KENOSHA, Wis. – The Carthage College football team (1-3, 0-1 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) took on the Titans of Illinois Wesleyan University (4-0, 1-0 CCIW) at Art Keller Field on Saturday, Oct. 3rd.  A cool and windy day with packed stands made for an exciting match between the CCIW rivals.
 
Illinois Wesleyan had the kickoff to start the game, which provided the opportunity for Carthage's Richard Motter to return the ball 41 yards to the Carthage 44-yard line and set up the Red Men with fantastic field position. Carthage was able to convert on a fourth-and-two play to place the ball on the Wesleyan 18-yard line. A few plays later, Tristan Peterson scored a touchdown on a one-yard rush, giving Carthage the 7-0 lead.
 
On the Titan's first drive of the game Jack Warner threw a pass that was intercepted by Carthage's Shawntrel Garner at the Carthage 24-yard line.
 
On Carthage's second play of the ensuing drive Nick Anzelmo rushed for 25-yards and ran through the Titan's safety Kevin Slawkowski to take the ball into Wesleyan territoy. Following the play, an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Illinois Wesleyan moved the ball to the 32-yard line. Carthage however would turn the ball over to the Titans on downs following an incomplete pass fromBobby Suchecki to James Cobbs III on fourth-and-seventeen.
 
After a short drive to start the second quarter by Illinois Wesleyan, Carthage took control of the ball with 14:50 remaining in the half. The Red Men were able to move the ball to the Wesleyan 36-yard line when Anzelmo would be forced to punt 30-yards to the Titan's 6-yard line.
 
Illinois Wesleyan would complete four plays for 53-yards before punting the ball into the Carthage end zone, giving the Red Men the ball on their own 20-yard line.
 
Suchecki started the drive for the Red Men with a 21-yard pass to Marquis Hines Jr. to place the ball at the Carthage 31-yard line. The Red Men quickly found themselves in a fourth-and-one situation on the 50-yard line with 8:53 left in the first half. Anzelmo was able to rush the ball nine-yards to the Wesleyan 41-yard line earning Carthage the first down. Carthage didn't fare as well on the remainder of the drive as Fred McCann had to punt the ball 36-yards to the Wesleyan seven-yard line.
 
On their next drive the Titans would connect on a third-and-one situation, as Warner would complete a pass to Artie Checchin for 37-yards to place the ball at the Carthage three-yard line. An unsportsmanlike conduct penalty by Carthage moved the ball half the distance to the goal, and set up a one-yard rush by Austin Harrell to cut thre Red Men lead to 7-6. The PAT was no good.
 
Carthage started their final drive of the first half with 30-seconds left on the clock at their own 35-yard line. Suchecki completed a 13-yard pass to Hines, followed by a 4-yard pass to London Townsend to move the ball into Illinois Wesleyan territory. After an incomplete pass to Tommy Bazarek, Suchecki connected with Townsend on a 46-yard pass to the two-yard line. With three seconds remaining in the half, Anzelmo would take a quarterback keeper up the middle to score at the halftime whistle. The PAT was good by Lance Unland, putting Carthage up 14-6 going into halftime.
 
The Titan's completed 10 plays for 49-yards in their first drive of the second half which ended in a field goal by Michael Kelley, making the score 14-9 Carthage.
 
On Carthage's next drive, Wesleyan's Brinton Wilkey intercepted a pass by Suchecki at the Carthage 48-yard line. However, the Titans were unable to convert on their drive and punted after three plays and a loss of four yards. Following the punt the Titans committed a personal foul that moved the ball to the Carthage 45-yard line.
 
Carthage capitalized on the penalty and after three rushing plays by Peterson totaling 11-yards, Suchecki was able to complete a 20-yard pass to Javier Rhoades placing the ball at the Titan's 24-yard line. Carthage then found themselves in a fourth-and-nine situation after multiple failed plays and chose to attempt the field goal. Unland completed the field goal from 41-yards, increasing Carthage's lead to 17-9.
 
Carthage's Cedrick Fry sacked Wesleyan's Warner for a loss of 12-yards on their first play of the drive, moving the ball back to the Titan's own 20-yard line. Following an incomplete pass, Warner completed a 27-yard pass to Adam Muellers, earning the first down. After a 5-yard rushing loss by Kieron Swain, Warner completed a 26-yard pass to Harrell and moved the ball to Carthage's 32-yard line, ending the third quarter.
 
The Titan's appeared to struggle on the field as they continued their drive at the start of the fourth quarter. After Harrell rushed for six-yards, Warner threw two incomplete passes and the Titan's lost five-yards due to an ineligible receiver downfield. Warner then threw another incomplete pass intended to Checchin on a fourth-and-nine situation, turning the ball over to the Red Men at the Carthage 31-yard line.
 
Townsend completed three rushing plays totaling 11-yards and earned Carthage a first down at their own 42-yard line. Anzelmo then rushed for 10-yards, before rushing for a seven-yard loss. Suchecki then reentered the game and completed an 11-yard pass to Townsend. Cobbs III then rushed 10-yards, moving the ball to the Illinois Wesleyan 34-yard line and earned the first down. Following multiple rushing plays and a conversion on fourth down, Wesleyan's Tyler Fahey forced a fumble by Townsend. Timmy Smith recovered the fumble for Wesleyan at their own 22-yard line.
 
The Titans were able to score a touchdown on their next drive on an 18-yard pass from Warner to Checchin. The two-point conversion attempt following the touchdown was unsuccessful. The Red Men were now only leading the Titans by two points, 17-15.
 
The Titan's Kelley attempted an on-side kick, and Checchin recovered the ball for Illinois Wesleyan at their own 47-yard line. After an incomplete pass, Warner completed a 21-yard pass to Checchin, moving the ball to the Carthage 32-yard line. Warner then threw a 5-yard pass to Andrew Javorka and a 13-yard pass to Checchin, placing the ball at the 14-yard line. Maurice Shoemaker-Gilmore then rushed the ball 4-yards to the 10-yard line and the Titans called a timeout with 16-seconds remaining in the game. On the first play after the time out, Warner connected with Checchin on a 10-yard pass into the end zone making the score 21-17 and secured the Titan's win over the Red Men.
 
"We had opportunities and we controlled the game for three and a half quarters and then at the end we had a couple of crucial plays that we needed to make and we didn't do it," said Head Coach Mike Yeager, "It was a tough one … you've got to make the plays too and be in the position you're supposed to be in and we didn't do that. You know, obviously we had the opportunity to get the ball back on the kickoff. We didn't do that. We turned the ball over so it's just a multitude of things that we've got to get fixed that should have allowed us to win the game."
 
Carthage completed 338 offensive yards, 176 rushing and 162 passing, compared to Illinois Wesleyan's 365 yards, 71 rushing and 294 passing. Suchecki completed 12-of-17 passes, totaling 162 yards and threw one interception. Townsend rushed for a total of 87 yards on 15 carries along with three catches for a total of 61 yards. Anzelmo rushed for 40 yards and earned one touchdown.
 
"[Nick Anzelmo] does a nice job running our little package that we have there with him and running the ball, throwing the ball," said Yeager, "He's a physical kid, he's a great leader, a great kid and had some key plays for us today."
 
"You only get so many opportunities," stated Yeager when asked about how the team will continue to build after the heartbreaking loss, "You can't play the blame game. It happened. We're going to learn from it, move on, and have a great week … anytime you lose it hurts, when you lose like this yeah it hurts, but I know we'll bounce back."
 
The Red Men travel to Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, Ill. to take on CCIW opponent Elmhurst College on Saturday, Oct. 10th at 2 p.m. Carthage's next home game will be on Saturday, Oct. 17th at 7 p.m. on Art Keller Field.