Trojans Rally past Crusaders, 17-13

A defensive battle took place Saturday afternoon, September 8, 2007, for nearly two quarters on Frasier Field between the Valparaiso Crusaders and the Trinity International Trojans. The Trojans eventually broke through on the scoreboard with a 22-yard field goal by senior Mark Wilcox (Columbia, MO) with 2:06 remaining in the first half. The Trojans proved that the team who forces the most turnovers and recovers the most is usually the team that wins, and that’s what happened on Saturday.

On the ensuing drive, a Valpo fumble set the Trojans up in Crusader territory again late in the half, but Eli Crawford picked off a pass from sophomore Kyle Bennett (Portland, OR) and returned it 74 yards to the Trojan 10-yard line with 25 seconds remaining in the half. Two plays later, Warren Arnold completed a 10-yard touchdown pass to Jeff Horton. The extra point attempt was blocked by Patrick Dooley. Valpo led 6-3 at intermission.

The Crusaders fumbled on their opening drive of the third quarter, which led to Trinity International University (1-1) taking the lead. Senior Deon Dukes (Long Beach, CA) caught a six-yard touchdown pass from Bennett just 2:21 into the second half, putting the Trojans up 10-6.

Valpo would strike back at the end of the third quarter; the Crusaders scored on a three-yard quarterback sneak by Arnold, capping an eight-play, 62-yard drive. The Crusaders took a 13-10 lead going into the fourth quarter.

Trinity would take the lead in the final quarter by capping a nine-play, 59-yard drive, with a 13-yard touchdown pass from Bennett to Brennan Smith (Lake Worth, FL). The field goal was good by Wilcox to give the Trojans a 17-13 lead that would give Trinity International the win.

Kyle Bennett completed 17 passes for 167 yards and 2 touchdowns. Dukes caught 4 balls for 36 yards and one touchdown. Standing out on defense was Senior Jason Welch (Peoria, IL) and Junior Jared Heesch (Wisconsin Dells, WI). Welch had forced one fumble and recovered one fumble, while Heesch recovered one fumble as well. They finished the game with 7.5 tackles and 4 tackles respectively.

The Trojan football team will be on the road for the next three weeks and will play Walsh University in Ohio next Saturday. The Trojans’ next home game will be October 6 against McKendree University for homecoming weekend.