ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. --- The TIU football team returned to action on Saturday night as they hosted the Saint Ambrose Fighting Bees in Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Midwest League play. Due to field conditions on the TIU campus, the game was played at Morris Field in Arlington Heights. Coming off a ten point loss at Missouri Baptist last weekend, the Trojans hoped to snap their 0-3 start to the season.

After an 87 second SAU drive that resulted in the game's first touchdown, Trinity responded with a big play as Deon Cook returned the ensuing kickoff 90 yards to the house to put the Trojans on the board, 7-6 after a failed PAT attempt. The Bees relied heavily on their run game, feeding T'Hahleg Ha 17 times for 83 yards on the night, while TIU opted for the passing game. SAU's John Benckendorf would connect with Blake Wittman for an eight yard touchdown pass to put the Bees up 14-6 at the halftime break.

The Trojans would score on their first possession of the second half as Derrick Taylor found Gino Mastandrea for a 12 yard touchdown pass with a successful two-point conversion run by Nicholas Godfrey to tie the game at 14. While Trinity limited their turnovers from previous games, Saint Ambrose struck back with a fast score on a five yard touchdown run by Brandon Baalman to give the Bees the lead back just 88 seconds after TIU tied the game. 

On their next possession, the Trojans marched down the field as Brammer connected with Mastandrea from 24 yards out to make the score 28-20 in favor of SAU. SAU would move the ball quickly on the ground and score touchdowns on their next three possessions in the fourth quarter. 

Despite being down 23 points in the fourth, the Trojans continued to battle. With just over three and a half minutes to go in the game, Brammer found Mastandrea for six points from 24 for the second time. Cameron Outlaw followed the score up with a successful onside kick attempt, giving TIU another chance as the clock ticked away. 

75 seconds after their last score, Brammer found Deon Cook at the back of the end zone for his third touchdown pass of the game. Despite the late push, SAU's ability to move the ball down the field quickly and score, and slow the Trinity offense down would be the deciding factor as the Trojans fell at Morris Field by a final score of 49-32.

Brammer ended his night with 291 passing yards on 29 competitions and three scoring passes. The senior quarterback out of Oak Hills, Calif. also led TIU's running game with 12 yards on the ground. Mastandrea led the game with 137 yards receiving to complement his three caught touchdowns, while Lorente Blakeney and Kemon Reese each notched 15 total tackles and combined for three and a half tackles for loss. 

Additional Game Notes

• TIU falls to 0-14 all-time against Saint Ambrose with Saturday's loss.

• Saturday's loss in the 14th consecutive for the Trojans, their longest streak in program history.

• Saturday's game was the first home night game in TIU football history.

• Trinity's 32 points against the Bees are the most they have scored in a game since recording 34 points against Robert Morris (IL) on Oct. 21, 2017.

• Both teams were penalized for over 100 yards in Saturday's game. TIU was flagged 14 times for 121 yards, while SAU were penalized nine times for 101 yards.

• The TIU defense held the Bees to just 2-12 on third down.

• Deon Cook's first quarter 90 yard kickoff return was just the third kickoff returned for a touchdown in program history, and the longest in program history. Gary Tyler was the last Trojan to return a kickoff to the endzone in 2014, with Luciani Lubin also accomplishing the feat in 2013.

• Kemon Reese and Lornete Blakeney's 15 tackles each led the game. Reese also notched two and a half tackles for five yards lost.

• Cam Palmer and James Caradine both recorded a sack in Saturday's loss.

• Saint Ambrose out rushed the Trojans 279-27 in the game.

• With his 29 pass competitions on Saturday, quarterback Nolan Brammer passed Kevin Oberlander (2003-04) for sixth all-time on the program's all-time completions list (199.)

• Brammer's three touchdown passes moved him past Jason Nelson (1997-99) for seventh on the program's all-time passing touchdowns list (14).

NEXT UP

TIU (0-4) returns to the gridiron next Saturday, March 20 as they visit the Fighting Saints of the University of St. Francis (IL) in conference play. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00pm CT at Joliet Memorial Stadium in Joliet, and can be watched LIVE on USF SportsNet.

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Trinity International University is a comprehensive, national university affiliated with the Evangelical Free Church of America and located in Bannockburn, Illinois, 25 miles north of Chicago. TIU educates men and women to engage in God's redemptive work in the world by cultivating academic excellence, Christian faithfulness and lifelong learning.