Box Score
The Carthage College football team (4-1, 1-1 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 43rd in the Oct. 12 “D3football.com” poll, outlasted CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (3-2, 0-2 CCIW), 45-38, on Saturday, Oct. 10 at Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, Ill.
The Red Men scored first on a 77-yard touchdown pass from Evan Jones to Nick Merchut at 8:35 first quarter, capping a three-play, 83-yard scoring drive. Elmhurst tied the score, 7-7, on a 28-yard yard touchdown pass from Joe Furco to Ryan Bock, at 2:29 first period. On the next Carthage series, Evan Jones was sacked by Ryan Johnson and fumbled. The Bluejays’ Randy Wright collected the ball and carried it 20 yards for a touchdown, and Elmhurst led, 14-7, at 1:24. A four-yard TD carry by Jake Smith with one second remaining in the period knotted the score at 14-14. Smith’s touchdown run capped an eight-play, 70-yard drive.
The Red Men took a 21-14 lead at 11:45 second period when Chris Schulz, on a reverse, threw to Jeff Koeneman for a 33-yard touchdown. The Bluejays tied the game, 21-21, at 6:51 second period on a 10-yard pass from Furco to Blake Veldhuis. The Bluejays went up, 28-21, with 2:10 to play in the half. A 45-yard catch by Ryan McGuire set up a one-yard TD pass to from Furco to Les Cisler, and that capped an eight-play, 90-yard drive. The Red Men knotted the score, 28-28, with 53 seconds left in the half on an eight-yard TD pass from Jones to Jake Smith. Elmhurst made it 35-28 contest just before the half ended when Nick Herrera scored on a three-card carry with five seconds remaining.
A 44-yard field goal by Tyler Funk at 12:19 third period cut the Elmhurst lead to 35-31. Carthage took the lead for good, 38-35, at 4:14 third period on a 13-yard TD catch Jeff Koeneman. A 34-yard catch by Chris Schulz set up the Red Men’s scoring drive. Carthage went up by 10 points, 45-35, at 10:20 fourth period on three-yard carry by John Seigler that ended a five-play, 85-yard drive. Tyler Lomnicki’s 25-yard field goal at 6:18 cut the Red Men’s lead to seven, 45-38, and that ended the scoring.
Carthage rolled up 517 total offensive yards, 508 passing but just nine yards rushing, while Elmhurst had 472 total yards, 214 on the ground and 258 in the air. Evan Jones completed 34-of-48 passes for 475 yards and three touchdowns. Jeff Koeneman caught 13 passes for 155 yards, while Nick Merchut caught six for 134 yards. The Bluejays’ Joe Furco completed 23-of-42 passes for 258 yards and three touchdowns. Nick Herrera rushed for 108 yards on 12 carries. Carthage plays host to CCIW-opponent and No. 14 North Central College (4-1, 2-0 CCIW) on Saturday, Oct. 17 in a 6 p.m. game at Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis.