Tenner Shines Under Homecoming Lights To Power Lakers Past No. 17 Saints

ARLINGTON HEIGHTS, Ill. – Tyler Tenner scored with 1:12 remaining in the game to lift Roosevelt to a 28-24 victory over No. 17 St. Francis on Homecoming Weekend in front of an electric crowd Saturday night at Morris Field.

The contest under the lights was exactly what was to be expected between two stalwarts of the Mid-States Football Association Midwest League. The two teams traded momentum throughout the night with both defenses making critical plays at crucial junctures and both offenses finding the necessary explosive plays to respond to each other.

Roosevelt (4-2, 2-0 MSFA) didn't trail in the game until there was 3:20 left in regulation after St. Francis kicked a 43-yard field goal. Carson Budke and the rest of the Lakers offense took the field needing to go 70 yards for a go-ahead score, and it didn't take long for the chains to start moving. Tenner took a screen pass for 13 yards then Budke found Keonta Nixon for 16 yards to enter Fighting Saints territory. Jacob Biddle then all-but sealed the Lakers at least a field goal opportunity with a 33-yard catch and run to bring Roosevelt inside the 10-yard line.

Tenner took the first down handoff and easily pushed the pile five yards to come up just shy of the goal-line and forcing a timeout from St. Francis to save some clock. There was no stopping Tenner on the second attempt as the senior cruised into the end zone for the go-ahead score, his third touchdown of the evening. It is the third time this season and fifth time in his career that Tenner has rushed for at least three scores in a single game.

The Lakers' defense still needed to hold the Fighting Saints for the final 1:12, and St. Francis challenged the unit. St. Francis converted on a fourth down to keep the game alive with eight seconds left, but a pair of attempts to reach the end zone fell incomplete. The Fighting Saints threw for 375 yards and three touchdowns in the game, but completed roughly half their passes and also tossed an interception.

For the first 20 minutes of the game, it seemed like Roosevelt might run away from St. Francis by playing keep away. The Lakers drove 58 yards down the field in 11 plays on a drive that lasted just shy of seven minutes to open the game with a Tenner touchdown run from a yard out. The defense then stopped the Fighting Saints on four straight plays from inside the 2-yard line to force a turnover on downs.

That just gave Roosevelt more field with which to chew up the clock, running another 7:18 off the scoreboard with a 14-play, 99-yard drive. The drive nearly stalled after Tenner was hit for a loss on first down, but the running back responded by breaking off a 20-yard run on the next play to reset the chains. St. Francis then held the Lakers to fourth-and-10 at the 25-yard line, but Budke answered by tossing a 25-yard touchdown to Nixon to put the Lakers up 14-0.

The game ended up tied 14-14 at halftime, setting up the ultimate struggle in the third quarter with neither team able to break the deadlock. Roosevelt forced a fumble on St. Francis' one promising drive of the period, but both teams traded punts on their next two possessions. The Lakers were able to milk some more clock with a methodical 10-play, 70-yard drive that took almost five minutes before Tenner scored from 13 yards out early in the fourth.

St. Francis responded with its own touchdown then made its biggest play of the day by blocking a punt. Yet the Lakers held the Fighting Saints in check after the special-teams play, and forced the field goal that gave the Fighting Saints their only lead of the day.

Jarin Edwards came up with both big plays for the Lakers defense, picking off St. Francis on its second drive of the contest and also recovering the key third-quarter fumble. Charlie Brooks also made his presence known in the Fighting Saints backfield with a pair of sacks and three quarterback hurries. Bennie Harris added a third sack for the Lakers while Ozell Richardson and Ryan Hatter both had two tackles-for-loss.

The schedule doesn't get any easier for the Lakers next week as they travel to Tennessee to face Bethel (Tenn.), which entered the weekend ranked No. 6 in the nation. The Wildcats will be the third top-10 team Roosevelt has faced this season, joining NCAA Division III No. 1 North Central and NAIA No. 4 Indiana Wesleyan. Kickoff in McKenzie, Tenn. Is scheduled for noon with audio coverage on the Laker Sports Network.