"This is an unbelievable team," said Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest. "Our coaches have thought all year that this is a special team. We didn't have one guy with ego. There are a lot of people that contributed (to this championship). It's a great team and one of the most fun to be around not because of the 15-0 record but to be at practice everyday was fun."

A steady rain that fell throughout the game held offensive numbers in check for both teams. Sioux Falls, which had averaged 474.2 yards per game entering Saturday's contest, had just 186 yards on the day, while Carroll was limited to 134 yards of total offense. In addition, the squads combined for nine turnovers, five of which were lost.

The Fighting Saints capitalized on a Cougar turnover to take a 3-0 lead midway through the first quarter. Shawn Holland recovered a fumbled punt at the Sioux Falls' 25-yard line. Six plays later, Marcus Miller booted a 25-yard field goal to give Carroll the early advantage. That turned out to be the only points of the first half as the two teams combined for just five first downs and 91 yards of total offense in the first 30 minutes of play.

On its first drive of the second half, Sioux Falls drove 80 yards in seven plays to take its only lead of the day. A 35-yard pass by 2007 Rawlings-NAIA Player of the Year Chad Cavender to Alex Anderson put the ball at the Carroll one-yard line. Ryan Lowmiller scored on the next play to give the Cougars a 6-3 advantage with 10:07 left in the third quarter.

Carroll answered by scoring on its next two drives, with Le providing a bulk of the workload. The Fighting Saints took the kickoff following the Sioux Falls touchdown and needed just five plays to regain the lead for good, 10-6. Le rushed for 34 of Carroll's 37 yards on the drive, including a 20-yard scoring burst with 7:26 left in the period.

Le then rushed for 24 yards on the Fighting Saints' next possession. His two-yard touchdown run with just 34 seconds left in the third period extended the Carroll lead to 17-6.

"Our offensive line came out with a little bit more urgency (in the second half) and we got it done," said Le. "Our line is really playing well. We were waiting for them to click and they turned it on in the playoffs when we needed it."

Sioux Falls rallied in the fourth quarter on a 27-yard field goal by Matt Lindgren with 2:37 remaining to help the Cougars pull within 17-9. Carroll recovered the onside kick, but the Sioux Falls' defense held and was able to force a punt. Zach Thiry's kick was downed at the five-yard line. Carroll's defense then held Sioux Falls without a first down and was able to run out the clock for the victory.

"We went out and threw it on the line and gave and effort out there today," said Sioux Falls head coach Kalen DeBoer. "We were hoping the ball would bounce the right way and get a turnover, get a big play. We did a couple of times but we didn't take advantage of it. When it bounced Carroll's way they did. I give them a lot of credit. They found a way to win."

For Sioux Falls, Cavender completed 12-of-30 pass attempts for 116 yards. His favorite target was Trey Erickson, who caught a game-high five passes for 27 yards. Carroll's John Barnett was 6-of-10 for nine yards on the day.

Carroll linebacker Owen Koeppen was selected as the Defensive Player of the Game, leading the defensive effort with six tackles, including one for loss, and a forced fumble. Brandon Day matched Koeppen with six stops, while Nick Milodragovich chipped in with five tackles and two pass break-ups. The Fighting Saints' defense also blocked two kicks in the game and recorded three quarterback sacks.

Trevor Holleman had a game-high 12 tackles to pace the Sioux Falls defense. Dominic Studzinski added nine tackles for the Cougars.