Sept. 30, 2017 - Through the first two games of the season, the Concordia-Chicago Cougars' success was due in large part to a plus-eight in the turnover differential. This afternoon, the tables were turned drastically, as Trine University rode five first-half interceptions to five touchdowns in handing the Cougars their first loss of the year, 44-7 in front of a large Homecoming crowd in River Forest.

Both teams came up dry on their opening possessions, with Zak Ripp sniffing out a fake punt on fourth down and stopping the ball carrier a yard short of the first-down marker. The Cougars drove to the Thunder 26 where they faced a fourth-and-five, but Cayleel Hill stepped in front of a Shane Virnala pass and shut down the first scoring threat of the afternoon. Trine cashed in the turnover a few minutes later when Lamar Carswell slipped through the left side of the line and broke free for a 49-yard run to the end zone for the 7-0 lead.

Two plays into the ensuing drive, the Thunder had the ball back on Hill's second pick. Trine then marched 43 yards in eight plays with Carswell capping the drive with a six-yard scoring run for a 14-0 lead.

Late in the quarter, Trine was in CUC territory again, but Kareem Dabney forced a fumble and came up with the loose ball. However, the Cougars gave the ball back on the very next play with interception number three. On the first play of the second quarter, Trine quarterback Evan Wyse found Andrew Bonfiglio on the right side of the end zone from 18 yards out for the 21-0 lead.

Trine put up three more touchdowns in the first half, two of them coming on interception returns of 29 yards by Marcus Winters and 79 yards by Kyle Wiswell. The Cougars' defense came away with a second takeaway in the half as Nico Powell recovered a fumble, but CUC was unable to convert it into points. The Cougars left the field at halftime, trailing 42-0.

Concordia-Chicago stopped the visitors on their initial possession of the second half before putting together a drive that resulted in points. The combination of Tyler Sestich and Ryan Allison covered much of the 78 yards with pass completions of 24, 19 and 30 yards, the latter setting up a first-and-goal at the five. The Trine defense made it tough for the Cougars on the next three plays, but on fourth down, Sestich took it into the end zone untouched for the score. The extra point by Orlando Hayes made the score TU 42, CUC 7.

The fourth quarter produced just one score, which came when Trine had CUC backed up against its goal line. A pass was caught in the end zone, but the Trine defender made the tackle before the receiver could get out, resulting in a safety. 

Trine finished with 447 total yards, led by Wyse's 117 passing yards and Seth Boggs' 108 yards rushing. Concordia-Chicago finished with 178 yards, led by Sestich's 108 yards passing. The Cougars' leading tacklers included Ivan Vixamar with 10 total (six solos), Jaylan Cox with nine (seven solos) and Thaddous Daniel Jr. with eight (four solos). 

Concordia-Chicago (2-1) will open Northern Athletics Collegiate Conference play next Saturday when they host Aurora University at 1 p.m.