The Trinity Bible College Lions won their last home game of the season on Saturday by defeating Dakota College-Bottineau 31-12. It was also Senior Day in which the Lions honored their six seniors: #4 Nathaniel Molan, #24 Kevin Gilleland, #49 Brent Holt, #54 Dillon Urlacher, #57 Enrique Robinson, and #88 Scott Kilsdonk for their hard-work and dedication throughout their careers at TBC.

As for the game, the Lions got out to a quick start as Sophomore Demetrius Glover took the opening kickoff 80 yards for a touchdown! Christian Troxler tacked on the extra point to make it 7-0. Then with 3:36 left in the first quarter, with Bottineau pinned deep in their own territory, Sophomore Marcus Bartels recorded a sack for a safety to make it 9-0. On the Lions’ next possession, Sophomore Clint Linthicum would cap off a 5 play, 51 yard drive with a 1 yard touchdown run. This gave the Lions a 16-0 lead, after the Troxler extra point, at the end of the first quarter.

The Lumberjacks would score on their first possession of the 2nd quarter on a 31 yard run by Erick Martinez, but Freshman Jose Casanova would block the extra point. After both teams would punt, the Lions would put together a 7 play, 45 yard drive that would result in a 4 yard touchdown by Freshman Jason Elliot. The Lions would complete the 2 point conversion on a botched snap as Linthicum found Sophomore Joel Sandoz at the pylon as the two turned in a fantastic play. The Lions led 24-6 at half.

The second half would be more of a defensive battle than what we saw in the first half. Dakota College would score with 2:50 remaining in the 3rd for the only score of the quarter to bring the score to 24-12 after Casanova again blocked the extra point. But the Lions would tack on another touchdown in the 4th on a 12 yard run by Freshman Seth Peterson to bring us to our final score of 31-12.

Offensively, Linthicum led the way with 67 yards rushing, on 21 carries and a touchdown. He also caught 3 passes for 40 yards. Jason Elliot rushed for 63 yards, on 17 carries and a touchdown. He also was 7-13 for 131 yards passing on the day. Seth Peterson carried the ball 9 times for 32 yards and a score. The Lions rushed for 162 yards and passed for 145 yards, for a total of 307 yards on the day.

Defensively for the Lions, Freshman Jose Casanova had a spectacular day! He recorded 11 tackles (5 solo, 6 assisted), 2 sacks, 3 tackles for loss, 1 forced fumble, and 2 blocked extra points! Sophomore Ryan Wolfenden had 9 tackles and 2 sacks as well. Cameron Martell recorded 2 sacks and 4 tackles for loss in the Lions’ win. Senior Dillon Urlacher and Sophomore Marcus Bartels each had a sack. The Lions recorded 7 sacks in the game, forced 3 fumbles, and 1 interception by Freshman Steven Harrison. The Lions held the Lumberjacks to 284 total yards in the game.

Coach Morgan had this to say about the game: “We played the most complete game of the year for us. All three units contributed points. The offense executed real well and the defense did what they’ve been doing all year! I’m really proud of my guys. What a group!!! We had to really overcome some things this week. The guys did a great job!”

The win gives the Lions three wins on the season, the most since 2000. Next, the Lions will face off against the University of Minnesota-Morris on Thursday night (11/4) in Morris, MN @ 6:00pm.