Tenner Powers Roosevelt's Second-Half Comeback Over St. Ambrose

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Roosevelt overcame a halftime deficit to open up Mid-States Football Association Midwest League play with a 30-17 win over St. Ambrose on Saturday at Morris Field.

After trailing 14-10 at halftime, it didn't take long for the Lakers (3-2, 1-0 Midwest) to create the momentum they needed for the comeback. On the second play of the second half, Charlie Brooks caught a deflected pass at the St. Ambrose 15-yard line and rumbled seven yards to set up Roosevelt inside the 10. Three plays later, Tyler Tenner had his second of three rushing touchdowns on the day to give the Lakers the lead.

The Fighting Bees would tie the game with a field goal on the next drive, but once again the Lakers had an answer to reclaim the lead. Carson Budke led a 16-play, 83-yard drive that took more than 10 minutes off the game clock, finishing it off himself with a quarterback sneak from a yard out on the first play of the fourth quarter.

Budke completed 15 of 26 passes for 180 yards, tossing an interception on a Hail Mary at the end of the first half. Although they weren't the gaudy numbers of his first few starts, Budke made some big throws in the game, including a 33-yard connection to Keonta Nixon to set up Roosevelt's first score of the game.

However, it was Tenner and the rushing game that was a dominant force yet again as the Lakers ran for 213 yards and averaged 5.6 yards per carry in the game. Tenner ran for 188 yards and three touchdowns himself, gashing his way through the Fighting Bees for seven rushes of at least 10 yards, including 26- and 38-yard runs on the final drive to ice the game with a 3-yard touchdown run.

Roosevelt's defense also found some luck at attacking the Fighting Bees passing game, limiting St. Ambrose to just 94 yards through the air. The Lakers defensive front got home to the quarterback five times in the game with Ryan Hatter leading the way with 2.5 sacks and 3.5 tackles for loss among his five stops in the game. Jordan Payne added 1.5 sacks and Justin Olokun added the other sack for the Lakers, who also had nine tackles for loss in the game.

The Lakers welcome St. Francis to Morris Field next Saturday for a 7 p.m. kickoff under the lights to cap off a tripleheader in Arlington Heights to celebrate Roosevelt University's Homecoming Weekend.