WAUKESHA, Wis. – In front of over 3,500 people, the Carroll University football team walked it off with a touchdown pass to Keon Miller in double OT to defeat Augustana 44-41 on homecoming in Waukesha. Jaxon Case rushed for 238 yards on 23 carries with a score, the most rushing yards by a Pioneer since 2015. Damon Locker tallied 13 tackles for the defense.
The Pioneers (3-1, 2-1 CCIW) had the Schneider Stadium crowd on its feet most of the afternoon in the instant classic. Carroll tallied 502 yards of total offense, with 321 coming from the running game. Josh Raby completed 16 passes for 181 yards to lead the passing offense, and Reed Breckheimer caught five of those passes for 66 yards and two scores. On the defensive side, the Pios broke up four passes and tallied two sacks in the lone game this season without a takeaway. Jake Binkowski broke up two passes and tallied nine tackles, seven solo. Clayton Huber put up a 12-yard sack and tossed in another tackle for loss. Carroll played comeback in the fourth quarter, scoring 15 points in the final 15 minutes to force OT.
The Pioneers got out of the gates and started with a touchdown drive after forcing an Augustana three-and-out to start the game. Jake Netchin scored from two yards out and put up seven points for the Pioneers. Two offensive possessions later, Carroll worked the score up two a two-possession game with a 6-play, 81-yard drive capped off by a 34-yard pass to Breckheimer who took it in for the score. The Carroll defense held the Vikings to just 21 yards of total offense in the first quarter.
After the ensuing Pioneer possession stalled at the Augustana 17, Jacob Laurent knocked through a 34-yard field goal to give the Pioneers a 17-0 lead. Augie put together a 12-play, 81-yard drive that spanned nearly seven minutes to put seven on the board. Carroll's next offensive possession stalled as well, and the defense surrendered a 60-yard drive by the Vikings that spanned just four plays.
In the third quarter up 17-14, the Vikings were forced to punt after two straight incomplete passes. A Pioneer muffed punt at the Carroll 25-yard line gave the ball right back to Augie, who scored three plays later. Carroll responded with another Laurent field goal 10 plays later from 22 yards out. The Vikings took an eight-point lead to start the fourth quarter, but Case and Nick Legnaioli led a seven-play drive capped off by Breckheimer's second touchdown reception. A successful 2-pt conversion tied the ballgame at 28-28.
Augustana put together a long, 11-play drive on their next possession. After a 10-yard kickoff return, Case took his first handoff of the drive 80 yards up the right side for the score to re-tie the game. Loker and Binkowski forced an Augie three-and-out leading to the Pioneers getting the ball at the Viking 40-yard line. The Vikings were able to ice Laurent with three timeouts as the junior missed a 49-yard try wide left as time expired.
The Pioneers stared on offense in the first overtime possession, and Laurent nailed a 25-yard attempt to take the first lead. The Vikings responded with their own 40-yard field goal to send the game to double OT. The Vikings took another long field goal from 39 yards out after a three-and-out, to which the Pioneers won it on a walk-off pass to Keon Miller in the corner of the end zone five plays later.
The Pioneers will host the No. 1 North Central Cardinals next week Saturday at Schneider Stadium. The Cardinals have played in the last two Stagg Bowl Division III Football National Championship games.
Pioneers Win Homecoming Thriller over Augustana
/seasons/2022/boxscores/20221001_582q.xml
2022
Augustana
41
Carroll
44
| Final | 1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | OT | 2OT | T |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Augustana (2-2) | 0 | 14 | 7 | 14 | 3 | 3 | 41 |
| Carroll (3-1) | 14 | 3 | 3 | 15 | 3 | 6 | 44 |
Oct 01, 2022