Box Score CHICAGO, Ill. - On a day full of rain and lightning delays, the TIU Football team suffered their fifth straight defeat, losing 38-13 to the #10 ranked St. Xavier Cougars on Saturday afternoon.

Originally scheduled for a 1:00 pm kickoff, then changed to 10:30 am, the two teams were forced to sit through over two hours of lightning delay's before the game got underway. Once the game began, the Trojans struggled to move the ball offensively on their opening drive eventually getting stopped on fourth down.

The Cougars responded quickly after making the fourth down stop, driving 67 yards to the end zone to grab the early lead. With a steady rain falling all afternoon neither side was able to move the ball offensively after the opening score. The two teams would trade punts on two straight possessions, bringing the opening quarter to an end with St. Xavier holding a 7-0 lead.

After starting Cougar Quarterback Justin Hunniford went down with an injury, backup signal-caller Alex Martinez came into the game and led St. Xavier to two straight drives resulting in  touchdowns. Martinez connected on touchdown passes of 24 and 57 yards to give SXU a 21-0 lead at the half.

The second half saw a much better performance from TIU, as the Trojan defense got back on track early in the third quarter. Freshman Darrius Outland continued his strong season as he grabbed his third interception of the year on the Cougars opening drive of the half. After the turnover the Trojan offense was stalled after just five plays, but on the ensuing punt Caleb Kelley forced a fumble to give the ball right back to TIU.

Trinity International found the scoreboard for the first time in the game after the team's best drive gave Kicker Carter Andrade a chance at a 29-yard field goal, and the Freshman would covert easily, splitting the uprights to make it a 21-3 game.

After a three and out forced by the TIU defense, Isaac Branch and the Trojans offense finally got rolling, driving 52 yards for their first touchdown of the day. Branch capped off the strong drive with a four yard plunge into the end zone for his fourth score of the season. Branch led the team in rushing on the afternoon, carrying the rock 28 times for 110 yards and a touchdown.

After another Cougar touchdown, the Trojan offense drove right back down the field, going 65 yard in just seven plays before Andrade knocked home his second FG of the day, this time from 26-yards out. St. Xavier eventually sealed the victory after back-to-back drives with a field goal and touchdown to make 38-13 in favor of the home team.

Defensively for TIU, Freshman Jalen Robertson had a career high eight tackles in the first start of his career, and Bradley Mowbray, and Noah Acoccella added four tackles on the afternoon.

The Trojans look to get back on track next weekend when they return home for the first time in a month to take on Robert Morris University in a MSFA battle a 1 pm.