ROCK ISLAND, Ill. - It wasn't the type of debut the Carroll University football team had envisioned for its long-awaited conference opener.
Competing in the College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin for the first time since 1991, Carroll lost 41-14 to traditional league and national powerhouse Augustana College at Charles D. Lindberg Stadium on Saturday evening.
The Pioneers, who dropped to 0-2 overall, trailed 20-14 at the end of three quarters but fell victim to 21 unanswered points over the course of the final 15 minutes.
Freshman running back Bobby Jarosz rushed for 72 yards and two fourth-quarter touchdowns to help break the game wide open for Augustana, which improved to 2-1 overall.
Sophomore quarterback Zachary Fuller completed 19 of 32 passes for 319 yards and a touchdown in leading the Vikings, who amassed 20 first downs and 470 yards of total offense.
Despite being down 13-0 in the second quarter, Carroll answered with back-to-back scoring drives to claim a brief lead.
Senior southpaw quarterback Kyle Burlingame (Waukesha, Wis.) completed 9 of 18 passes for 132 yards and a touchdown for Carroll, capping a 10-play, 75-yard drive by connecting with senior wide receiver Austin Piekarski (Island Lake, Ill.) on a 20-yard pass with 6:50 left in the second quarter.
Following a lost fumble by Augustana on its next possession, the Pioneers took a 14-13 lead as senior running back Bennett Kothe (Racine, Wis.) scored on a 1-yard run with 5:34 left in the first half.
The lead was short lived as Augustana sophomore linebacker Cassin Wolfe intercepted a Burlingame pass to set up what proved to be the game-winning touchdown - a 5-yard run by sophomore running back Ryan Pitra with 39 seconds remaining.
It proved to be the backbreaker as Carroll struggled to finish on potential scoring drives the rest of the way - including a missed 32-yard field goal by senior kicker Taylor Plehn (Pewaukee, Wis.) with 11:40 left in the third quarter.
Kothe had 15 carries for 72 yards for Carroll, which had 13 first downs and 221 yards of total offense. Piekarski made two catches for 48 yards and sophomore wide receiver Parker Zitzke (Waukesha, Wis.) had two catches for 54 yards
Sophomore defensive back Linzy Hudson (Milwaukee, Wis.) had seven tackles with junior defensive back Dillon O' Donoghue (Mundelein, Ill.) and junior linebacker Andrew Danculovich (Cudahy, Wis.) each adding six tackles to pace the Carroll defense. Senior defensive tackle Ethan Molisee (Brookfield, Wis.), senior linebacker Adam Sivia (Waukegan, Ill.), senior defensive end Peter Menges (Manitowoc, Wis.), junior defensive end Jordan Alonzo (Hayward, Calif.) and freshman lineman Declan Dilley (Racine, Wis.) each had a sack.
Senior linebacker Jack Asquini had a game-high 12 tackles and senior safety Frank Kalble had 10 tackles for Augustana.