DECATUR, Ill. – The Carroll University football team fell for the first time in 2021 on Saturday night against the Millikin Big Blue by a score of 25-32. The Pioneers were fighting to come back late in the fourth quarter, but an interception and a turnover on downs sealed the victory for Millikin. Austin Eichstaedt, fresh off his national team of the week selection, caught six passes for 166 yards. Freshman linebacker Damon Loker finished with a team-high 12 tackles in the loss.
 
The Pioneers (2-1, 1-1 CCIW) put together 328 yards of total offense, but could not find a solid rushing attack, combining for -4 yards on the ground. Michael Johnson led the offense with 332 yards through the air, completing 22 of 39 passes for three touchdowns and one interception. The Pios converted just four times on their 10 drives, punting three times, and finishing 6-13 on third downs. Penalties hurt the Pioneers in specific parts of the game, with four penalties for 40 yards credited towards them.
 
Carroll jumped out of the gates quickly, scoring on their first possession in a six-play, 78-yard drive. Johnson completed two deep passes, first to J.R Muth for 23 yards, and capped off the drive with a 30-yard pass to Josh Hill for the score. Millikin responded with a calculated, 14-play, 69-yard drive to score, but failed to convert on the extra point. The Big Blue converted two third downs and a fourth down on that drive.
 
The Big Blue went up 13-7 just one play into the second quarter and converted on the extra-point try. The Pioneers were forced to punt on the next drive out but got a three-and-out stop on defense thanks to tackles by Nathan McMillan, Loker, and Wyatt Skipper. The Pioneers had a fourth and three on the Millikin 32 yards line, but failed to convert and turned the ball over on downs.
 
The first play from scrimmage in the second half by Millikin was a fumble recovered by Skipper to give the Pios possession on the Millikin 34-yard line. Johnson completed 3-5 passes on the five-play drive and found Muth in the end zone for the 8-yard score to take a 14-13 lead.
 
Millikin responded with a lengthy 12-play, 86-yard drive. The Pioneers wasted no time after the kickoff, as Johnson hit Eichstaedt in stride for a 66-yard bomb. The Pioneers converted a two-point conversion to take a 22-19 lead with 7:49 to play. Millikin came right back with an 80-play, 70-yard drive to take a three-point lead, but the leg of Jacob Laurent tied the contest just before the end of the third quarter on a 31-yard field goal.
 
Millikin grabbed the lead with 11:10 left in the game and held the Pios scoreless on their next two possessions. On a second and two on the Millikin 40 yard line, Johnson was looking deep for Eichstaedt, but was picked off at the five-yard line. Carroll got the ball back after forcing a punt and worked their way to the Millikin 35 yard line. A costly penalty on an ineligible man downfield led to a 4^th and 15 on the Millikin 40, and a pass thrown to Eichstaedt was incomplete in double coverage.
 
Carroll will reset and head home to take on North Central College, the number one team in the nation according to d3football.com's top-25 ranking, next week, October 2^nd at 1 PM.