DILLON — For the first time in three seasons, Carroll College earned a win over Montana Western.

Quarterback Kaden Huot complete 22 of 36 passes for 349 yards and five touchdowns as the No. 14 Saints built a three-score lead in the second half and then fended off the No. 8 Bulldogs for a 42-34 victory.

The Saints improved to 5-1 overall and 2-0 in Frontier Conference West division play and are the only division member with an unbeaten record in divisional play.

The Bulldogs (4-2, 1-1) saw their four-game win streak snapped and were defeated by Carroll for the first time since 2022.

WATCH THE HIGHLIGHTS:

Kaden Huot throws 5 TD passes, No. 14 Carroll fends off No. 8 Montana Western

Western built a 14-6 lead in the first quarter before Carroll scored three unanswered touchdowns — a 75-yard scoring pass from Huot to Chris Akulschin, a 6-yard touchdown from Huot to Ty Wilkinson and a 7-yard score from Huot to Gavin Vandenacre — to take a 28-14 halftime lead.

Western answered in the third quarter on a 10-yard touchdown pass from Michael Palandri to Eli Nourse before the Saints then reeled off two more unanswered touchdowns on a 40-yard touchdown pass from Huot to Akuschin — who finished with eight receptions and 193 yards — and a 13-yard score from Huot to Carson Ochoa to lift the Saints lead to 42-29 with 2:57 left in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs then scored a pair of touchdowns on a 4-yard run from Aidan Lammers and a 26-yard pick-6 from Connor Dunlea to cut the deficit to a one score game at 42-34 with 7:43 left.

Then with under two minutes remaining and the Saints facing fourth and 2, Huot hurdled his way for the first down to ice the game.

Palandri completed 26 of 46 passes for 329 yards and three touchdowns against three interceptions. Seth Shook was Western’s leading receiver with 10 catches for 137 yards and a 39-yard touchdown in the second quarter. Nourse hauled in eight catches for 114 yards and two scores.

The Bulldogs will travel to play the College of Idaho next week while Carroll College will host Simpson (Calif.)

Montana trades its warm, breezy pattern for a colder, wintrier regime as a Pacific trough and a Canadian cold front meet over the state this weekend. Showers and a few rumbles of thunder pop Saturday, then colder air pours in Saturday night and organizes moisture against the terrain. The result is a widespread mountain snow event that peaks Sunday, with lingering orographic snow showers and early-week chill holding over the high country Monday. Confidence is highest along the northern Divide and Rocky Mountain Front, solid for the southwest and central ranges, and lower for broad valley impacts outside far northwest Montana.

Snow levels begin unhelpfully high on Saturday, then fall rapidly behind the front late Saturday night into Sunday. Expect roughly 9,000 to 12,000 feet during the day Saturday, stepping down to about 2,500 to 5,000 feet from northwest to southeast by daybreak Sunday. That opens a window for valley flakes in northwest Montana where easterly low-level flow squeezes moisture against the Divide. In and around Glacier National Park, upslope enhances snowfall while a quick flash-freeze risk rides the falling temperatures. Elsewhere, lower elevations trend wet and blustery until the colder air catches up, with accumulating snow favored from the foothills upward.

Totals favor the windward mountains with the northern Divide leading the way. Along the Continental Divide from Glacier through the Bob Marshall, a long, orographic-assisted hit can stack 12 inches or more on the upper peaks, with localized 18 to 24 inches where west flow aloft overlaps easterly surface winds. Valleys in far northwest Montana have a credible shot at 1 to 4 inches late Sunday night into Monday morning. Southwest and central Montana join the party with 4 to 12 inches near and above pass level in the Gallatin, Madison, Centennial, Little Belt, and Highwood ranges, while the Crazies can push toward 8 to 14 inches and the Absaroka/Beartooth toward 5 to 10 inches on favored slopes.

Timing runs clean from a showery Saturday into a colder, deeper Sunday, then a taper Monday. Saturday brings scattered showers and a few thunderstorms, then snow expands and lowers overnight as the Canadian front arrives. Sunday is the core snow day for the mountains and the best chance for a photogenic valley coating in the northwest. Monday taps the brakes to mountain snow showers with cold air lingering, then a cool and somewhat unsettled pattern hangs on into early next week. For turns, Sunday rides deepest, while Monday offers colder, cleaner snow on the upper mountain after the heaviest bands fade.