Kickoff

• Trinity International prepares for the next-to-last home game of the season this weekend, when the Trojans play host to the St. Francis Saints for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Leslie Frazier Field.
• Streaming video and live stats of Saturday's contest will be available at TIUTrojans.com.

Quick Hits

• Trinity will look to end their current six-game slide, coming off of a 77-21 home loss to St. Xavier last week.
• The Trojans rank 2nd in the MSFA, and 16th in the NAIA, with 217.1 rushing yards per game.
• Junior linebacker Riley Schussler became Trinity's all-time leading tackler on Oct. 1 at St. Ambrose, and is now the first Trojan to ever make 400 career tackles, with 411 during his time at Trinity.
• On Aug. 27, senior wide receiver Cory Windle set the all-time TIU record for receptions, now with 152 catches over three-plus seasons. Windle is now the program's all-time leader in reception yards as well, with 1,893.
• Trinity (27.9 ppg) ranks 6th, and St. Francis (26.9 ppg) ranks 7th in the MSFA in scoring. Defensively, the Saints allow 24.0 points per game (5th in MSFA), while the Trojans rank 12th (40.1 ppg).

Series History

• Trinity and St. Francis have met 14 times before Saturday, with both teams claiming victory seven times.
• The Trojans dominated the series from 2000-2006, winning six of the first seven matchups. St. Francis have taken six out of the most recent seven, including the last two games, both in Joliet.

Last Time vs St. Francis

• Trinity were poised for a come-from-behind win, with a potenial game-tying drive in the closing minutes, but a late turnover secured the win for the 18th-ranked Saints, who defeated the Trojans on Oct. 31, 2015.
• Trailing by eight with 2:45 to play, the Trojans blocked a field goal that would have made it a two-possession game. Starting from their own 8-yardline, Trinity quarterback Zach Chesser found Brad Hargis for a 29-yard completion, but four plays later, an interception was returned all the way for a touchdown, putting the upset bid out of reach.
• Chesser finished the day going 9-for-23, with 95 yards. Hargis was the team's leading receiver, making two catches for 48 yards.

About St. Francis

• After stumbling to a 1-4 start, St. Francis has rebounded to win three straight, most recently a 20-13 road win at Lindenwood-Belleville last Saturday.
• Quarterback Don Butkus ranks 5th in the MSFA, averaging 225.2 passing yards per game.
• Two Saint wideouts are among the top four in the conference reception leaders. Brandon Ruffin is averaging 5.5 catches per game (2nd in MSFA), while Lexus Jackson brings in 5.0 receptions per contest (T-4th in MSFA).
• Junior defensive back Dekota Doerr leads the team in tackles, with an average of 5.7 per game.

A Trojan Win Would...

• ... Improve the team's record to 2-7.
• ... Be the first win over St. Francis in 3 seasons.
• ... Be back-to-back home wins over the Saints for the first time since 2004-06.

Leslie Frazier Field

• TIU is 11-24 at home in the Wherritt era, and are 52-80-1 all-time at Frazier Field.
• The Trojans are 15-11-1 all-time in home openers, and have won the first game of the year at Frazier Field in five of the the past seven seasons.
• TIU's head coach for the inaugural season in 1989 through 1996 was Leslie Frazier. Frazier was a member of the 1985 Super Bowl Champion Chicago Bears, and is currently the secondary coach of the NFL's Baltimore Ravens. He had a record of 38-37-3 while at TIU, and remains the winningest coach in Trinity International history.

Trojan Football History

• The Trinity International Trojan football program has an all-time record of 103-176-2 (.370), dating back to their first season as a varsity program in 1990.
• Trinity has won three MSFA Midwest League titles in school history (1994, 1995, 2003).
• TIU has earned two NAIA Football Championship Series berths (1994, 2004). The program 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.

NCCAA Victory Bowl

• The top two eligible teams in the NCCAA based on Massey Rating will meet at the end of the season in the 2016 Victory Bowl.
• The Trojans are ranked No. 5 in the NCCAA rankings, the third-highest program from the NAIA. 

Offensive Leaders

• Senior quarterback J.J. Burmeister is averaging 164.4 passing yards per game this season, throwing 15 TDs on the year. The senior is close to the pace needed to set a new TIU single-season record, with a 60.8% completion percentage.
• Senior Cory Windle leads the Trojan receiving corps with 34 receptions and nine TDs.
• Sophomore running back Isaac Branch leads the Trojans with 799 yards on the ground, including a career-high 255-yard performance against St. Xavier last week, the highest total for a TIU rusher since 2012, when Chris Elliott set a new MSFA record with 346 yards.
• Branch is averaging 99.9 yards per game, reaching the century mark three times this season.
• Senior kicker Jeremiah Carter is Trinity's all-time leader in field goals made, and points scored by a kicker. This season, Carter is second on the team with 53 points, going 9-for-14 on field goals, and 26-for-27 on extra points.

Defensive Leaders

• Linebacker Riley Schussler continues to lead the Trojan defense, with 91 total tackles. Schussler ranks 3rd in the MSFA and 11th in the NAIA with 11.4 tackles per game.
• Justin Hackley was named MSFA Midwest League and NCCAA National Player of the Week after his performance against Concordia on Sept. 24. Hackley recorded three sacks and 4.5 tackles for loss against the Cardinals, and is now the team leader with five sacks on the year. Hackley also has a team-high eight tackles for loss.
• Bradley Mowbray leads the team with three interceptions, including one last week against St. Xavier.

Campbell Trophy Semifinalist

• Senior linebacker Riley Schussler was selected as a semifinalist for the 2016 William V. Campbell Trophy, presented by Fidelity Investments.
• Schussler is one of 156 players across college football, and only one of four NAIA players to be named a semifinalist.
• To be nominated, a player must be a senior or graduate student in their final year of eligibility, have a grade point average of at least 3.2 on a 4.0 scale, have outstanding football ability as a first team player and have demonstrated strong leadership and citizenship.
• Schussler becomes the first player in Trinity history to be nominated for the award.

TIU in the Polls

• TIU has been ranked 29 times in the program's history, and holds an all-time record of 15-12 (.556) as a nationally-ranked team.
• Trinity was ranked as high as No. 21 on Oct. 7, 2013, following their win over Olivet Nazarene.
• The Trojans are 7-51 (.121) all-time against ranked opponents, and 55-75 (.423) against unranked teams.
• When TIU is unranked, they are 51-125 (.290) since the poll's debut in 1999.

Mission108

• For the past four seasons, Trinity Football has supported the fight against human trafficking. Join us today in giving towards the goal of $10,000 to support a Safe House in Northern India and a Safe House in Chicago. Donations are online at http://www.Mission108.com.