February 9, 2012
Contact:
Steve Marovich, Sports Information Director (262) 551-5740
E-Mail: stevemarovich@tds.net or carthagesid@carthage.edu
Carthage Web Page: http://athletics.carthage.edu/index.aspx
Carthage 24-Hour Sports Hotline (262) 551-5388
Carthage Football Ends its 2011 Season with a 28-7 Loss to Elmhurst;
Red Men Finish with a 5-5 Record
2011 Season Finale: The Carthage College football team (5-5, 2-5 College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin) closed out its 2011 season on Saturday, Nov. 12 with a 28-7 loss to CCIW-opponent Elmhurst College (6-4, 4-3 CCIW) at Langhorst Field in Elmhurst, Ill.
2011 NCAA Football Championship: No. 6 North Central College, armed with the CCIW’s automatic qualifier, defeated the University of Dubuque (9-2), 59-13, in a Saturday, Nov. 19 first-round game in the NCAA Division III Football Championship in Naperville, Ill. The Cardinals (10-2) traveled to Crawfordsville, Ind., on Saturday, Nov. 26 for a second-round game against Wabash College but fell to the Little Giants (12-0), 29-28. 16 Illinois Wesleyan University (9-2) received an at-large berth in the championship, but the Titans fell to Monmouth College (10-1), 33-27 in first-round triple-overtime contest in Bloomington, Ill.
Four Red Men Named All-CCIW: Four Carthage players were named to the 2011 All-College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin Football Team. Middle linebacker Brad Fortney (Sr., Antioch, Ill./Community, 68 tackles, 11 tackles-for-loss, two sacks, two interceptions, three passes defended) was named first-team All-CCIW. Outside linebacker Brandon Mecozzi (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Bradford, 62 tackles, six tackles-for-loss, two interceptions, one fumble recovered), defensive end Tyler O’Brien (Jr., Cary, Ill./Cary-Grove, 44 tackles, 13 tackles-for-loss, seven sacks, two passes defended, one recovered fumble, two forced fumbles) and offensive lineman David Steele (So., Gurnee, Ill./Mundelein-Carmel Catholic) were named second-team all-conference.
Red Men on WLIP-AM: For the second-straight year, Carthage football and basketball will be broadcast on WLIP-AM Radio (1050) in Kenosha, Wis. Veteran Kenosha radio sports announcer John Weiser, "The Voice of the Red Men and the Lady Reds," will handle the play-by-play chores. WLIP-AM, the home of Carthage football in the 1970s, will audio stream its broadcasts, and that stream will also continue to be available on the Carthage College web site at http://www.carthage.edu/ais/webcast/. WLIP’s Bill Lawrence will play host to Carthage football coach Tim Rucks, men’s basketball coach Bosko Djurickovic and women’s basketball coach Tim Bernero for a call-in segment on Friday mornings throughout the two seasons. In addition, Weiser will play host to a 15-minute Carthage sports show on football game days, 45 minutes prior to kickoff.
Live Video: All Carthage home football games at Art Keller Field feature live video steaming. A page of links to each event is available at http://live.carthage.edu. John Weiser's WLIP-AM feed is used as the audio. Virtually all of the streams are also featured at: http://www.ustream.tv/channel/carthage-athletics
The Polls: Defending-national-champion Wisconsin Whitewater (10-0, 20 first-place votes) was ranked first in the Nov. 14 “D3football.com” poll, followed by national-runner-up Mount Union College (10-0, 5 first-place votes) second, the University of St. Thomas (Minn., 10-0) third ,the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor (10-0) fourth, Linfield College (9-0) fifth, CCIW-member North Central College (9-1) sixth, Wesley College (9-1) seventh, California Lutheran University (8-1) eighth, Wabash College (10-0) ninth, Salisbury University (9-1) 10th, Delaware Valley College (10-0) 11th, Kean University (9-1) 12th, Johns Hopkins University (10-0) 13th, the University of Redlands (8-1) 14th, Trinity University (Texas, 10-0) 15th, CCIW-member Illinois Wesleyan University (9-1) 16th, Franklin College (9-1) 17th and conference-member Wheaton College (Ill., 8-2) ranked 18th.
The Coach: Tim Rucks completed his 17th season at Carthage in 2011 (92-75-1, 17 years at Carthage/101-108-4, 22 years). Rucks won his 100th career game with a 40-23 decision at Millikin University on Oct. 8, 2011. He was named American Football Coaches Association North Region “Coach of the Year,” as well as CCIW “Bob Reade Football Coach of the Year” in 2004 and Wisconsin Private College “Football Coach of the Year” in 2009. Rucks is second on the all-time Carthage wins list, trailing Art Keller (177-87-7, 1952-82). Rucks is assisted by offensive coordinator Terry Peebles, defensive coordinator Mike Yeager, special teams coordinator Ryan Leonard, part-time assistant coaches Mike DuFrane, Scott Flood, Brian Horensky, Henry Johnson and Tyson Mengel, along with graduate assistant coaches Ryan Anderson and Clayton Mannering.
The Conference: The College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin, in its 66th year in 2011-12, began sponsorship of football as a championship sport in 1946. Carthage College was the dominant football team in the CCIW from 1962 to 1973, as the Red Men captured eight conference titles, including five straight from 1969 to 1973. Under the leadership of the legendary Art Keller, Carthage rattled off six undefeated conference seasons, three 14-game win streaks, and a phenomenal 29-game CCIW unbeaten streak (28-0-1). The CCIW's Outstanding Offensive Player Award is named for Keller, who stands third on the conference's all-time victory ledger with a 105-53-3 mark in his 22 seasons in the league. Augustana College (Ill.) has won or shared a league-leading 21 CCIW titles. Wheaton College (Ill.) has won 15 championships, followed by Illinois Wesleyan University with 14, Millikin University with 11, Carthage and North Central College with nine each, and Elmhurst College, Lake Forest College and Carroll University (Wis.) with two championships each.
CCIW Players of the Week: Wide receiver Teddy Watkins (Sr., Washington, Mo./St. Francis Borgia Regional) from Wheaton College (Ill.) was named College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin “Football Offensive Player of the Week” on Nov. 14. North Central College defensive back Connor Douglas (So., Lombard, Ill./Glenbard South) earned “defensive player of the week” honors, while teammate and kicker Kevin Looff (So., Barrington, Ill./Lake Zurich) was named “special teams player of the week.” Watkins tied Wheaton’s single-game record with four touchdown receptions, including a 47-yard scoring catch, in the Thunder’s a 49-29 win over Millikin University on Nov. 12. Watkins finished with eight catches for 146 yards in his final contest. Douglas recorded his first two collegiate interceptions and returned a fumble recovery 40 yards for a touchdown in the Cardinals’ 35-0 shutout of North Park University. His touchdown run matched the second-longest fumble return in North Central history, as the Cardinals captured their sixth-straight CCIW football title. Looff averaged 64.3 yards on six kickoffs, including three touchbacks.
CCIW Statistics: Carthage quarterback Trevor Beazley (Sr., Kenton, Ohio) was ranked eighth in 2011 CCIW passing (54.0 yards per game). Quarterback T.J. Trepanier (Jr., Winthrop Harbor, Ill./Zion-Benton Township) was eighth in passing (51.6 yards per game) and 10th in rushing (44.3 yards per game). Halfback Reggie Miller (So., Downers Grove, Ill./South) was ninth in rushing 45.4 yards per game), and wide receiver Mike Koeneman (Sr., Barrington, Ill./Palatine-Fremd) was ninth in receiving yards (40.9 per game). Kurt Krause (Sr., Arlington Heights, Ill./Buffalo Grove) was third in field goals (1.00 per game) and fifth in kick scoring (4.4 points per game). Second-team All-CCIW defensive end Tyler O’Brien led the league in tackles-for-loss (1.44 per game), was tied for fourth in forced fumbles (0.22 per game) and tied for fifth in sacks (0.78 per game). Defensive end Mike Merucci (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Bradford) was tied for fifth in sacks (0.78 per game), ranked sixth in tackles-for-loss (1.22 per game) and tied for fourth in forced fumbles (0.22 per game). First-team All-CCIW middle linebacker Brad Fortney (Sr., Antioch, Ill.) was fifth in tackles-for-loss (1.10 per game) and ninth in tackles (6.7 per game). Strong safety Alex Vitkauskas (Jr., Tinley Park, Ill./Chicago-St. Rita) was fourth in interceptions (0.33 per game), while second-team all-conference outside linebacker Brandon Mecozzi (Jr., Kenosha, Wis./Bradford) was 11th in tackles (6.2 per game). As a team, Carthage was sixth in scoring offense (18.1 points per game), third in scoring defense (18.2 points per game), seventh in passing offense (124.1 yards per game), first in passing defense (155.2 yards per game), fifth in rushing (146.1 yards per game), fifth in rushing defense (150.3 yards per game), eighth in total offense (270.2 yards per game) and third in total defense (305.5 yards per game).
Art Keller Field: Art Keller Field, located on the Carthage campus, opened on Sept. 24, 1966. The west side of the field, received all-new seating for 986 fans prior to the 1996 season, and lights were added in 1997. In 2000, thanks to a major gift from David and Gael Romoser, a state-of-the-art AstroPlayâ surface was installed on Art Keller Field. A new scoreboard was installed in 2004, a new press box was constructed on the east side in 2005, a new entry way and exterior fencing were added in 2006, and the facility was re-surfaced with FieldTurf® in 2008. The pressbox was torn down in 2010 and replaced in 2011 with the current press box as part of the construction of the student services building. All-new seating for 1,432 spectators was also added in 2011 on the east side of the field just below the press box. Current seating for the facility is 2,418 plus space for approximately 500 standing room, for a total capacity of 2,948 people.
Nov. 12 Elmhurst Game Notes: On a pleasant, late-fall day, Elmhurst broke a scoreless tie at 11:59 second period when tailback Scottie Williams scored on a 15-yard touchdown run, capping an 11-play, 91-yard scoring drive and giving the Bluejays a 7-0 lead. Elmhurst made it a 14-0 game at 6:32 second period when Williams scored from the four-yard line, ending an eight-play, 72-yard drive. Carthage answered 25 seconds later when quarterback Trevor Beazley broke a blitz with a 39-yard screen pass to Reggie Miller for a touchdown at 6:07, cutting the Elmhurst lead to 14-7. That was the halftime score.
The Bluejays scored on their opening drive of the second half on a one-yard TD pass from quarterback Joe Furco to tight end Griffin Gibson. That score came at 11:31 third period, upping the lead to 21-7. Elmhurst made it a 28-7 game at 11:45 fourth period when Furco hooked up with Gibson on a 12-yard scoring strike. The Bluejays’ Trevor Spaulding missed a 32-yard field-goal attempt at with 4:41 to play, and the final score was 28-7.
Elmhurst rolled up 516 total offensive yards, 281 yards rushing and 235 yards passing, while Carthage had 253 total yards, just 39 on the ground and 214 in the air. The time of possession was heavily in favor of the Bluejays, 40:39 to 19:21. The Red Men had the ball for only six minutes and 57 seconds in the second half. The Bluejays’ Scottie Williams ran for 182 yards and two touchdowns on 33 carries, while quarterback Joe Furco completed 18-of-29 passes for 235 yards and two TDs. Joe Gentile caught six passes for 73 yards. Carthage halfback Reggie Miller (So., Downers Grove, Ill./South) ran for 62 yards on 10 carries, and quarterback Trevor Beazley (Sr., Kenton, Ohio) completed 15-of-29 passes for 180 yards.
“It was a frustrating game,” admitted Carthage head coach Tim Rucks, “ and it was symptomatic of how the season went. We couldn’t stop them, and we couldn’t get anything going offensively. The best way to defend Scottie Williams is to keep him off the field, and we didn’t do that. We needed a lot of first downs to keep him on the sideline, but we didn’t get that done. Elmhurst is a well-coached team, and if you keep the ball for 40 minutes, that’s the way to win games. They know what they’re doing, and they’re good up front. They mix things up well, and they ran the play-action stuff very well. We were just kept off-balance the entire game. We need to get better—we’re not happy being 5-5. Our kids aren’t happy about it, and I’m not happy about it. That’s the sign of a good program. A lot of schools would be happy about a.500 season, but we certainly aren’t. Our goal every year is to win the CCIW title, and we have a lot of work to do in the off-season. Carthage football is about playing to win.”