The Carthage College football team opens (0-1, 0-0 College Conference of Illinois & Wisconsin) opened its 2014 season on Saturday, Sept. 6 with a 25-13 loss to St. Norbert College (1-0) at Art Keller Field in Kenosha, Wis.
Carthage stopped St. Norbert's opening drive when Shawntrel Garner picked off a James Tringali pass at the Red Men's 18-yard line. On the ensuing Carthage drive, the Red Men scored with an 11-play, 51-yard scoring drive that ended with a Jonnie Evans Jr. touchdown carry at 6:56 first period. The Green Knights attempted a field goal on their next drive, but that Randy Hill attempt was blocked. Carthage took over and scored on a nine-play, 46-yard drive that ended with a four-yard touchdown pass from Nick Anzelmo to Jamahl Wright with 34 seconds left in the first period,. The Red Men led, 13-0, after Thomas Brannen's point-after missed the target.
St. Norbert got on the scoreboard at 9:21 second period with a six-play, 49-yard drive that ended with an 11-yard pass from Tringali to Zach Reeves, cutting the lead to 13-7. The Green Knights tied the game, 13-13, on a 72-yard punt return by Eliah Fort. St. Norbert took the lead, 19-13, at 1:33 third period with a nine-play, 51-yard scoring drive that was capped by a 29-yard TD carry by Zach Reeves. The Randy Hill point-after failed.
In the fourth quarter, still trailing, 19-13, Carthage had an extended drive that started at their own 31-yard line at 12:08. The Red Men pushed the ball all the way down to the St. Norbert 18-yard line before turning the ball over on downs at 6:46. The Green Knights tacked on a final score with 2:30 to play on a two-yard rush by J.T. Crosby. A 34-yard carry by Crosby set up that scoring carry.
St. Norbert collected 266 total offensive yards, 120 rushing and 146 passing, while Carthage had 307 total yards, just 15 rushing and 293 in the air. The Red Men converted all six first-down conversion in the first period but just three-of-14 the rest of the way.
St. Norbert quarterback James Tringali completed 18-of-28 passes for 146 yards, with Zach Reeves catching six of those for 65 yards. Elijah Fort rushed for 53 yards on nine carries. For Carthage, quarterback Nick Anzelmo (So., Schaumburg, Ill.) completed 28-of-46 passes for 293 yards, with Marcus Hines Jr. (Jr., Green Bay, Wis./Southwest) catching 10 for 110 yards. Linebacker Sean Oroni (Jr., Batavia, Ill.) led the defensive effort with 10 tackles, nine solo.
"We played well in the first half," said Carthage coach Mike Yeager, "and we didn't make many mental mistakes. We moved the chains, and we got into the end zone. Unfortunately, we couldn't do that for 60 minutes. We got out-played at the end of the game. Special teams are always a difference-maker, and that 72-yard punt return for St. Norbert was huge. Our offensive-line play, particularly on the rush, is a work in progress. Nick Anzelmo did a pretty darn good job at quarterback, but the running game is pretty inconsistent. We had a couple of key injuries on the defensive line, and we had to move some guys around to cover that. We're going to get this going, eventually. We're playing quality opponents week in and week out. It's about us—we can't lose our poise."
The Rest of the Schedule: Carthage travels to Adrian, Mich., on Sept. 13 to play Adrian College in a 1 p.m., EDT game at the Multisport Performance Stadium. Following an off-week, the Red Men close out their non-conference schedule by entertaining Lakeland College in a 7 p.m. game on Sept. 27. Carthage opens CCIW-play on Oct. 4 with a 6 p.m. game versus No. 27 Illinois Wesleyan University at Tucci Stadium in Bloomington, Ill. The Red Men play their Homecoming game the following weekend, Oct. 11, against Elmhurst College at 1 p.m. at Art Keller Field. On Oct. 18, Carthage travels to Naperville, Ill., to take on No. 6 North Central College in a 2 p.m. clash at Benedetti-Wehrli Stadium. The Red Men play host to Augustana College (Ill.) on Oct. 25 at 1 p.m., followed by two-straight road games at Millikin University on Nov. 1 and North Park University on Nov. 8. Carthage concludes its season by entertaining Wheaton College (Ill.) on Nov. 15.