When Polson residents watch No. 1 ranked Carroll College’s renowned football team battle for back-to-back championship wins against No. 2 ranked Sioux Falls this Saturday in Rome, Ga., they might recognize a few faces on their TV sets. Former Pirates Mac Gordon, Ted Morigeau and Bryce Picard will all be making the trip.

Growing up as young stars in Polson as the town’s football program matured, the three young men have found themselves in the midst of an extraordinary transition, as up-and-coming members of a Saints team that has gone leaps and bounds to become a league powerhouse and make an uncanny mark by advancing to the title game six out of the last seven seasons.

Starting Saints linebacker Gordon has played in the big game before. For special teams personalities Morigeau and Picard, after a year of red-shirting, it will be their first trip to the championship.

“I’m excited. Not many guys get a chance to go to a championship,” Morigeau said.

Morigeau is the team’s backup strong safety and hopes to start at the position in due time. As many of Montana’s recognizable high school players have been, Morigeau was a tailback in high school in addition to playing defense. Picard saw a similar transition, playing tailback for Polson and now filling in as a backup linebacker for the Saints. Picard also knows how it feels to watch a team go on the road for a championship while having to remain patient back in Helena.

“This weekend is going to be sweet,” he said.

Sweet as the taste of victory which Gordon already had a chance at the year before. As the team’s starting middle linebacker the year before and at present, the two-time all-conference athlete has brought a lot of attention to Pirate country. He played linebacker and tightend in purple just a few years ago. He remembers all the support he received back home when he paved the way for future Pirates to college ball in Helena.

“It meant so much always getting letters and e-mails from back home,” he said.

Gordon said he was the first Pirate to play for the Saints in his time, and still feels the connection to this day.

“It kind of made me feel like I had to prove a lot of things to the team,” he said. “I think my success, getting to be a linebacker early, has helped let people know that these Polson kids can play.”

Playing in Helena is a little different than Polson however, all three players agreed.

“Polson was great. Everyone knew everyone and they loved football,” Morigeau said.

But the intensity of the college football scene still took him by surprise.

“In Helena the town is completely for football. If you go around Carroll in your football sweatshirt someone will see you and come talk to you about football,” he said.

At the new level, the game changed for all three players.

“The speed of the game at in college is oustanding. Everyone is faster and everone is bigger. It’s a totally different, higher pace football game,” Picard said.

Gordon felt the major change was mental, the chess-like part of football that you don’t see in highlight runs but that stems from lots of concentration and an acute sense of a team’s systems.

“It has been a huge difference when it comes to the total mentality of the game and the demand for attention on the field,” Gordon said.

As Polson’s football program has become known for its discipline under Polson head coach Scott Wilson, so has Carroll’s program gained a reputation for strict enforcement of team policies on and off the field under Carroll head coach Mike Van Diest.

“Scott demanded a lot out of you and so does coach Van Diest,” Morigeau said.

Picard said at Carroll, discipline comes responsibility.

“Everyone has a job and everyone does their job. It was weird to see how team oriented we are. We don’t play as individuals. It’s always a team effort,” Picard said.

Having spent a little longer in the program and seen the way Carroll has remained so strong during his career so far, Gordon said the Saints’ active role in the community has helped strengthen the team. On and off the field, the players are to carry themselves with the same professionalism.

“We kind of like it in the end because it gives us a sense of responsibility and ownership,” Gordon said.

All three players are pursuing their careers in the midst of their football dreams. Gordon is hot on the trail of a business administration major while Picard studies business, finance and accounting. Morigeau is in his first year of the school’s nursing program, which both his grandmother and aunt have graduated from.

With game-time rapidly approaching, the athletes are primed for their next big step play in life. Of course, all three expect a game that has been predicted to be a defensive battle to produce another championship and they can’t wait until their chance to earn it.

One way or another their futures all look bright. Perhaps Picard said it best.

“Going from a little town like Polson, getting an education and playing football — there’s nothing more I can ask for,” he said.

The NAIA championship game is at 10 a.m. on Friday.