Tennessee is calling, and the Carroll College football team has answered.

In two weeks, the No. 2 Saints will be headed to Savannah, Tenn., for another shot at the NAIA championship after defeating No. 5 St. Francis (Ind.) 23-7 Saturday in a semifinal game at Nelson Stadium.

It was the fourth time the two teams met up in the playoffs, and the fourth time the Cougars finished a season empty-handed.

The Saints defeated them in the 2004 and 2005 national title games as well as the 2003 semifinal on their way to four straight championships.

Now, Carroll will have to prepare as it finds out the winner between Sioux Falls (S.D.) and Missouri Valley College semifinal that was postponed until today.

"This team deserves it," said Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest. "We played well every time we played them, we played great defense every time we played them and I think that's been the real key.

"Today the offense was able to run the football, and boy, the offensive line and defensive lines need to be congratulated."

Facing the fifth-ranked rushing offense in the nation, the Saints dominated the line of scrimmage. The Cougars, with four running backs sharing snaps, were able to pick up just 87 yards on the ground as junior linebacker Owen Koeppen once again led the Saints with eight tackles and a forced fumble to gain defensive player of the game honors.

"Our coach put us in great position all the time and our defensive line really controlled the line of position," Koeppen said

The offense didn't do bad either.

After Carroll gave up an early touchdown on junior quarterback Jeff Wedding's 72-yard touchdown pass to Bo Thompson, the Saints' offensive line began manhandling the Cougars and opened up all kinds of room for sophomore running back Gabe Le.

He carried eight times on the next possession, breaking for three first downs and setting up senior Marcus Miller for his first of three field goals at the 4:42 mark.

Le would finish with 94 yards in the first half and 154 on the game.

Miller, meanwhile, nailed two more field goals by the end of the half and the Saints defense held the Cougars to short yardage each series, rallying to a 9-7 lead at the break.

Carroll held St. Francis to three-and-out on the first series of the second half and then found success through the air. After Saints' senior quarterback John Barnett hit senior Dan Lovin on a wide receiver screen, Le broke through the center of the line for 8 more. A 22-yard pass out left to junior Travis Browne brought them to the 3-yard line, and from there Barnett was able to punch it in, stretching over the top of the offensive line.

It took until the 8:45 mark in the third quarter, but the Saints got their first touchdown on the day for a 16-7 lead.

"They did a great job," Barnett said about his offensive line. "We got man-handled that first drive. We had to really step on that accelerator and they did a great job when we got into our two-tight end set."

The Saints defense followed up the score when Koeppen cracked Thompson along the sideline, forcing a fumble. Senior defensive end Phil Lenoue came up with the ball, but three plays later senior receiver David Whitmoyer would take a hit along the sideline, popping the ball free once more. The Cougars regained control but it was short-lived.

The Saints fumbled three times in the game, giving it up just that once. Thompson would drop the ball twice for St. Francis, both times getting picked up by a Carroll player.

The Cougar defense began to clamp down on Le and the running game. After two short runs and a false start, the Saints found themselves on third-and-12. But with a safety trailing him to the inside, junior receiver Brian Sloan cut outward to find the perfect spiraling ball fall right at his hands. Sloan broke away for a 65-yard touchdown, his first of the year.

"I knew I had (the defender), but he tried to get underneath it," Sloan said. "John just threw it hard enough that he couldn't make a play on it."

"It was a great ball, it was on the money," Van Diest said. "And Brian did a great job stretching out and catching it. He's an unsung hero and he's unselfish."

Barnett finished the game 14-for-24 for 177 yards with no interceptions while Sloan's 75 yards on two receptions led the team in yardage. Dan Lovin and David Whitmoyer finished the game with four catches for 22 and 17 yards, respectively. Browne finished with 57 yards on three catches.

Heading to their fifth national championship game in six years, the Saints have grinded their way to a 14-0 record with heavy thanks to a strong group of seniors.

"We couldn't do it without the senior class, they're very special and there's a bunch of them that have come from different places," Van Diest said.

That goes from players like defensive linemen Nick Gilchrist and Will Hamilton, who both transfered to the Saints from other colleges, to players like corner Nick Milodragovich, who has been on the field since he was a true freshman and showed one of his strongest performances on Saturday.

"Nick Milodragovich I thought was a great player too," Van Diest said. "He had an interception and caused a fumble, he shut down their guys on the outside, and you just can't say enough about those two corners."

"It was just phenomenal how well they played."

After having their last four games in the cold confines of Nelson Stadium, the Saints can't wait for the warmth that awaits them in Tennessee.

"Nothing sweeter than Tennessee especially for your last game," Barnett said. "Being the last game in Nelson Stadium, I'm never going to be able to suit up in that locker room for a game, never going to be able to prepare like you have. It's nice to come off with a W, and come off with a complete game."

One year after the Saints fell short in the quarterfinals with a 14-7 loss, Barnett has now guided them back to the title game.

"For two years I think they've had that hanging over his head about Tyler Emmert taking us to Tennessee," Van Diest said. "Well, John Barnett's taken us to Tennessee as well. I'm proud of him."

St. Francis 7 0 0 0 - 7

Carroll 3 6 7 7 - 23

First Quarter

SF - Thompson 72 pass from Wedding (Rhys kick), 9:56

CC - FG Miller 27, 4:42

Second Quarter

CC - FG Miller 27, 14:46

CC - FG Miller 27, 8:13

Third Quarter

CC - Barnett 1 run (Miller kick), 8:45

Fourth Quarter

CC - Sloan 65 pass from Barnett (Miller kick), 10:42

USF CC

First downs 10 21

Rushes-yds 26-87 55-174

Passing yds 166 177

Return yds 88 79

Comp-Att 14-28-1 14-24-1

Sacked 1-8 1-8

Punts 7-35.1 4-39.8

Fumbles-lost 2-2 3-1

Penalties 2-25 5-60

Possession 21:02 24:56

INDIVIDUAL STATS

RUSHING - USF, Vieck 5-34, Carter 8-27, Rush 6-17, Wasylk 3-8, Wedding 4-1. CC, Le 39-154, Camino 5-21, Barnett 5-15, Lovin 1-9, Herrin 3-5. TEAM 1-(-24).

PASSING - USF, Wedding 14-28-1-1 166. CC, Barnett 14-24-0-1 177.

RECEIVING - USF, Thompson 5-86, Rainey 2-27, Schultz 2-14, Carter 2-0, Cassidy 1-16, Rhodes 1-12, Vieck 1-11.

MISSED FIELD GOALS - CC, Miller 45.