Playing quarterback for Carroll University’s coaching staff is like being in a healthy relationship, according to Josh Raby.

“It’s almost like a good marriage,” said Raby, a Dundee-Crown graduate. “We’ve gotten to grow through each other. To have them on my side, giving me confidence and giving me freedom to run the offense is where I’ve made my biggest growth. I’m thankful for these guys.”

Raby, who began his career at Dubuque University, has enjoyed the guidance of fourth-year head coach Mike Budziszewski and offensive coordinator Ken Ackerman and is having a career-best season.

Through five games, the 6-foot-7 Raby leads the College Conference of Illinois and Wisconsin with 311.2 passing yards a game, which ranks ninth among all NCAA Division III players. He has thrown for 1,556 yards, 11 touchdowns and is completing 58.8% of his passes.

Raby is on pace to easily surpass his 19 touchdowns and 1,694 yards from a season ago.

The Pioneers (3-2) also are halfway to matching their win total of last fall, when they posted a 6-4 record.

With Raby leading the offense, Carroll is averaging 41 points a game this season, well beyond its 29.3 average a year ago.

“The decision making on the field is really what separates him and allows him to execute this offense at an extremely high level,” Ackerman said. “He sees the game really well from a pre-snap perspective, and he knows where to go with the football against different looks.”

Raby has thrown for at least 225 yards in every game this season and posted a season-best 394 yards and four touchdowns last month in a 70-23 victory against Illinois Wesleyan.

Raby credits the team’s offensive success to the roster staying together.

“It really helps that for the past three years, we’ve had the same guys,” he said. “We all stay here over the summer. We work out together. We get food together. We hang out all the time. When you’re playing with your best friends, it’s easy to have good continuity together.”

Another aspect of the team’s success has been Budziszewski’s approach to preparation.

“He puts a lot of pressure on us during practice,” Raby said. “Our practices are so high intensity. That makes the game a lot slower. When you play quarterback for him, he slows the game down. He’s able to explain things and articulate things.”

Raby said he has a couple of the team’s single-season records – such as passing yards (2,495) and touchdowns (27) – in his sights, but is quick to say, “If we’re winning games, I’m as happy as can be.”

Next season, Raby hopes to remain with the Carroll program and coaching staff.

“Fingers crossed, I’ll have the opportunity to be a graduate assistant here,” Raby said. “That’s the plan. I’d love to coach on the college level.”

TD record at EMU: Running back Samson Evans scored his 32nd career touchdown last weekend to set Eastern Michigan’s school record.

A Prairie Ridge graduate, Evans has three touchdowns this season for the Eagles (3-3). He broke the record Oct. 7 with a 2-yard scoring run in the second quarter of EMU’s 24-10 Mid-American Conference victory against Ball State.

On Wednesday, Evans was named the MAC’s Male Scholar-Athlete of the Week after breaking the record, which had stood since 1987.

Evans is one of only 11 active FBS players to have 30 or more career touchdowns. He is also only 32 yards from reaching 2,000 career rushing yards.

La Crosse makes history: The Wisconsin-La Crosse football team snapped a 19-game losing streak to UW-Whitewater last weekend with a 37-34 victory in front of a record crowd of 20,113 in Whitewater.

La Crosse’s defense, which includes starting linebacker Landon Oine (Marengo), forced three fumbles in the win, which helped the Eagles (4-1) jump eight spots to No. 6 in this week’s D3Football.com rankings.

Oine is the team’s second-leading tackler with 25 stops on the season.

Whitewater (4-1) dropped four spots in the polls to No. 7 after the loss.

Junior defensive Kyle Koelblinger (Prairie Ridge) had 11 tackles for the Warhawks, and junior defensive lineman Matt Burba (Huntley) added four total tackles, including a tackle for loss.

Freshman wide receiver Tyler Vasey (Prairie Ridge) tied for the Whitewater team lead with two receptions for 35 yards.

Peter helping Flames shine: Hampshire grad Gabi Peter has been a key contributor this season for the UIC volleyball team, which is off to a 13-7 start.

A freshman outside hitter, Peter has started 10 games for the Flames and has 63 kills and 16 blocks. Her season-high total of nine kills came Sept. 8 against Wright State. She has four or more kills in nine different matches this season.

UIC is tied for fifth place in the Missouri Valley Conference standings at 4-3.

• Barry Bottino writes about local college athletes for the Northwest Herald. Write to him at barryoncampus@hotmail.com and follow @BarryOnCampus on Twitter.