CHICAGO, Ill. - Threatening to pull off the upset all day, Trinity International came up just short of knocking off the 13th-ranked St. Xavier Cougars, instead falling on the road, 27-18.

Box Score | Season Stats

Trinity (2-6, 0-4 MSFA Midwest League) led by as much as nine points in the second half, but the Cougars (6-2, 3-0 MSFA Midwest League) responded with 13 unanswered to claim the lead en route to the win. A late touchdown gave the Trojans hope, before a potential game-tying two-point conversion was no good with just over five minutes to play.

Quarterback Zach Chesser finished the day 11-for-20 with 124 yards, while Danny Mattero, in limited duty, went 3-for-6 with 90 yards and a touchdown. Isaac Branch led the Trojans with 60 rushing yards and one touchdown, while Brad Hargis collected 98 receiving yards and one TD.

The Trojans took the lead on their second possession of the day, when Jeremiah Carter connected on a 37-yard field goal to put his team in front, 3-0. The Cougars marched into the red zone on the following drive, but the Trinity defense held strong inside the ten yard line to keep SXU to a field goal.

Carter then hit from 21 yards out near the 12-minute mark of the second quarter, giving Trinity a 6-3 lead. St. Xavier missed a pair of field goals that could have tied the score again, but the Trojans held their three-point advantage into the halftime break.

On their first drive of the second half, Mattero found Hargis for a 56-yard touchdown pass to extend the TIU lead. The two-possession advantage didn't last long however, as SXU's Stephen Simms returned the following kickoff 90 yards for the score, cutting TIU's lead to 12-10.

St. Xavier took their first lead of the day with two and a half minutes to play in the third quarter, hitting a 30-yard field goal to cap a 13-play drive and move the Cougars in front, 13-12.

In the closing minutes of the game, SXU extended their lead, recovering a fumble on the TIU 30-yardline, and scoring on the short field just five plays later, on a 14-yard touchdown pass. Trailing by eight, the Trojans drove 84 yards in less than two minutes, using back-to-back completions to Cory Windle for a combined 34 yards and a six-yard TD run from Branch. The two-point conversion pass fell incomplete, though, leaving St. Xavier in front, 20-18. The Cougars closed the door with a 48-yard touchdown run with just over a minute to play, making it a two-possession lead again on their way to the win.

The Trojans get another crack at upsetting a top 25 team next week, when they head to No. 20 St. Francis (Ill.) Kickoff against the Saints on Saturday, October 31, is set for 1:00 p.m.