BLOOMINGTON, Ill. - The Carroll University football team's growing pains continued as it lost to No. 11-ranked Illinois Wesleyan 30-0 in a College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Tucci Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was the fourth consecutive loss for the Pioneers, who dropped to 1-3 in the conference standings and 1-5 overall.
Carroll responded to the challenge with a promising, confidence-building first half, limiting the high-powered Titans to an early second-quarter touchdown and trailed 7-0 at the intermission.
Illinois Wesleyan, which improved to 4-1 in conference and 6-1 overall, capitalized on good field position following a short Carroll punt and scored what proved to be the winning touchdown on a 14-yard run by junior running back Morgan Alexander with 13:46 remaining - capping a decisive five-play, 44-yard drive in the process.
Carroll, led by freshman quarterback Michael Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis.) who was making his first collegiate start, appeared to find its offensive rhythm with time winding down in the first half, generating a 15-play, 60-yard drive but came up empty on an incomplete fourth-down conversion pass attempt at the IW 15-yard line with four seconds remaining.
It became the turning point in the game as Illinois Wesleyan scored 23 unanswered points in the second half - including 13 points in the third quarter to ensure a homecoming victory.
Sophomore quarterback Brandon Bauer completed 16 of 25 passes for 228 yards and three touchdowns to lead IW, which amassed 19 first downs and 385 yards of total offense. Alexander rushed 24 times for 87 yards and a touchdown for the Titans, who posted their second shutout of the season and fourth straight victory.
Johnson, a 6-foot-3, 210-pound right-hander, completed 24 of 35 passes for 196 yards with two interceptions and was sacked six times in making his debut for Carroll, which had 11 first downs and 200 total yards in making its return to Bloomington, Ill. for the first time since 1991.
Senior wide receiver Brandon Ehrke (Deerfield, Wis.), who earned all-conference honors last year, contributed seven receptions for a team-high 69 yards and junior wide receiver Parker Zitzke (Waukesha, Wis.) added seven catches for 53 yards.
Junior defensive back Billy Krawczyk (Lockport, Ill.) and junior linebacker Lucas Wood (Potterville, Mich.) each registered a team-best six tackles for the Carroll defense, which limited IW to its lowest first-half point total of the season. Senior defensive end Neil Driscoll (Wilmot, Wis.) had a sack and junior defensive end Peter Kunesh (Manitowoc, Wis.) recovered a fumble.
Junior Austin Harter (Rockton, Ill.) punted seven times, averaging 38.4 yards  and placing one within the 20-yard line to pace the special teams.