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Carroll University Athletics

Scoreboard

Scoreboard

32
Winner Elmhurst College ELMHURST 1-2 , 1-1
30
Carroll CARROLL 1-2 , 0-2
Winner
Elmhurst College ELMHURST
1-2 , 1-1
32
Final
30
Carroll CARROLL
1-2 , 0-2
Score By Quarters
Team 1st 2nd 3rd 4th F
ELMHURST Elmhurst College 0 7 14 11 32
CARROLL Carroll 7 10 6 7 30

Game Recap: Football | | By Jeff Hagenau

Pios suffer heart-breaking loss in CCIW home opener

Carroll falls to Elmhurst 32-30

WAUKESHA, Wis. - The loud, enthusiastic cheers for a potential victory echoing throughout the stands quickly turned into stunned silence and thoughts of what might have been.
That was a fitting way to describe the sudden change of events as the Carroll University football team lost to Elmhurst College 32-30 in a wild, tension-filled College Conference of Illinois-Wisconsin home opener at Schneider Stadium on Saturday afternoon.
It was the second consecutive conference loss for Carroll, which dropped to 0-2 in the highly contested league standings and 1-2 overall in front of the large crowd.
With time winding down in the action-packed barn-burner, the Pioneers attempted a victory-clinching 18-yard field goal but missed wide right with 19 seconds remaining.
It was a heart-breaking end to a seemingly apparent 12-play, 64-yard game-winning drive - which consumed 3 minutes, 54 seconds but stalled at the Elmhurst 1-yard line - including three attempts to score beginning with a first-and-goal situation from the 10-yard line.
The critical, game-changing final sequence of plays began with a 1-yard run by junior running back Isaac Allen (Monroe, Wis.), was followed by an 8-yard misdirection jet-sweep run around the right side by freshman wide receiver Keon Miller (Richland Center, Wis.) and capped by an ill-fated third-down pass attempt into the back of the end zone. 
Carroll, which amassed 21 first downs and 333 yards of total offense, converted just 5 of 13 times on third down in the contest.
Senior back-up quarterback Treylon Anderson (Baker, La.) completed 8 of 14 passes for 94 yards and two touchdowns with an interception, in replacing injured junior starter Michael Johnson (Milwaukee, Wis.) with 8:34 remaining in the third quarter.
Trailing 29-23 early in the fourth quarter, Anderson connected with sophomore wide receiver Gabriel Yager (Racine, Wis.) on a 22-yard touchdown pass to reclaim a one-point lead with 7:35 left in the game.
On the play, Anderson took the snap out of shotgun formation, stepped up in the pocket, evaded a sack while rolling out to his left and threw a high-floating pass to Yager.
"After seeing the rush, I just spun out of it, managed to break away from the defender and kept my feet moving," Anderson said. "That's when I noticed Gabe downfield, made the throw and he finished by taking it into the end zone."
After initially throwing an interception on his first drive of the game, Anderson continued to demonstrate his toughness and confidence in leading the team down the stretch.
"I just tried to take one play at a time, not get too outside of myself and do what I needed to do to help the team," he added. "After throwing a pick, I really appreciated how my coaches and teammates continued to put their trust in me and lifted my spirits on the sideline. As that happened, it helped to settle me down and I was able to go back in and focus on every drive the rest of the way. There were a few jitters on the first drive but then I just started playing ball.
"We're never satisfied with losing but it felt pretty good to be able to come in when my name was called and step up to the challenge. This effort should give us confidence because it showed that we can execute and move the ball down field when we do things the right way."
Elmhurst answered with an eight-play, 72-yard scoring drive on its ensuing possession resulting in a 19-yard field goal by freshman kicker Matt Burns to regain a 32-30 lead with 4:13 remaining - ultimately setting the stage for the game's dramatic finish.
"I'm proud of the effort and how we were able to stick right in it until the very end," said Carroll ninth-year head coach Mark Krzykowski, of the emotional, gut-wrenching loss. "It really didn't come down to any one play. We had our share of opportunities throughout the whole game.
"We had a lot of guys step up as the result of some unfortunate injuries and took a next-man up mentality. They stayed together and put themselves in a good position to win it. In this conference, we have to continue to create chances and make the most of them at the end. There's no doubt about it that this one is going to hurt but we just have to rebound from it. We're going to stick together as a family, keep working hard and focus on preparing for next week."
Johnson completed 13 of 18 passes for 136 yards and two touchdowns but was sacked five times before leaving the game with an injury in the third quarter.
Sophomore wide receiver Alex Kujawa (Oshkosh, Wis.) finished with a team-high eight receptions for 115 yards and two touchdowns for Carroll, which led 17-7 at halftime and was successful on 4 of 5 red-zone touches. Freshman wide receiver Austin Eichstaedt (Cudahy, Wis.) had six catches for 52 yards and a touchdown for the Pioneers.
Senior running back Treston Womack rushed 23 times for 123 yards and two TDs for Elmhurst, which improved to 1-1 in conference and 1-2 overall.
Senior quarterback Jake Tahaney completed 9 of 19 passes for 84 yards for the Bluejays, who had 14 first downs and 321 total yards.
Junior linebacker Justin Kontny (West Allis, Wis.) registered 12 tackles, senior defensive back Justin Robles (Rockford, Ill.) collected seven tackles and junior defensive back Sean Schmidt (Manteno, Ill.) had six tackles in leading the Carroll defense. Junior lineman Kyle Julius (Frankfort, Ill.) had four tackles with a sack and forced a fumble.
Stay up to date on Carroll football this season by going online to www.gopios.com, or by following the Pioneers on Facebook (Carroll University Athletics), Twitter (@pio_athletics), and Instagram (@pio_athletics).

 
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