Trojan Football returns home to face Waldorf
Greg Gorham
 | vs. |  |
TRINITY INTERNATIONAL TROJANS (4-3, 1-2 MSFA Midwest) vs. WALDORF WARRIORS (1-6, 0-2 MSFA Midwest)
October 26, 2013 | 1:00 p.m.
Deerfield, Ill. | Leslie Frazier Field
Game Notes: Trinity International | Streaming Video & Live Stats
Twitter Updates: @TIUTrojans | @WaldorfWarriors
Join the Conversation: #TIUFootball
Kickoff
• The Trinity International Trojans will look to get back on the right track after a two-game slide, as they return to Leslie Frazier field to host the Waldorf Warriors. TIU returns home after a two-week road trip that saw the Trojans suffer a pair of tough losses to nationally-ranked opponents. The Trojans can still clinch the most wins in a single season since 2004 with a victory over the Warriors this weekend, as well as keep their perfect home record intact. Saturday's game will be available online for fans unable to get to the game, as Brian Snow will call the action at TIUSportsNetwork.TIU.edu.
Quick Hits
• The Trojans will look for their fifth win of the season, the team's highest win total since 2004.
• TIU is coming off a 47-14 loss at the hands of 3rd-ranked Grand View last weekend. The Trojans collected a season-low 143 yards of total offense in the loss.
• Waldorf last played two weeks ago, in a 37-21 loss to No. 17 St. Xavier. Saturday's matchup will be the sixth road game in the last seven games for the Warriors.
• TIU currently ranks fourth in the nation in rushing defense, allowing just 101.1 yards on the ground per game. The Trojans are 20th nationally in total defense, allowing 333.7 yards of offense to their opponents each week.
Series History
• Trinity International and Waldorf first met in 2009, when the Warriors took a 23-14 win at Frazier Field.
• The Trojans lead the all-time series, 3-1 over the Warriors.
• TIU has claimed victories in the last three meetings with Waldorf, dating back to 2010.
• During the Kirk Wherritt era, the Trojans have never lost to Waldorf, earning wins in each of the last three seasons by a combined score of 93-62.
Last Time vs Waldorf
• Waldorf held a 10-7 lead at the end of the first quarter, but were then outscored by Trinity 42-14 the rest of the way, as TIU earned a 49-24 win over the Warriors on Nov. 10, 2012.
• The win finished out the 2012 season, as Trinity International posted a 4-7 record, the team's best mark since 2006.
• Freshman running back Chris Elliott broke a 13-year MSFA single-game record, with 346 rushing yards.
• Elliott's performance also gave the Miami, Fla. native a 1,000-yard season, finishing 2012 with 1,131 yards on the ground, becoming the first Trojan to run for 1,000 since 2000 (Mark Clinton).
• Defensively, Jawon Spivery made a game-high 10 tackles. Sione Maka had two sacks on the day.
About Waldorf
• The Warriors have struggled in 2013, with just one win on the season. Heading into the weekend, Waldorf is riding a two-game losing streak.
• Waldorf's lone win of the season game on Oct. 5, in a 13-2 road victory at Trinity Bible College (N.D.)
• WC had a stretch of five straight road games earlier in the year, and Saturday's matchup will be the team's sixth road trip in the last seven games.
• The Warriors rank 32nd in the NAIA in pass defense, allowing just 185.4 yards per game through the air.
• Defensive End Chris Oliver is 31st in the NAIA with four sacks on the year.
A Trojan Win Would...
• ... Set the record for most wins in a single season in the Kirk Wherritt era, with five.
• ... Be the fourth straight over Waldorf, improving the Trojans' all-time mark to 4-1 over the Warriors.
• ... Snap a two-game losing streak, after falling to nationally-ranked St. Ambrose and Grand View in back-to-back road games.
• ... Improve Trinity's MSFA Midwest League record to 2-2 record, the most conference wins in a season since 2006.
• ... Be the best start through eight games of a season since 2004, when the Trojans were 7-1 en route to a 8-3 season and an NAIA Fooball Championship Series berth.
A Trojan Loss Would...
• ... Drop TIU's MSFA Midwest League record to 1-3.
• ... Extend Trinity's road losing streak to four straight games, dating back to last season.
• ... Be the first three-game losing streak since Oct. 13-Nov. 3 of last season.
• ... Drop the Trojans to a .500 record for the first time this year.
Trojan Ground Game
• Sophomore running back Chris Elliott has been essential to the TIU offense this season, averaging 117.0 yards per game, and 10 rushing TDs. Elliott ranks 3rd in the MSFA in rushing offense.
• Elliott is 185 yards away from a 1,000-yard season, with three games still on the schedule.
• The Miami, Fla. native posted a season-high 184 rushing yards at St. Ambrose. Elliott's career high came last season, with an MSFA-record 346 yards in the final game of the year over Waldorf.
• Last season, Elliott became the fourth Trojan ever to rush for 1,000 yards in a season. If he repeats the feat, he will become the first player in TIU history to reach that mark twice in his career.
• Elliott is just 50 yards away from 2,000 in his career, and is 331 away from moving into third in the TIU all-time rushing list (Isreal Diaz, 2,281, '98-'01).
Trojan Football History
• The Trinity International Trojan football program has an all-time record of 96-151-2 (.390), dating back to their first season as a varsity program in 1990.
• TIU's head coach for the inaugural season in 1989 through 1996 was Leslie Frazier. Frazier is currently the head coach of the NFL's Minnesota Vikings, and had a record of 38-37-3.
• The Trojans have won three MSFA Midwest League titles in school history, in 1994, 1995, and 2003.
• Trinity International has earned two NAIA Football Championship Series berths, in 1994 and 2004. TIU is still searching for their first NAIA playoff victory, falling to Northwestern (Iowa) and Georgetown (Ky.), respectively.
• TIU has one appearance in the NCCAA Victory Bowl, where they fell to Garner-Webb (N.C.), 54-14, in 2001.
Leslie Frazier Field
• TIU is 7-11 at home in the Wherritt era, and are 48-68-1 all-time at Frazier Field.
• Including the win over Concordia this season, the Trojans are 14-9-1 all-time in home openers, and have won the first game of the year at Frazier Field the past three seasons.
• The Trojans have won their last four games at Frazier Field, their longest home win streak since earning eight straight wins from 2003-2005.
• Trinity has two home games remaining on the 2013 schedule, and with wins in each of those meetings, can record the first perfect home record since 2004.
TIU in the Polls
• Trinity International fell out of the NAIA Football Coaches' Top 25 Poll this week, after suffering a 47-14 loss at No. 3 Grand View last Saturday.
• The Trojans earned their first rank of the year (No. 24) after their upset win over then-No. 17 St. Francis (Ill.) on Sept. 21.
• The Trojans fell out of the poll, after suffering a 33-26 loss to then-unranked Robert Morris on Sept. 28, but bounced back with their win over Olivet Nazarene, reappearing at No. 21.
• Before this season, Trinity's last ranking came in 2005 (No. 24, Sept. 19).
• TIU has been ranked 18 weeks in the program's history, and hold an all-time record of 14-11 (.560) as a nationally-ranked team.
• The MSFA has a total of five teams in the top 25, and six MSFA programs are at least receiving votes in the latest poll. The Heart of America Conference and Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference are tied for the most teams in the poll, with four apiece.
• The Trojans are 7-40 (.149) all-time against ranked opponents, and 48-61 (.440) against unranked teams.
• When TIU is unranked, they are 44-100 (.306) since the poll's debut in 1999.
• With the 4-3 record, the Trojans are currently tied for fourth in the NCCAA Rankings, with North Greenville (N.C.). Greenville (Ill.) sit atop the rankings at 7-0, while Azusa Pacific (Calif.) are second with a 5-2 mark.
• The top two teams in the NCCAA Rankings at the end of the regular season will meet for the 2013 Victory Bowl, taking place Nov. 23 in Rome, Ga.
National Leaders
• The TIU defense has statistically been one of the best in the NAIA this season, ranking fourth in the NAIA in rushing defense, giving up just 101.1 yards on the ground per game. The Trojans also rank 12th in opponent 4th down conversions (29.4%), 20th nationally in total defense (333.7 per game), 28th in scoring defense (24.7 ppg), and 30th in sacks (15).
• Offensively, the Trojans rank 18th in the NAIA with 33.4 points scored per game.
• The Tojan offensive line has been one of the best in the country, ranking 9th in the NAIA with just 1.0 sacks allowed per game. The unit has helped the TIU offense to 202.0 rushing yards per game, 25th-most in the NAIA.
• The Trojan offense ranks 3rd in the NAIA in fourth-down conversions, going 10-for-12 (83.3%) on fourth down this season.
Carter on Mitchell Award List
• Freshman kicker Jeremiah Carter earned a spot on the September Monthy Recognition List for the Fred Mitchell Award, given to the top placekicker in NCAA FCS, Division II, Division III, NAIA, and NJCAA college football.
• Carter ranks 4th in the NAIA with nine field goals this season, 4th in FG per game (1.3), and 5th nationally in scoring among kickers (50 pts).
• The freshman is 17th in the NAIA with a .750 field goal percentage. Carter went 3-for-3 in the season-opener at Trinity Bible, with a long of 44 yards, and then went 2-for-2 including the game-winner against St. Francis (Ill.).
• In his last three games, Carter is 4-for-7 (57.1%), with a long of 39 yards against St. Ambrose.
• The Irvine, Calif. native is the only freshman to make the list, and is one of only four kickers from the NAIA. The Olivet Nazarene kicker, Andrew Muzljatovich, is also on the Monthly Recognition List.
TIUSportsNetwork.TIU.edu
• All TIU Football home games will be broadcast live, and on-demand, with Brian Snow of Arena Sports Network on the call.
• A live and on-demand audio broadcast will be available for each road game in 2013.
• Selected TIU Athletics home events are also broadcast online, including Trojan volleyball, and men's and women's soccer matches during the fall season.
• Broadcasts are available through the 'Watch Now' link on the homepage at www.TIUtrojans.com, or at TIUSportsNetwork.TIU.edu
