APPLETON, Wis. -- The Carroll University football team hit on three big plays to pull away from Lawrence University on Saturday and posted a 26-3 Midwest Conference victory in the Banta Bowl.
Quarterback Chris Casper paced the Carroll offense by completing 11 of 17 passes for 263 yards and three touchdowns. Tim Nass caught six passes for 165 yards and two touchdowns for the Pioneers (4-5, 4-4 MWC).
Quarterback Nick Maxam hit on 23 of 41 passes for 193 yards for the Vikings (1-7, 1-7).
Carroll led only 3-0 late in the first half when Casper hit Nass for a 42-yard touchdown pass that two Lawrence defenders had a chance at intercepting. After a Lawrence punt, the Pioneers struck quickly again before the half.
A key holding penalty on the Vikings kept the drive alive, and Carroll cashed in. Casper connected with Marty Mccarthy three plays later on a 40-yard touchdown pass that another Lawrence defender had a shot at intercepting.
Carroll took a 17-0 lead into the half.
Just two plays into the second half, Casper hit Nass on a rocket screen and Nass raced 76 yards for a touchdown and a 24-0 Carroll lead.
Carroll made it 26-0 when Nate Nelson's punt was blocked by Kyle Bonin at the Lawrence 5-yard line. Lawrence's Brian Janssen recovered in the end zone to give Carroll the safety.
The Vikings got on the board when they moved 65 yards in 14 plays but settled for Cody Robel's 29-yard field goal with 4:59 left in the game. Nelson caught four passes on the drive for 44 yards. He finished the game with nine catches for 75 yards.
Lawrence's defensive line had another big game as the Vikings limited Carroll to only 75 yards rushing on 37 carries. Defensive ends Matt Frelich and Mike Gostisha had a game-high eight tackles apiece. Gostisha had 2.5 tackles for loss and 1.5 sacks. Frelich added 2.0 tackles for loss and 1.0 sacks.
Lawrence travels to Ripon College next Saturday as those teams renew the oldest college football rivalry in the state at Ingalls Field.