WAUKESHA, Wis. - As  Colton Bahling's last-second, high-floating Hail Mary pass was batted to the ground in the end zone amidst the driving rain, the Carroll University football team could only wonder what might have been.
It was a stunning conclusion to a promising day for Carroll as it lost to Elmhurst College 17-14 in a rain-soaked, windy College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin game at Schneider Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
With the disappointing homecoming loss in front of an enthusiastic, jam-packed crowd of spectators, the Pioneers lost their third straight while dropping to 1-2 in the conference standings and 1-4 overall.
Despite leading 14-3 at halftime, Carroll gradually watched the game slip away as the Bluejays answered with 14 points in the second half to complete a dramatic comeback.
Elmhurst, which scored seven points in both the third and fourth quarters, capitalized on a Pioneer fumble late in the contest, sealing a come-from-behind victory as senior running back Chris Ivers scored on a 1-yard-run with 1:39 remaining.
Facing heavy, driving rain and blustery wind, Carroll came up empty on its last two drives within the final two minutes, culminating in a last-second desperation pass to the end zone that fell incomplete.
"During the final two drives, we were excited and confident that we were going to move the ball downfield, put the ball in the end zone and come away with a victory," said Bahling, a junior quarterback from Belvidere, Ill. who completed 15 of 30 passes for 165 yards and rushed nine times for 35 yards with two touchdowns. "Unfortunately, things just didn't go our way today. Looking back, we had some struggles offensively and couldn't take advantage of some big opportunities in the red zone. When that happened, it ultimately killed the drives and we lost momentum.
"On the final pass, I took a hit but managed to get just enough on it to get the ball in the end zone and give us one more chance. At that point, I just waited for a moment and hoped to hear the roar of the crowd but it never happened. It was just a wild, exciting battle from start to finish. We fought hard for a homecoming victory and it just didn't work out this time."
Elmhurst scored on its opening drive of the contest as sophomore kicker Blake Bailey converted a 32-yard field goal with 5:05 remaining in the first quarter.
Carroll eventually answered as Bahling scored on a 19-yard run with 12:11 remaining in the first half to ignite a strong, 14-point second-quarter surge, capping a four-minute eight-play, 69-yard drive.
On the play, Bahling took the snap out of shot-gun formation, made a quick fake, sprinted hard toward the left sideline and dove over the pylon into the end zone.
Following a short punt at the end of the first half, the Pioneers took possession at the Elmhurst 20-yard line and scored seven plays later as a determined Bahling followed the push of his offensive line and found the end zone on a 1-yard, quarterback keeper with one second left.
Senior running back J.J. Keels (Melbourne, Fla.) had 18 carries for 67 yards for Carroll, which amassed 17 first downs and 310 yards of total offense. Junior wide receiver Parker Zitzke  (Waukesha, Wis.) contributed nine receptions for 88 yards and junior tight end David Meza (Berlin, Wis.) added four catches for 47 yards.
Elmhurst, which had 14 first downs and 242 total yards, trimmed the lead to 14-10 as junior quarterback Orlando Hernandez connected with sophomore wide receiver Jawan Gaines on a 42-yard touchdown pass with 1:34 left in the third quarter.
Hernandez completed 9 of 22 passes for 126 yards and a touchdown for Elmhurst, which improved to 2-2 in conference and 2-4 overall.
Junior defensive back Billy Krawczyk  (Lockport, Ill.) and junior cornerback Linzy Hudson (Milwaukee, Wis.) each had a team-high eight tackles for Carroll, which honored Carroll Athletic Hall of Fame inductees Darnell Marshall Jr., Kristin Igielski-Brown, Nathan Drury and Verallyn Cline during a half-time presentation. Junior cornerback Diquan Smith (Racine, Wis.) added an interception for the Pioneers.
Carroll head coach Mark Krzykowski was quick to point out that his team was prepared but struggled to execute in a few, key situations.
"It was an exciting, hard-fought game from beginning to end," said Krzykowski, a 1994 graduate of Carroll. "We had a good gameplan but just needed to execute better, generate more first downs and maintain possession on some big drives down the stretch. We worked hard to put ourselves in a good position to win it at the end but couldn't take advantage of the opportunities. It's an area we will continue to work on and attempt to learn from. This loss hurts so it should only serve as motivation to get better in the weeks to come.
Defensively, we took the ball away once but just couldn't come up with a few more with the game on the line. All in all, this continued to show the progress that we've made and I was very proud of the effort. The guys battled hard, played with pride and that's all we could ask for in the end."