ARLINGTON HEIGHT, Ill. --- The TIU football team returned to the gridiron on Saturday night as they visited the 22nd-ranked Lakers of Roosevelt University in Mid-States Football Association (MSFA) Midwest League action. After falling short at St. Francis (IL) last Saturday, the Trojans looked to carry their offensive momentum built over the last several games into a key showdown under the lights.

Trinity showed promise after intercepting Roosevelt quarterback Jack Sheehan on the game's opening drive, but failed to capitalize by turning the ball back over on downs. The Lakers would respond with the first score of the game as Sheehan connected with Christian Phill for a 72-yard touchdown pass to give Roosevelt an early lead. Sheehan would find the end zone against five minutes later with Blaize Cobb-Griffin scoring on an eight yard touchdown pass to put the Lakers up 14-0, a lead Roosevelt would carry into the halftime break.

On their opening drive of the second half, Nolan Brammer would link up with Gino Mastandrea for a ten yard touchdown pass, with a successful two-point conversion thanks to Derek Lowe on the ground. Unfortunately, it would be the only points the Trojans could put together, despite giving up the ball just once the entire night. 

Just minutes after Trinity cracked the scoreboard, Roosevelt responded with a big 54-yard touchdown run by Ke'Von Johnson for Roosevelt's third touchdown of the night. Sheehan would throw his third touchdown pass of the game early in the fourth to Phill, and Lakers kicker Omar Beltran would tack on a 29 yard field goal as the Trojans were unsuccessful in scoring after their third quarter touchdown, falling to Roosevelt by a final score of 31-8.

Brammer ended his night completing 22 of 52 passes for 283 yards, one touchdown and one interception. Mastandrea finished with 176 yards receiving on 13 catches and TIU's lone score. On the ground, Lowe ended the game with 30 net yards, while on defense, Kemon Reese notched 18 tackles and two sacks, as Steven Williams III recorded an interception with a 24 yard return.

Additional Game Notes

• Saturday's game marks Trinity's 16th consecutive loss.

• Trinity converted just 3-14 plays on third down, and 1-7 on fourth dow.

• Nolan Brammer's 283 passing yards against Roosevelt make him just the fifth Trojan quarterback to throw for over 3,000 career yards in the air.

• Brammer's touchdown pass to Gino Mastandrea was his 11th of the season, tying him with Ryan Thorson (2006) for the sixth most touchdown passes in a single season by a TIU quarterback.

• Brammer's 22 completions moved him past Jon Start (1995) for the fourth most competitions in program history (248).

• Mastandrea's 176 receiving yards in the loss are a new career-high. Averaging 101.4 yards per game through the air, Gino ranks sixthin the NAIA in receiving yards per game.

• Masandrea's touchdown reception was his sixth of the season and of his career, tied for the eighth most in a single season in school history.

• Kemon Reese's 18 total tackles were a game-high, and set  a new personal career-high. Reese ranks second in the NAIA in total tackles per game this season (13.2).

• Reese's two sacks were his second and third of the season.

• The interception on the Laker's opening drive by Steven Williams III was the first of his career.

NEXT UP

TIU (0-6) is off next weekend, but will return to action on Saturday, April 10 as they wrap up the regular season against the Olivet Nazarene Tigers in MSFA-Midwest League play at Leslie Frazier Field in Deerfield. Kickoff is scheduled for 1:00pm CST and can be watched LIVE on the Trojan Sports Network.

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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.