HELENA, Mont. – Headed into the 2009 season, questions abounded around the NAIA’s football dynasty that is Carroll College. With several key losses from last year’s team, particularly on defense, some wondered if the Saints could match the level of play established by a program that has won 5 of the past 7 NAIA crowns.

The No. 2-ranked Saints gave emphatic answers to any and every question that could be offered with a convincing 35-13 victory over Azusa Pacific before a crowd of 5,873 in Nelson Stadium Saturday afternoon.

“Carroll is a much-improved team from what we played at this time last year,” said Azusa Pacific head coach Victor Santa Cruz, who for the second year began a new campaign with a setback to the Saints. “They have a much bigger o-line, and Gary Wagner is a very fine quarterback. I anticipate them making a very good run again this year.”

Wagner, who was making his first appearance since early last year when a broken ankle ended his season just 5 quarters into it, looked mid-season sharp by completing 18-of-24 passes for 265 yards and 4 TDs in just 3 quarters of play. He threw TD passes over the middle for 29, 35 and 32 yards, his last one giving the Saints a 35-0 lead after its first possession of the second half.

“We weren’t able to secure over the top on defense,” said Santa Cruz. “We made some poor judgments and allowed big plays.”

The Saints scored on their second possession of the game when Wagner capped an 8-play, 73-yard drive with a perfect 29-yard strike to Christian Prosperie for the game’s first TD. It was the only advantage either team staked in what was an otherwise evenly-played first quarter.

However, the game took a drastic turn over the final 6 minutes of the first half as Carroll struck again and again and again with 21-point barrage that changed the complexion of the contest.

After a Jeff Deal 1-yard blast completed a 78-yard drive to double the Saint lead, Wagner found Prosperie again for a 35-yard touchdown to push the Carroll advantage to 21-0 with 1:49 remaining in the half.

The Cougars cautiously measured the Saint defense on the ensuing drive but Carroll forced a turnover with a Rick Myra fumble that Thomas Dolan recovered at the Cougar 30-yard line. Wagner made quick work with the 95 seconds of play remaining, first hitting Prosperie for a 19-yard pick-up and then scrambling to find Lat Wippinger in the back of the end zone on the following play with a 11-yard TD to give Carroll an insurmountable 28-0 lead at halftime.

“We played a solid first quarter,” added Santa Cruz, “but in the second quarter we couldn’t win first down on either side of the ball. Carroll wasn’t doing anything schematically that exposed big holes in our system. It was just a matter of our young guys better understanding our system and realizing that there is little margin of error against a team like Carroll.”

Twice in the first half Azusa Pacific had the Saints on their heels but let them escape out of third-and-13 and third-and-17 situations, both of which that continued drives that eventually resulted in Carroll’s first 2 TDs.

Carroll quickly dashed hopes of a Cougar comeback and ended the suspense in the final outcome when Wagner masterfully motored the Saints 79 yards downfield on the first drive of the second half, completing the attack with a 32-yard TD pass to Pete Richter for a 35-0 Saint lead with 10 minutes left in the third quarter.

Azusa Pacific averted the shutout on the fourth play of the fourth quarter when sophomore Matt Davis made an acrobatic catch of a deflected ball around a Saint defender and trotted the final 5 yards into the end zone for a 44-yard TD catch, the first of his college career.

The Cougars could not cash in on a Nick Armesto midfield interception (the first of his Cougar career) on the ensuing Saint drive, but later, with time closing out on the game, Cougar QB John van den Raadt hit Davis again, this time in perfect stride down the right sideline, and after Davis shed a would-be tackler off his back, he took the ball in for an 85-yard catch-and-run score.

Following in the footsteps of his older brother Cougar great Jon Davis who also posted his first collegiate TD at Carroll back in 2005, Matt finished with 4 catches for 165 yards and 2 TDs.

“With Jon being the go-to guy last year, Matt became more of a possession receiver for us,” added Santa Cruz, “but we knew he could do this. He is a good athlete, and it was good to see him make those type of catches.”

Carroll, which a year ago advanced to its sixth NAIA title game in 7 years, finished 528 yards of total offense, while the Cougars tallied 270.

“Considering how young we are, I knew this game was going to be a baptism by fire,” said Santa Cruz. “The good news is that we can fix the mistakes we made today. Our guys are energetic, and I get excited when I see their resiliency.”

Azusa Pacific makes its 2009 home opener next Saturday (Sept.) when the Cougars host the University of San Diego at 6:30 p.m. The game has been moved to nearby Citrus Stadium to accommodate what is expected to be the largest crowd in Cougar football history.