

In the previous weekend's 17-10 road win over MSU-Northern, he rushed for 123 yards and finished with 61 yards receiving to lead the Saints.

With a Frontier Conference record 7,677 fans in attendance this Saturday, he made sure to make every run count.

"It feels really good to have a big run on Tech or Northern," he said. "I think it's way more exciting to have it on (Tech) than any other team in the conference."

After the one-play start on Carroll's offense, the Orediggers proved they had some moves as well, trudging downfield 81 yards on 13 plays.

Helena High graduate Matt Komac led the 'Diggers offense, using his feet more than anything. With designed plays tricking the Saints defense, Komac carried seven times, including a 1-yard touchdown run to tie the game up 7-7 at the 8:44 mark in the first quarter.

It was the only time the score was tied in the game.

The Saints offense continued to roll and wouldn't face a second down until there was 4:50 left in the first quarter.

Along the way, freshman quarterback Dane Broadhead helped engineer a 60-yard scoring drive that lasted just three plays and one minute, 20 seconds.

From the 40-yard line, Broadhead threw a screen pass left to senior Travis Browne, who worked his way 23 yards downfield. Another pass left to senior tight end Marshall McEwen went 12 yards and landed the Saints on Tech's 25-yard line.

After a false start pushed them back 5 yards, Carroll went to the air again and, this time, got a little luck.

Broadhead's pass spun right through the fingers of Tech defensive back Jason Watkins and into the hands of Saints sophomore receiver Corey Peterson, who landed on his back in the end zone.

"I was just running the seam route, but to tell you the truth, I forgot to make sure that I stuck the corner so he can't make that play on the ball," Peterson said. "I just saw it come through his hands and I just tried to focus as hard as I could to make sure I got the ball."

Peterson led the Saints' receivers with three catches for 64 yards. Browne finished with 37 yards on three catches as well.

Both defenses began to clamp down as they headed into the second quarter.

Carroll senior linebacker Brandon Day picked off a pass by Komac, giving the quarterback with the most interceptions in the NAIA one more for his resume. Komack finished with two interceptions on the day, the second falling into the hands of freshman Ted Morigeau in the waning seconds of the game. Komac now has 11 on the season.

The Saints, meanwhile, went for it on fourth-and-1, but a scramble by Broadhead came up just short, giving Tech the ball on the Saints' 44-yard line.

"That was a stupid call by me," said Saints head coach Mike Van Diest. "We were at the midfield, we had the lead and we shouldn't have done that. I won't do it again."

The 'Diggers were forced to do the same, but on fourth-and-9 a pass to sophomore running back Drew Savage came up 2 inches short.

Carroll responded with a short run by sophomore John Camino, a 19-yard pass to Sloan and Le's second big run of the game. The 63-yard touchdown run gave the Saints a 21-7 lead with eight minutes left in the quarter and simply perplexed Tech head coach Bob Green.

"We hadn't seen that little bunch, crack, little set they ran for two touchdowns," Green said.

The Saints jumbled three receivers to one side and Le was able to break the other way unscathed.

Tech hoped to get some momentum to start the second half, but with Komac being brought down for a sack three times, and slipping to the grass for a fourth big loss, the 'Diggers only moved further backwards. They were stuffed for -4 yards of total offense in the third quarter.

"At halftime we all got together and we just said, 'Guys the only reason they got first downs and plays was because we gave it to them,' " said senior nose tackle Mike Paffhausen.

Meanwhile, Carroll made good on a 34-yard field goal by senior Zach Thiry and a 32-yard touchdown run by Broadhead, the first of his collegiate career.

He finished the game 12-for-21 and 145 yards through the air, but was sacked three times to hold him to five yards rushing.

Komac finished 21-for-35 with a touchdown to former Helena High receiver Alex Grevas. The 6-foot-5 senior, leapt up between two defenders to catch the 25-yard touchdown pass with 5:43 left in the game.

"All I have to do is throw it up there, he makes my job really easy," Komac said.

For Komac, it's the third time passing against the Saints since taking over the starting role midway through last season. He said it's always interesting playing against old teammates from Helena High like Day, who now has two interceptions against him.

As for Broadhead, who comes from Rupert, Idaho, he's just getting to know the rivalry that is considered the best in the NAIA.

"It was a great atmosphere and I was glad to come out for the seniors, for their last homecoming, and get a win like that," he said. "It's a big rivalry, we knew they'd bring their best game, and we played really well."

Montana Tech 7 0 0 6 - 13

Carroll College 14 7 10 0 - 31

First Quarter

CC - Gabe Le 56 run (Zch Thiry kick), 14:42

MT - Matt Komac 1 run (Sean Kelly kick), 8:44

CC - Corey Peterson 30 pass from Dane Broadhead (Thiry kick), 7:16

Second Quarter

CC - Le 63 run (Thiry kick), 8:00

Third Quarter

CC - FG Thiry 41, 7:03

CC - Broadhead 32 run (Thiry kick), 1:33

Fourth Quarter

MT - Alex Grevas 25 pass from Komac (pass failed), 5:43

MT CC

First downs 17 9

Rushes-yards 43-78 26-190

Comp.-Att.-Int. 23-38-2 13-23-1

Passing yards 236 160

Total yards 314 350

Punts-Ave. 7-31.0 5-41.0

Fumbles-lost 3-1 0-0

Penalties-yards 6-63 7-70

INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS

RUSHING - Tech, Komac 22-21, Drew Savage 11-48, Skyler Knuchel 8-7, Zach Soukup 1-3, Kyle Lewis 1-1, Team 1-(-2). Carroll, Le 8-169, John Camino 10-13, Broadhead 6-8, Christian Prosperie 1-2, Team 1-(-2).

PASSING - Tech, Komac 22-38-2-236. Carroll, Broadhead 12-21-0-145, Matt Ritter 1-2-1-15.

RECEIVING - Tech, Grevas 5-82, Soukup 5-51, Lewis 4-25, Savage 2-17, Justin Hansen 1-20, Jareth Wilson 1-6, Cole Berg 1-3, Knuchel 1-(-2). Carroll, Peterson 3-62, Travis Browne 3-36, Brian Sloan 2-27, Prosperie 2-11, Stevie Sloan 1-9, Marshall McEwen 2-15.

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