ELMHURST, Ill. – The Elmhurst University football team overcame a 17-point halftime deficit, but came up just short, falling in the final minute 30-28 to Carroll University in front of a senior day crowd at Langhorst Field.
 
Elmhurst (1-9/1-8 CCIW) fell behind 24-7 at halftime, but the Bluejays rallied in the second half, scoring 21 straight points to take a 28-24 lead. Carroll's Michael Johnson connected with Keon Miller on a 54-yard touchdown pass with 48 seconds left to lift the Pioneers (6-4/5-4 CCIW) to the victory.
 
Elmhurst started the scoring in the second half by taking advantage of a failed onside kick by Carroll. The Bluejays recovered at the Pioneers' 48-yard line and mounted a seven-play, 48-yard drive capped by an 11-yard touchdown pass from Noah Henkel to Joseph McKinley. The extra point was missed making the score 24-13 in favor of Carroll.
 
The Bluejays took advantage of a Carroll turnover to score their next touchdown. Bryce Gable strip-sacked Pioneer QB John Taylor with Tyler Jolly recovering the loose ball at the Carroll 20-yard line. Six plays later, Winston Brown scored on a three-yard run to make the score 24-19. Henkle connected with Gabe Holtke on the two-point conversion to bring Elmhurst to within three points at 24-21.
 
Elmhurst forced another strip-sack at the start of the fourth when Jeremy Inniss blindsided Taylor and jarred the ball loose. Gable recovered at the Pioneer 25-yard line, but a field goal attempt to tie the game was no good.

The Bluejays' defense wasn't done coming up with big plays. Gabe Boyd picked off a Johnson pass and returned it 41 yards down the sideline to give Elmhurst a 28-24 lead. The Bluejays had two other drives, but Carroll forced three-and-outs on both. The Pioneers took over at their own 18-yard line with 2:10 left to play. Carroll converted a pair of first downs before Johnson hit Miller for the game-winning score.
 
Carroll lead 24-7 at the half despite the Bluejays striking first. Elmhurst scored with some trickery as Gabe Holtke took a handoff and hit McKinley for a 48-yard touchdown to give the Bluejays the early 7-0 lead.
 
Carroll answered back with the next 24 points. Miller scored on a 25-yard touchdown catch from Taylor to tie the score at 7-7 early in the first quarter. A 27-yard field goal from Jacob Laurent gave the Pioneers a 10-7 lead early in the second. Taylor added an 11-yard touchdown pass to Austin Eichstaedt and a 56-yard scoring pass to Nick Legnaioli to give Carroll its 17-point cushion at the half.
 
Elmhurst finished the game with 202 yards of total offense while Carroll totaled 460. The Bluejays did most of their damage through the air, passing for 181 yards. Carroll rushed for 102 while Taylor and Johnson combined to pass for 387 yards.
 
Henkel completed 18-of-34 attempts for 133 yards and a touchdown. Brown caught six passes for 72 yards while McKinley caught three balls for 73 yards and two touchdowns.
 
Taylor led Carroll through the air, finishing 22-of-33 for 305 yards and three touchdowns. Johnson came on in relief to completed 9-of-14 for 82 yards and the game-winning score. Miller caught six passes for 161 yards and two touchdowns while Eichstaedt caught eight passes for 98 yards and a touchdown.
 
Elmhurst honored 32 seniors who played their final home game in a post-game ceremony.