LITTLE ROCK, AR --  The Bulldogs' (6-4, 5-1 SCAC) bid to bring home a fifth SCAC Championship fell short on Saturday, Nov. 15 as McMurry (6-4, 5-1 SCAC) defeated Texas Lutheran, 27-19 at War Memorial Stadium in the first-ever SCAC Championship game.

The Bulldogs led for a majority of the night but were unable to stop the bleeding as they gave up 20 unanswered in the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs had an opportunity to tie the game late with one final two-minute drill with no timeouts, but a fumbled snap in plus-territory would be recovered by the War Hawks to seal the game.

Reece Deitrick (Austin/Canyon) finished 16-of-31 for 200 yards and a touchdown with an interception and three fumbles. Tory Brooks (Hillsboro/Hillsboro) led the Bulldogs with 55 yards rushing while Kibreante Williams (Victoria/Victoria West) finished with 51 yards and a touchdown. Freshman Malik Johnson (Paris/Paris) led the TLU defense with seven tackles, while Owen Garcia (Austin/Connally) and Travonne Woodley (Killeen/Shoemaker) had six each.

Two of Texas Lutheran's most prolific weapons, receivers Caleb Camarillo (Gonzales/Southside) and Ja'Mare Nichols (San Antonio/Roosevelt) were limited to 75 yards receiving - all from Camarillo who had two catches for 75 yards and a touchdown. Lavonta Henry (San Antonio/Madison) had a team-high four catches for 50 yards.

Both teams averaged 4.2 yards per play and despite TLU having more plays from scrimmage, five turnovers including four fumbles would prove to be the difference.

McMurry started the scoring in the first quarter but the Bulldogs would immediately respond with a 42-yard touchdown pass from Deitrick to Camarillo to tie the game at seven.

A pair of field goals from freshman Caleb Schuetze (San Antonio/San Antonio Christian) in the second quarter gave the Bulldogs a 13-7 lead entering halftime.

Both teams were held off the scoreboard in the third quarter, before Kibreante Williams found the end zone on a seven-yard touchdown run early in the fourth. The Bulldogs would go for two in an attempt to make it a clean 21-7 lead but would fail the two-point conversion, leaving the score 19-7. McMurry would rattle off 20 unanswered points on three of the Bulldogs four fourth quarter turnovers.

Texas Lutheran forced a punt with 2:45 remaining to give themselves a final shot to send the game into overtime and would drive to the McMurry 29-yard line before a fumbled snap would lead to an 18-yard loss and a decisive final turnover to the War Hawks. McMurry would kneel down to run out the clock and end the game on the ensuing possession and clinch the win.

The Bulldogs  - a team picked to finish first in the SCAC preseason poll - conclude the 2025 season with a 6-4 record, going 5-1 in the SCAC to finish as SCAC runner-ups. The Bulldogs will graduate 20 seniors, most of which played a major part in the Bulldogs playoff run last season and were 2024 SCAC Champions. We thank them for all of their contributions to the Texas Lutheran football program.

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).