Box Score ELMHURST, Ill. - The Elmhurst College football team won its third straight contest by edging Carthage College 10-9 at Langhorst Field.

Elmhurst improved to 4-5 overall and 3-3 in the CCIW while Carthage dropped its eighth straight contest, falling to 1-8 overall and 0-6 in the CCIW.

A blocked extra point in the fourth quarter proved to be the key in the contest, as the Elmhurst offense ran the final four minutes off the clock to preserve the victory.

The first half featured missed opportunities and turnovers for the Bluejays' offense as the team trailed 3-0 at the break.

With both teams struggling to sustain drives in the opening quarter, Elmhurst took advantage of short field position after Carthage failed on a fake punt attempt at their own 42-yard line. Elmhurst drove to the Carthage 28-yard line, but after a delay of game penalty on the Bluejays, David Tomis' 50-yard field goal attempt missed wide to the right.

The Bluejays' defense forced Carthage into a three-and-out after the miss and Elmhurst's offense promptly drove to the Carthage nine-yard line. After a sack by Carthage, the Bluejays narrowly missed a touchdown pass on third down and Tomis' 32-yard attempt sailed wide right giving the ball back to Carthage.

Nate Riffle killed Carthage's ensuing drive with a leaping interception of A.J. Simoncelli at the Carthage 34-yard line. Elmhurst drove to the Carthage 25 yard and after converting on fourth down, Chase Hamby was stripped of the football on a sweep play, with the Red Men recovering at their own 22-yard line.

Carthage promptly drove 59 yards to the Elmhurst 19-yard line and went on top on Brett Bukari's 36-yard field goal. The field goal marked the only points of the opening half.

After the Bluejays forced Carthage to punt on their opening possession of the second half, Elmhurst's offense strung together a 16-play, 69-yard drive that ate up over seven minutes. The Bluejays drove to the Red Men's 11-yard line and evened the score on a 28-yard field goal from Tomis.

After forcing a Carthage punt deep in their own territory, the Bluejays took over at their own 40-yard line early in the fourth quarter. Elmhurst methodically drove down field, converting on third down three times to keep the drive alive. Elmhurst pushed the ball down to the one-yard line and went on top 10-3 on Josh William's one-yard touchdown plunge.

Carthage answered back immediately as quarterback Nick Anzelmo drove the Red Men down field in just four plays and capped the scoring drive with an 11-yard touchdown pass to Robert Anderson. The turning point came on the extra point as Bukari's low-liner was blocked by Eddie Beyer keeping the Bluejays on top 10-9 with just 4:10 remaining.

Elmhurst's offense was able to run out the remaining time with a nine-play drive,converting twice on third down to sustain the drive.

The Bluejays finished with 309 yards of total offense, rushing for 146 yards and passing for 163. Elmhurst finished the game converting 11-of-18 third down attempts, including 9-of-11 in the second half. Elmhurst's defense limited Carthage to only 191 yards of offense with the Red Men passing for 148 yards and rushing for just 43.

Williams led Elmhurst's ground attack with 61 yards and a touchdown on 19 carries. Garrett Claxon had a strong day, totaling over 120 yards of offense. Claxon rushed for 52 yards on nine carries and also led the team in receiving with seven catches for 70 yards. Joe Camiliere finished 15-of-26 for 163 yards.

Anzelmo led Carthage's air attack, completing 10-of-14 passes for 103 yards after taking over for Simoncelli in the second quarter. Pete Djurickovic was the top receiver for the Red Men, hauling in five passes for 62 yards.

Kody Kuczynski led Elmhurst's defense with nine tackles, including a sack. He also broke up a pass and finished with two tackles for loss. Jakub Szylak, Wills Massie and Charlie Roberts also recorded sacks for the Bluejays.

Elmhurst closes out the 2013 season next Saturday (November 16) by traveling to Illinois Wesleyan University.