Game Notes at WashU

WAUKESHA, Wis. - After winning their season-opening game for the sixth consecutive year, defeating UW-Stout 28-16 for the Pios' first win against a WIAC team since 1978, Carroll's football team will turn their attention to the always tough conference slate ahead of them. The nine-game CCIW schedule will begin on Saturday when Carroll makes the trek to St. Louis, Mo. to battle WashU, whom has won all five meetings against the Pioneers in this series, which dates back to 2018.

"We played complimentary football in our season-opener, but can't get complacent with where we're at. We must continue to build as we progress through the year," Carroll Head Football Coach Mike Budziszewski said. "The largest growth in a team usually happens between weeks one and two because you knock the rust off and get back at it. We will play another challenging opponent this week, and we need to go out and play a good football game."

Two standouts for the Pioneers in game number one were Linebacker Damon Loker and Punter Noah Streveler, whom were named CCIW Defensive and Special Teams Student-Athlete of the Week, respectively, for their performance. Loker played a key role in yielding just 91 rushing yards to UW-Stout, while leading the Pios with 11 tackles (1.5 for loss) and three quarterback hurries. His 198 career tackles are currently 45 shy of breaking into the top five in that category in program history.

Streveler was just as impactful, averaging 44.7 yards on seven punts, including a long of 56. Three of his punts pinned Stout inside their own 20-yard line, as Streveler also earned a spot on the D3football.com National Team of the Week.

"Noah changed the game by flipping the field position, and any time we can do that, it'll give our team a better chance to win," Budziszewski said. "Damon is also playing really good football right now. He's fast, physical, and sees everything quickly. Anytime we have someone like him running the defense from the linebacker position, he'll have an opportunity to do something really special."

Another standout in Carroll's first game was junior quarterback Caden Pendleton. Making his first career collegiate start, the Kimberly, Wis. native completed 17-of-25 passes for 212 yards, four touchdowns, and zero interceptions. He also served as the team's leading rusher, carrying the ball six times for 24 yards (4.0 ypc).

"We wanted to establish the run game, but UW-Stout's run defense was very good all night," Budziszewski said. "We tried to stick to the run, but when we needed to throw the ball, Caden did a tremendous job. We prepared our team very well for that first game, much like we're doing this week, so he's prepared to go down to WashU and continue to do what he has been doing."

The Pioneers will take on a WashU team that finished last season with a 6-3 conference record. The Bears earned a 44-20 victory in their season-opener against non-conference foe Rhodes College. Trailing by three points at halftime, WashU rallied to outscore Rhodes 34-7 after halftime. The Bears finished that game with 431 yards of total offense, including 289 through the air.

Not only will Carroll have to battle a tough WashU squad, but with the temperature expected to be close to 90 degrees in St. Louis Saturday afternoon, the Pioneers will also have to battle Mother Nature.

"It's going to be hot and humid, so we will prepare our bodies for that," Budziszewski said. "We just need to play our brand of football and the team that makes the fewest amount of mistakes is going to win this game."

Last year's meeting between these two teams resulted in a 35-23 WashU victory to end the 2023 season, which marks the closest deficit of the five all-time meetings. Budziszewski and WashU Head Coach Aaron Keen are both in the fifth season with their respective team, with each coach boasting a career winning percentage of at least .554.

"Coach Keen does a great job with his program, and they'll be very similar to UW-Stout in that they will play hard in all three phases of the game, so we'll have to play a complete game to bring home a victory," Budziszewski said. "We have to face whoever we have on our schedule and no matter what circumstances we face, we will have to overcome that."

Kickoff is set for 1 p.m. Saturday from Francis Olympic Field. The game can be seen live at https://washubears.com/watch/?Live=390&type=Live.