DECATUR, Ill. – The Carthage College football team improved to 4-0 on the road in 2016 as the Red Men made the long trip to Millikin University and left Frank M. Lindsay Field with a convincing 50-28 win.
 
The win moves the Red Men to 6-2 overall and 4-2 in the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, while Carthage sends Millikin to 4-4 and 3-3 in the conference.

"We came here and got a victory, which was nice!  We played inconsistently but did some good things and it will be a good ride back," said head football coach Mike Yeager following the win.  "I thought our special teams were outstanding today with some huge returns.  Pretty good coverage all day long with the exception of which was questionable.  Defensively, I thought we did well against the run.  They have some really nice receivers and a quarterback who makes it really tough.  You need to put yourself in position to bring some pressure to pull him up and if you do and aren't disciplined he will run on you… Offensively we had some nice runs and passes.  I thought the offense was pretty consistent all day."

Carthage tallied 421 yards of total offense in a balanced attack that saw the Red Men earn 158 yards on the ground and 263 through the air while limiting Millikin to 356 yards and just 3-of-9 on third down conversions.
 
An explosive opening few minutes gave the Red Men a 9-0 lead just 2:32 into the game.  First it was Friberg to Jamahl Wright all alone along the sideline, after an attempted Millikin blitz, which Wright walked in untouched.  On Millikin's ensuring drive the Carthage defense put a pair of points on the board after a sack by K.J. Simpson to back Millikin up their end zone, Greg Money met running back Kyle McMahon behind the line of scrimmage and took him down for a safety.
 
Simpson and Money combined again for the Red Men defense on Millikin's next possession as a completion by Gerald Perry was knocked away on a hit by Simpson that forced the ball out, which was recovered by Money.
 
Carthage turned it into seven points off the turnover as second-string quarterback Ethan Olles appeared in his first drive of the game and connected with Javier Rhoades for a 15-yard touchdown pass. 
 
Millikin answered defensively on the Red Men's next possession as the reigning CCIW Defensive Player of the Week, Matt Brown, intercepted Olles and returned it to the 35 yards for the pick-six and to cut the Red Men's lead to 20-17.
 
Once again Carthage would have the answer as Lafayette McGary, who nearly broke two returns for touchdowns earlier, finally got beyond the final defender and took the ensuing kick for a 99-yard touchdown return.  McGary finished the first half with three returns for 180 yards. 
 
Millikin used their next drive to once again cut the lead back to two at 23-21 as McMahon capped off an eight play, 3:31 drive with a five yard touchdown run.
 
A two-minute drill closed the half for the Red Men with Anzelmo rushing for a two-yard touchdown run with: 38 remaining in the second quarter to take a 29-21 lead into the break. 
 
Anzelmo finished as the leading rusher on the day with 12 carries for 54 yards and one touchdown.
 
Carthage caught a break on the opening drive of the second half by Millikin as Nicco Stepina was scrambling and took a broken play into the end zone but late pressure by Nick Ganzke caused Stepina to bounce the ball off his hip and fumble through the end zone to give the Red Men the ball.
 
Carthage would capitalize again off the turnover as Friberg connected with James Cobbs on a screen for 50 yards and the Red Men blocking led Cobbs to the end zone to give Carthage the biggest lead of the day at 36-21 following Lance Unland's PAT.
 
Friberg finished with a career best 179 yards and two touchdowns on 13-for-18 passing, while Olles was 6-of-8 for 84 yards and a touchdown.  Friberg and Olles used eight different receiver in the win, with James Cobbs being the top target with five catches for 130 yards.
 
From there it was all Carthage the rest of the way as touchdowns by Anthony Kudra and James Cobbs sealed a 50-28 win for the Red Men.  It was Anthony Kudra's first career touchdown for the offensive lineman.
 
Carthage returns to Art Keller Field with two games remaining on the regular season to face #5 North Central College on Saturday, November 5th at 1:00 p.m. on Senior Day.