2011 Beloit Football Season Opens on the Road Against Maroons

Beloit College Buccaneers (5-5 in 2010)
at University of Chicago Maroons (8-2 in 2010)
Saturday, September 3, 2011, 6:00 p.m.
Stagg Field, Chicago, Illinois

Game Notes

Streaking: Beloit split throughout the entire 2010 season, never winning or losing two straight.  Chicago enters the season on a six-game winning streak.

Openers: The Bucs dropped their season opener last season – to Chicago 28-25 at Strong Stadium – for the first time in three seasons.  Since Chris Brann took over Beloit is 3-2 in lid-lifters and are 6-5 in the new millennium.

.500-Plus:  The Bucs have a streak of three straight seasons with an overall record of .500 or better.  That's the longest such run since they had five straight seasons from 1988-92.

The Series: The Buccaneers and Maroons are meeting for the 28th time in a series Beloit leads 14-12 with one tie. The teams opened the 2010 season in Beloit, with UC taking a 28-25 decision in the first contact between the squads since 1989.  1989 was also the last time the Bucs visited Stagg Field, falling 27-12 in that contest.  The teams met every season from 1974 to 1989, back when Chicago was a Midwest Conference member, with the Bucs winning 13 of those 16 meetings. The squads first met in 1894, a 16-0 UC win in the season opener.

Buccaneers Last Time Out: Beloit made sure their fifteen 2010 seniors went out in style with a 42-27 win over Illinois College at Strong Stadium on November 6, 2010.  Derek Carrier opened the scoring when he hauled in a four-yard pass from Dillon Hess midway through the opening quarter to put the Bucs up for good.  Hess did it on his own early in the second quarter with a four-yard run to make it 14-0 before the Blueboys returned a fumble 52 yards for a TD at the 8:58 mark to cut the lead in half and make the halftime score 14-7, Beloit.  The Buccaneers broke away in the third quarter with three unanswered touchdowns.  Julian Ross had a 43-yard catch and run 37 seconds in to the quarter to make it 21-7.  Hess then went in from two yards out at 3:47 to build the lead to 28-7 before Ross grabbed his second TD of the quarter from Brian Maughn, this one from six yards out to make it 35-7 entering the fourth.  But IC wasn't done.  They scored a pair of touchdowns in a 2:15 span early in the quarter to pull to within 35-21 with 11:43 remaining.  But Andrew Christensen, the program's all-time leader in kickoff return yardage, returned the kickoff after the second TD 86 yards, his second kick return score of the season, to settle things down and put Beloit back up 42-21 with 11:27 left.  Illinois College got one last score at the 11:03 mark, completing a four-TDs-in-2:55 stretch, to close out the scoring.  The win over IC was Beloit's first since the 2005 season.  Individually it was a big day.  Maughn finished 29-46 for 384 yards and the two scores, breaking his own single-season mark for passing yardage at 2,740 and setting a new record with 20 TD passes.  Carrier caught nine passes for 106 yards, giving him 100-plus receiving yardage games in the last three.  Ross finished with five catches for 86 yards, ending his career as the all-time leader in receptions, yardage and touchdowns.  Christensen chipped in six catches for 90 yards, giving him 259 all-purpose yards for the game and ending his career with 4,549, second all-time.  On defense, Tony Baratti had ten tackles, his eighth double-figure tackle game of the season.  He finished his career with a career record 434 stops.  Matt Fogerty added nine tackles while Valde Raizys had two tackles for loss.  Mark Coogan recovered a fumble and Vince Salucci had an interception while also blocking a kick for the eighth time in his career.  He also had three pass defenses. 

Last Time vs. the Maroons: The Bucs had their 2010 season opener in hand until the last 43 seconds as the University of Chicago scored a touchdown on a short pass and tacked on a two-point conversion for a 28-25 win in front of 1,200 at Strong Stadium on September 4, 2010.  The Buccaneers had taken a 25-13 lead early in the third quarter on a Brian Maughn to Andrew Christensen 50-yard catch and run.  But UC pulled back with five points 19 seconds before the end of the third quarter on Francis Adarkwa's four-year run and then got the game-winner with 43 ticks left with a Marshall Oium to Clay Wolff six-yard scoring pass to break the Bucs collective hearts.  Oium and Wolff connected on the two-point conversion for the final score.  The opening half was a tale of opposite quarters.  Beloit controlled the opening quarter, getting a three-yard run from Dillon Hess and then a Maughn to Derek Carrier 48-yard scoring play to take a 13-0 lead.  Chicago bounced back with 13 points of their own to tie it with 6:40 left before half as Adarkwa scored from four yards out and Oium and Wolff connected from 24 yards away.  But Maughn hit Julian Ross from six yards out six seconds before the break to give the Buccaneers a 19-13 halftime advantage.  The Maroons then started their rally after Christensen's 50-yard score at 10:38 of the third quarter.  The Bucs finished with 384 yards in offense, 309 through the air, while UC had 348.  Terence Steward carried the ball 18 times for 90 yards while Maughn was 22-41 for the 309 yards and three TDs.  Carrier finished with 116 yards receiving on seven catches and Ross had 111 yards on six catches.  Christensen added 84 yards on five receptions.  Defensively, Tony Baratti had 13 tackles, eight solo, while Valde Raizys recorded the team's lone sack and Chris Juels had a drive-ending interception.

Preseason Accolades:  WR Derek Carrier was named to two national preseason All-American teams and one preseason All-State team during the Summer.  He was a part of the D3 Senior Classic and College Draft Services Preseason All-American teams as well as the Inside Wisconsin Sports Preseason All-State team.

Record Watch:  As the 2011 season kicks off, and coming off a big offensive year for Beloit College Football, there are several individuals looking to move up the career ladder in various categories.  QB Brian Maughn, who set season marks for completions, attempts, touchdowns and yards in 2010, already owns the career passing record with 5,427 yards.  He needs 12 TD passes to grab that record…WR Derek Carrier sits second in receiving TDs with 17, third in receiving yards with 1,861, and fourth in receptions with 114.  He needs three TD catches, 60 receptions and 680 receiving yards to move to the top of the list in each category…RB Terence Steward has 22 career rushing touchdowns, putting him just outside the top five.  He needs two to move into fifth all-time, four for fourth and nine for third.

Honorees Are Back: The Buccaneers welcome back four players who earned All-Midwest Conference honors at the end of the 2010 season.  WR Derek Carrier was a First Team selection, RB Terence Steward was Second Team; and TE Eddie Boyd and DB Vince Salucci were both Honorable Mention.

2011 Captains: Senior QB Brian Maughn, senior WR Derek Carrier, senior DB Vince Salucci and junior OL Jared McCannon will serve as team captains for the 2011 season.

Up Ahead for the Bucs: The Buccaneers open Midwest Conference play at St. Norbert College on Saturday afternoon, September 10, with a 1:00 p.m. kickoff at Donald J. Schneider Stadium in De Pere, Wisconsin.  They then play their first game on the new home turf at Strong Stadium against Carroll University at 6:00 p.m. on Saturday evening, September 17.