JACKSON, Miss. -- The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs shut out Belhaven (Miss.) for the second straight season with a 23-0 road win Saturday evening at Belhaven Bowl Stadium.
 
TLU shut out an opponent in consecutive years for the first time since the Bulldogs held Trinity scoreless in three straight seasons (1974, 1975 and 1976). TLU defeated Belhaven 37-0 a year ago in Seguin.
 
The Bulldogs improved to 2-0 overall and to 1-0 in the American Southwest Conference.
 
Belhaven dropped to 0-2 overall and to 0-1 in the ASC.
 
The Bulldogs recorded a safety, recovered two fumbles, produced five sacks, collected eight tackles for loss, and blocked a punt against the Blazers.
 
"Our defense really bowed up," said Carl Gustafson, TLU's head football coach. "We gave (Belhaven) some things, but when we needed stops, we got stops. Those guys kept us in the game and allowed for our offense to find finally a rhythm late in the game."
 
TLU scored its first nine points of the game in the first quarter, but the Bulldogs did not score again until 1:29 left in the third quarter.
 
Chris Monroe (College Station/College Station) opened the TLU scoring with a 25-yard run at the 9:35 mark of the first quarter.
 
The Bulldogs struck again with a DaKwa Davis (Magnolia/Cypress Creek) sack and safety of the Belhaven backup quarterback Ben Owens.
 
After missing out on earlier opportunities to take advantage of Belhaven miscues and repeatedly good TLU field position, the Bulldogs broke though with their second offensive touchdown late in the first third quarter.
 
Bulldog quarterback Jarvis Brooks (Lewisville/Lewisville) capped a nine-play, 80-yard drive with a 10-yard TD run up the middle.
 
Brooks made his first career start, playing in the absence of injured starter Kyle Grona (Fredericksburg/Fredericksburg).
 
"Jarvis, I thought, did some good things," said Gustafson. "That position is tough to play. He is growing, and he matured a lot tonight."
 
"There is big difference between going out and playing a game if you are a backup and the starter has been hurt. Now you have to prepare, and you are the starter. So this was a great learning week for Jarvis. We are really excited about him."
 
Brooks finished the night 12-for-23 for 120 yards and one interception. He carried the ball nine times for 26 yards.
 
Monroe reached the 100-yard mark for a second straight contest. The sophomore rushed 20 times for 126 yards with the one touchdown.
 
Austin Mathews clinched the victory with a 29-yard scoring run at the 4:07 mark of the fourth quarter.
 
"We have to get healthy," said Gustafson. "We came out of last week really banged up. But, that is the way it is, next man up. I thought (center) Cameron Bennett did a really good job of filling in for his brother. We are not sure what the timeline is for Chris (Bennett). We are hoping for the best for him, but Cam showed that he can play."
 
"We lost Ian (Leslie) there for a couple of quarters. He is such a gutsy kid. When the team needs him, he finds a way. He went out there and kinda got us back on track. So much that we could turn it to Chris (Monroe) and Austin Mathews, and let them finish them off."
 
Cuzze led TLU with eight total tackles and a tackle for loss. James Bell (Houston/Lamar) had the blocked punt, and fumble recoveries went to Taveon Roberson (Bay City/Bay City) and Nwankwo Nwankwo (Richmond/Foster).
 
TLU returns to Bulldog Stadium next Saturday for a 6 p.m. kickoff against defending national runner-up and 2016 national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor.