Box score
The Carthage College football team (4-2, 1-2 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin), ranked 43rd in the Oct. 12 “D3football.com” poll, lost to CCIW-opponent and No. 14 North Central College (5-1, 3-0 CCIW), 63-48. on Saturday, Oct. 17 at Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis.
North Central jumped out to an 18-0 lead in the first period. A five-play, 80-yard drive to start the game gave the Cardinals a 6-0 lead at 12:50. Scott Skuteris intercepted Evan Jones’s first pass of the game, setting up a five-yard touchdown run by Phillip Rossberg at 10:58, and Nick Kukoc returned a blocked punt 18 yards for a score at 4:23. Carthage got on the board with a seven-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Jeff Koeneman at 2:41 first period to make it an 18-7 game.
North Central answered with a nine-play, 74-yard drive that culminated with a seven-yard carry by Pat Malek at 12:44 second period and 25-7 lead. On the third play of the next Red Men drive, Jones was intercepted by Josh McLeod, setting up a six-yard TD pass from Aaron Fanthorpe to Steve Hlavac at 10:45 for a 32-7 lead. Carthage put together a five-play, 82-yard scoring drive that ended with an 11-yard TD pass fro Jones to Rick Loisi at 8:29 that made it 32-14. A 91-yard interception return by Carthage’s Erik Solis at 6:26 second period cut the Cardinal lead to 32-21, but North Central came right back with an 11-play, 97-yard scoring drive. A 12-yard TD pass from Fanthorpe to Joe Antonacci with 18 seconds to play in the first half made it a 39-21 game at the break.
A 27-yard field goal by the Cardinals’ Morgan Sheridan at 12:31 third period gave North Central a 42-21 lead. The Reds Men responded with an 11-play, 78-yard scoring drive that ended with a 14-yard TD pass from Jones to Nick Merchut at 10:24, and the lead was 42-28. The Cardinals’ next drive stalled out on the Carthage 23-yard line, and the Red Men marched 67 yards for a touchdown that brought them within seven points, 42-35 at 14:54 fourth quarter. Jeff Koeneman’s nine-yard reception from Jones ended that scoring drive.
The two teams traded punts on the next two possessions, but the Cardinals took over on the Red men’s 26-yard line and scored four plays later on a nine-yard TD pass from Fanthorpe to Hank Johnston that upped North Central’s lead to 49-35 at 11:02. Still, the Red Men wouldn’t quit. A nine-play, 73-yard drive ended with an 11-yard touchdown pass from Jones to Jeff Koeneman at 8:59 that made it a seven-point game once again, 49-42. A 41-yard kick return by Nick Kukoc, coupled with a Carthage face mask penalty, gave North Central the ball on the Carthage 3-yard line. Five plays later, Fanthorpe hooked up with Johnston on a nine-yard TD pass that gave the Cardinals a 56-42 edge. An 80-yard interception return by North Central’s Kyle Haste with 1:40 to play upped the lead to 63-42. Carthage finally ended the scoring with a seven-play, 66-yard drive that ended with a six-yard scoring pass from Jones to Rick Loisi with 24 seconds on the clock.
The two teams combined for 1,152 total offensive yards and 63 first downs. North Central collected 571 yards, 337 rushing and 234 passing, while Carthage had 581 yards, just 19 on the ground and 562 in the air. Evan Jones completed 47-of-84 passes for a 562 yards (all three CCIW records), six touchdowns and four interceptions. Jeff Koeneman caught a school and Art Keller-record 15 passes for 140 yards and three touchdowns, while Nick Merchut caught 12 passes for 210 yards. Aaron Fanthorpe completed 20-of-37 passes for 234 yards and four touchdowns. Steve Hlavac caught nine passes for 117 yards. Pat Malek rushed for 120 yards on 16 carries, while Phillip Rossberg ran for 113 yards on 17 carries.
Carthage continued its assault on its own record book in the game, breaking or tying 10 school records, 10 Art Keller Field marks and six CCIW records. The Red Men travel to Rock Island, Ill., on Saturday, Oct. 25 to take on CCIW-opponent Augustana College (Ill., 3-3, 1-2 CCIW) in a 6 p.m. game at Ericson Field.