DETROIT, Mich. – Roosevelt dropped a Great Lakes Intercollegiate Athletic Conference game 38-14 at Wayne State on Saturday afternoon in Detroit.

The game started out promising for the Lakers (1-8, 1-5 GLIAC) when a block in the back call nullified a long return for the Warriors on the opening kickoff. Roosevelt's defense forced a three-and-out then the offense promptly marched down the field in seven plays, covering 54 yards. That first drive ended with Carson Budke hitting Jack Young Jr. for a 10-yard touchdown to put the Lakers up 7-0.

Wayne State responded with touchdowns on consecutive drives to take a 14-7 lead, but Roosevelt's defense was able to recapture some momentum after that. Jacob Bellizzi picked up a red-zone interception and returned it 30 yards to near midfield to set up the Lakers with great field position. Roosevelt had to punt after the interception then the defense forced a missed field goal from 51 yards to enter halftime.

The Warriors added on two more touchdowns in the third quarter, but the ever-plucky Lakers were again ready to make the game interesting. A missed 38-yard field goal late in the third quarter from Wayne State led to a 14-play, 80-yard drive with Zach Zella at the helm of the offense. The junior transfer from Mt. San Jacinto College tossed a three-yard touchdown pass to Cyrus Zuell to cap off the drive and cut the deficit to 28-14.

Zella finished 11 of 21 for 91 yards and a trio of interceptions to go along with his touchdown pass while Budke was 6 of 10 for 65 yards and the score. Those turnovers were particularly costly as they led to 10 points for Wayne State, including the field goal that ended the scoring. Carlos Conley also had an interception for the Lakers, which immediately neutralized Zella's second pick of the day.

Zuell finished with 45 yards on 13 carries for the Lakers while Keonta Nixon led the Lakers receivers with seven catches for 74 yards. Young had five catches for 43 yards as well for Roosevelt.

On defense, Jaylen Olokun led the way with nine tackles followed by four players with eight stops each. Bellizzi was one of those four players with eight tackles as was Dale Dambek, who had 2.5 tackles for loss in the game. Conley and safety Daveion Crawford were the other two with eight tackles in the game for the Lakers.

UP NEXT: Roosevelt closes out the season at Morris Field next Saturday when it welcomes Grand Valley State to Arlington Heights for the first meeting between the two Lakers.