WAUKESHA, Wis. – The Carroll University football team showed promise in the first half against a powerful Wheaton Thunder program, but the Thunder pulled away to a 48-13 victory on Carroll's Homecoming.
Austin Eichstaedt caught eight passes for 148 yards and a touchdown with a long of 62 yards.
Damon Loker recorded a team-high nine tackles and forced a fumble.
The Pioneers (3-3, 2-3 CCIW) were down just 13-21 at halftime after a touchdown drive late in the second quarter cut the game to one possession. The Pios combined for 237 yards of total offense, with 230 yards coming from
Michael Johnson, who completed 22-37 passes with two touchdowns, but a costly interception that led to a Thunder touchdown. The Thunder defense sacked Johnson eight times during the contest and allowed just seven yards rushing. Carroll stuck to their game plan, and held possession for 35:55 minutes, the most they've had the ball this season.
The first Carroll drive of the contest started with two drops, a sack, and a punt that went just 19 yards in a swirling wind. Wheaton recovered at the Carroll 27-yard line and scored a play later on a touchdown pass down the sideline. The Pios went three-and-out again on their next drive but forced the Thunder to turn the ball over on downs on four straight plays on the Carroll 37-yard line.
The Pios sustained their best drive at the 7:40 minute mark of the first quarter, picking up 38 yards on 11 plays, but
Demetrios Brillakis was forced to punt for the fourth time that quarter. Brillakis finished with nine punts for 233 yards and a long of 52. Wheaton scored four plays into the second quarter to take a 14-0 lead. Carroll started their next drive on their own 30-yard line and reached the end zone three plays later on a pass completion to
Austin Eichstaedt for the 62-yard score.
Wheaton picked up a huge fourth-down the next drive at the 50-yard line, which would lead to their next score six plays later with 8:53 remaining in the first half. Carroll marched downfield their next possession on a 16-play, 76-yard drive that lasted nearly eight minutes. Johnson passed for five first downs on the drive, and the Pios were perfect on third down. Johnson and
Trevor Hancock connected on a scramble drill play in the end zone for the three-yard score.
It had seemed the momentum was going in the favor of the Pioneers coming out of halftime, but after an opening drive rushing touchdown for the Thunder, a blocked punt on the Carroll 26-yard line was recovered by Wheaton in the end zone, and the Thunder scored 27 unanswered in the second half.
The Pioneers will play three out of their final four games on the road, starting next weekend, October 23 at Augustana. The Pios are 1-3 in their last four contests against the Vikings.
