Shawn's blogging. www.shawnfury.blogspot.com. Check out the new FAQ page. NFL.com writer Gregg Easterbrook labels Keeping the Faith a "must read" sports book. Read more Booklist gives positive review to Keeping the Faith. Read more Publishers Weekly calls Keeping the Faith a "heartfelt tale." Read review Keeping the Faith is now available on Kindle. Read more. Shawn's story on Mike and Matt Fasnacht appears in the February issue of Minnesota Monthly, which can be read here. Shawn's essay on home-state memories appears in the current Sports Scoop. Read More Shawn's story on high school basketball is in the current issue of Minnesota Basketball News. Read More The Daily News of Iron Mountain, Michigan, reviews book. Read review New Ulm Journal story features Trinity football team, discusses impact of book on school, team. Read more

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Every loser has a story. And few teams have lost quite like the Trinity Bible College football team. Located in Ellendale, North Dakota—population 1,559—Trinity produces preachers and missionaries, but with an enrollment of only 310 students, struggles to find athletes. Keeping the Faith tells the remarkable story of the Trinity Bible College Lions, the worst college football team in the country. It tells the story of a team fighting for victory, and, more importantly, dignity.

Here is a compelling story, told through the eyes of a colorful group of characters. Trinity’s head coach is Rusty Bentley, a native Texan and former car salesman who says he moved his family to North Dakota because it was God’s will. In his first game, Trinity lost by a staggering 105-0, yet Bentley said the record loss was the best thing that ever happened to the school. Assistant coach Eric Slivoskey spent more than a decade traveling throughout the world, but he came to tiny Ellendale seeking answers to his spiritual questions. A former high school star, he struggles to coexist with the Scripture-quoting Bentley, whose knowledge of the Bible seems to dwarf his knowledge of football. Trinity’s players, who number fewer than thirty, include Lee Odell, an all-conference center from Kansas who arrived in Ellendale four years after he believed his playing days were over. Several Trinity players never even played high school football, but their participation helps keep the program alive. Others were prep standouts who wonder if they’ll ever again experience success on the field.

Trinity’s players keep taking the field week after week, loss after loss. They keep playing, always believing the next game will bring victory. Few football fans have heard of the Trinity Bible College Lions. After reading author Shawn Fury’s riveting account, none will forget their story. Keeping the Faith details the never ending struggles, the occasional absurdities, and the rare triumphs of the country’s worst team. It’s about football, faith, and finding small victories amid big defeats.