NAPERVILLE, Ill. - Faced with the daunting task of competing against one of the best in the nation, the Carroll University football team entered with hopes of standing toe-to-toe, playing up to its potential and making progress.
Those hopes quickly faded as the Pioneers lost to high-powered North Central College 62-7 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was the sixth straight, frustrating conference loss for Carroll, which dropped to 0-6 in the league standings and 0-8 overall.
North Central, which celebrated homecoming by improving its first-place record to 6-0 in conference and 8-0 overall, entered the game ranked No. 6 in the latest American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division III national poll.
The Cardinals outscored Carroll 56-0 in the first half - including 29 unanswered points in the decisive opening quarter.
Freshman quarterback Broc Rutter was efficient throughout the day, completing 17 of 20 passes for 180 yards and four first-half touchdowns for North Central, which amassed 21 first downs and 438 yards of total offense - 250 yards coming on the ground.
Freshman running back Will Konneck rushed 11 times for 82 yards and three touchdowns for the Cardinals, who averaged 6.5 yards per play and converted on all six of its red-zone opportunities. Junior running back Austin Breunig followed with 11 carries for 69 yards, sophomore running back Jack Dibble had 13 carries for 68 yards and senior running back Oshayne Brown added six carries for 25 yards and two touchdowns.
Senior southpaw quarterback Kyle Burlingame (Waukesha, Wis.) completed 9 of 21 passes for 84 yards and a touchdown for the Carroll offense, which generated only eight first downs and 141 total yards in the contest.
Burlingame, who has passed for 1,436 yards and 14 touchdowns this season, connected with senior wide receiver Brandon Ehrke (Deerfield, Wis.) on a 2-yard pass to cap a nine-play, 65-yard drive with 6:20 remaining in the third quarter.
Ehrke, who finished with a team-high five catches for 35 yards versus North Central, has remained one of the top targets this year with 30 catches for 496 yards and nine TDs.
Sophomore wide receiver/running back Drake Pusateri (Lombard, Ill.) was the leading rusher with 19 carries for 57 yards for the Pioneers, who averaged 2.4 yards a play and converted 6 of 17 times on third down.
Junior linebacker Andrew Danculovich (Cudahy, Wis.) had a team-high 10 tackles, senior defensive lineman Peter Menges (Manitowoc, Wis.) had seven tackles and senior defensive back Aaron Mushall (Sussex, Wis.) added six tackles for Carroll. 
Junior defensive lineman Billy Douds, junior defensive lineman Emonte Logan and freshman linebacker Bryan Beauchamp each collected a sack for North Central. Senior defensive back Brandon Kibby had an interception for the Cardinals.