SEGUIN, Texas -- A game that saw a wild flurry of offense ended in dramatic fashion as Texas Lutheran came back to win 50-48 over Hendrix with no time remaining Saturday afternoon and improve to 2-0 in Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference (SCAC) play.

Saturday's contest marked the third-highest scoring conference game in SCAC history and the highest scoring game since 2010.

The two teams combined for 15 scoring drives, 1,005 yards of total offense (549 for Hendrix, 456 for Texas Lutheran) and 49 first downs. Despite the mass amounts of explosive plays, Saturday's contest still came down to the game's final moments as Ja'Mare Nichols (San Antonio/Roosevelt) caught an out route for a touchdown on an untimed down to win the game to complete the comeback victory.

Special teams proved to be crucial as every point counted on Saturday, kicker A'Jean Augustine (Houston/Lamar) made one of his two field goal attempts and all five of his extra point tries.

Reece Deitrick (Austin/Canyon) was 19-for-33 passing with 301 total yards (287 passing, 14 rushing) and five touchdowns (four passing, one rushing). Ja'Mare Nichols was his favorite target on Saturday as the San Antonio native had a career day, leading the receiving corps with six catches for 153 yards and three touchdowns - all career-highs. Nichols' three touchdown performance are the most touchdowns in a single-game for a Bulldog since Jekovan Holmes in 2016. Weston Guzman (McAllen/McAllen) had a strong day out of the backfield with 86 yards rushing and a touchdown.

Marvin Farris (Rosenberg/Lamar Consolidated) led the Texas Lutheran defense with 12 tackles, including 2.5 for a loss and a sack as well as a blocked extra point. Troy Tomaselli (Castroville/Cornerstone Christian) and Owen Garcia (Austin/Connally) tallied eight tackles each with Garcia collecting one of four TLU interceptions on the day. The four interceptions tie the program record for interceptions in a game and marks the third straight season TLU has had a four interception game. With his fourth quarter interception, senior Marec Square (Houston/Lamar) moved into the top ten of TLU's Division-III history in the category with five career interceptions, including four this season. Justin Navarro (Edinburg/Robert Vela) and Anthony Ortegon (Deer Park/Deer Park) finished with five tackles each with Ortegon recording his third sack of the season.

After falling into an early 13-0 hole and an interception by Tyler Littleton (Irving/MacArthur), a three-yard touchdown pass from Deitrick to Tory Brooks (Hillsboro/Hillsboro) got the Bulldogs on the board. The Bulldogs would respond to another Hendrix touchdown with a 64-yard connection between Deitrick and Nichols. A 10-yard rushing touchdown from Deitrick gave TLU their first lead late in the first half but the Warriors would get on the board one last time to take a 26-21 lead into the locker room.

Texas Lutheran would score on five of their eight possessions in the second half, starting with a four-yard rushing touchdown from Brooks and a 57-yard receiving touchdown from Nichols.

A 10-yard rushing touchdown from Weston Guzman tied the game 41-all early in the fourth and Augustine's 35-yard field goal gave TLU a 44-41 lead with 6:53 remaining. A 78-yard connection for a SCAC record tying 7th passing touchdown from Hendrix quarterback, Jacob Buniff, with 31 seconds left could have been a dagger but the Bulldogs were able to execute a successful two-minute drill to put them in position to win the game.

A 27-yard connection between Deitrick and Lavonta Henry (San Antonio/Madison) moved the ball to the 36-yard line with 16 second left before Deitrick found Brandon Wells (San Antonio/Brennan) for his third catch of the day with four seconds remaining. Deitrick looked to find his favorite target, Caleb Camarillo (Gonzales/Southside) as time expired but despite the pass being broken up, TLU was given an untimed down for one last shot to win it due to pass interference in the end zone, placing the ball on the four-yard line. Deitrick rolled right and found Nichols to send the TLU faithful home happy.

Prior to Saturday's game, Texas Lutheran honored its 20-member senior class.

Texas Lutheran continues SCAC play next Saturday as the Austin College 'Roos travel to Seguin to serve as the Bulldogs Homecoming opponent. Kickoff is set for 4 PM.  The game will be broadcast on FloCollege along with KWED 1580 AM with Chris Austin on the call. Saturday Texas Lutheran Athletics will also induct four new members into the TLU Athletics Hall of Fame: former TLU Baseball head coach Greg Burnett, former TLU Softball player Ashley Jacobsen '15, and former TLU football twin quarterback/wide receiver duo Brett and Cameron Peavy '14 in a halftime ceremony. Texas Lutheran will also recognize the 1975 NAIA National Championship team and the 1975 AIAW Volleyball National Championship teams for their 50th anniversaries as well as Athletics Wall of Honor recipients, former TLU President Dr. Stuart Dorsey and his wife, Michelle Dorsey. All streaming and stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.

For more information on Texas Lutheran football, follow the Bulldogs on X (Twitter) and Instagram (@TLU_Football) and as always you can find updates on all Texas Lutheran athletics on tlubulldogs.com and all official TLU social media channels (@tluathletics on X (Twitter,) @tlu_athletics on Instagram, and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).