And now the real season gets underway. The Carthage College football team (1-2, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) opens conference play next week after closing out its last three-game non-conference schedule with a come-from-behind, 29-28 win over Lakeland College (1-2) at John Taylor Field in Howards Grove, Wis. The game was played on an unseasonably-cool day, with temperatures in the upper 60s, amidst the cornfields adjacent to the Lakeland athletic complex.
The win over the Muskies ended the Lakeland series after 20-straight meetings. Carroll University (Wis.) rejoins the CCIW in 2016, eating up one of the Red Men's non-conference games. Carthage's other two non-league tilts next year will be Aurora University and Bethel University (Minn.).
Lakeland opened the game with a curious on-side kick, which Carthage recovered at the Muskies' 49-yard line. Ten plays later, at 10:53, a 15-yard touchdown pass from Bobby Suchecki to Tristan Peterson gave Carthage a 7-0 lead. Lakeland tied the game, 7-7, at 4:45 first period with an 84-yard scoring drive that ended with a 37-yard touchdown pass from Michael Whitely to Kezlow Smith. The next Carthage drive ended when James Cobbs III attempted a deep pass to Marcus Hines Jr. but was intercepted by Christopher Dickson, the Red Men's seventh intercepted pass of the year.
A Lakeland fumble set up a Carthage scoring drive early in the second period. A 59-yard touchdown run by London Townsend on a fourth-and-one play put Carthage back up, 14-7, at 12:06 second period. A 34-yard touchdown grab by the Muskies' Dezmen Morse at 7:54 second quarter tied the game, 14-14. The Muskies' scoring drive probably shouldn't have happened. A roughing-the-passer call on Carthage's Terrance Allen on a third-and-12 play early in the drive kept Lakeland out of an obvious punting situation.
Two more costly Red Men penalties led to a Lakeland scoring drive in the final seconds of the first half. On a fourth-and-seven play with 21.6 seconds left, Carthage's Richard Motter was called for holding, followed by a Carthage encroachment call. With 6.7 seconds remaining, Lakeland's Michael Esiobu hauled in an 18-yard touchdown pass after shoving defender Joey Pausa out of the way in the corner of the end zone. The touchdown pass from Michael Whitely was the third of the half for the Lakeland quarterback. The point-after was blocked, but Lakeland took its first lead, 20-14, at halftime. The Red Men were whistled eight times for 73 penalty yards in the first half.
Carthage re-gained the lead, 21-20, at 9:53 third quarter with an eight-play, 78-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 10-yard carry by Cobbs for the touchdown. An 11-yard keeper by Whitely at 7:35 third period, along with a two-point conversion, put Lakeland back up. 28-21. Lakeland fumbled and recovered a punt return late in the third period, and the Muskies started the drive on their own two-yard line. Lakeland got out of jail with a 47-yard reception by Kezlow Smith that moved the ball to midfield.
Late in the game, Carthage put together an extended drive. With a fourth-and-goal situation at the Muskies' 26-yard line, Bobby Suchecki completed a 25-yard pass to Alexander Lemon, a yard short of the goal line. Lakeland took at its own one-yard line, but on the very next play, Carthage's K.J. Simpson tackled Whitely in the end zone for a safety to cut the lead to 28-23 with 3:13 left. Following the Lakeland free kick, the Red Men moved the ball to the two-yard line, and Lafayette McGary scored from there with 35 seconds to go. The two-point conversion failed, but the Red Men led, 29-28.
On the final Lakeland drive, a 34 yard reception by Kezlow Smith brought the ball to the Carthage 32-yard line. Quarterback Michal Whitely had couple of shots at the end zone, but the game ended with a 41-yard field-goal attempt by Osman Saenz with 2.6 seconds to go. Saenz' kick was on-line but fell a little short, and the Red Men escaped with a 29-28 victory.
Carthage rolled up 432 total offensive yards, 221 yards rushing and 211 passing, while Lakeland collected 367 total yards, zero yards on the ground and all 367 in the air. The Red Men wound up with 13 penalties totaling 118 yards. London Townsend (Jr., Milwaukee, Wis./Wisconsin Lutheran) ran for 99 yards on 11 carries, while Tristan Peterson (So., Crown Point, Ind.) rushed for 69 yards on 15 carries. Quarterback Bobby Suchecki (So., Rolling Meadows, Ill.) completed 15-of-31 passes for 211 yards, with James Cobbs III (So., Urbana, Ill.) catching three of those for 68 yards. Fred McCann, the CCIW's leading punter, averaged 42.6 yards on five punts.
Lakeland quarterback Michael Whitely, who leads the Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference in passing yards per game, completed 28-of-43 passes for 367 yards and three touchdowns, with Kezlow Smith catching 12 passes for 188 yards.
"Everybody got their money's worth today," said a happy Carthage head coach Mike Yeager. "Our offensive line is getting better, and our running backs did a great job today. We were able to control the clock, which we had to do against this offense. If you can run the football, you're going to be successful. We will not face better wide receivers than Lakeland's all year. They're big and fast, and we knew we had to run the ball. The turnovers and penalties hurt us. We have to stop these self-inflicted wounds. If you give opponent teams too many opportunities, they're going to cash in. I was really pleased with the defense. To give up only one touchdown in the second half is a great response."
Carthage plays host to No. 33 Illinois Wesleyan University (3-0, 0-0 CCIW) next Saturday, Oct. 3 in 1 p.m. game at Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis., the Red Men's Homecoming game and the conference-opener for both teams. The Titans have a bye week going into the Carthage game. "We can't worry about Illinois Wesleyan right now," said Yeager. "We're just too young at too many positions. We just need to focus on each day and each play—that's all you can do. I like this football team, though, and I like how they responded today. If we can be more consistent and stop the self-inflicted wounds, I think we're going to be a tough out for anybody."