SEGUIN, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran football team put together a complete performance to defeat Hendrix, 34-0, at Bulldog Stadium to open conference play Saturday afternoon.
The Bulldogs (5-1, 1-0 SCAC) have scored 30-plus points in four straight games. The shutout is the first since a 49-0 victory over Lyon in 2024 and the first home shutout since 2019. The shutout is also the first time the Warriors have been shutout since restoring their football program in 2013, marking their first time being shutout since Oct. 22, 1960 against Henderson State.
The Bulldogs were dominant as they maintained possession for nearly 40 minutes on Saturday. Quarterback
Elijah Favela (Converse/Judson) completed 12-of-16 passes for 132 yards and added 24 yards and a touchdown on the ground.
Ja'Mare Nichols (San Antonio/Roosevelt) hauled in four passes for 74 yards and a score.
Micah Casson (Killeen/Copperas Cover) accounted for the lone passing touchdown, finishing 4-for-5 for 49 yards.
James Garza (Canyon Lake/Canyon Lake) paced TLU's rushing attack with a career-high 86 yards and two touchdowns on 22 carries.
Javin Logan (Houston/North Shore) finished with 62 yards in his return from injury.
The Bulldogs put together a balanced offensive attack that included 201 yards through the air and 178 rushing yards. All four of TLU's red zone opportunities ended in touchdowns, while the Bulldogs held the Warriors to 0-for-2 in the red zone.
On defense, TLU forced the Warriors, who entered Saturday's contest with the second ranked passing offense and 15th ranked total offense, to punt on their first five possessions, limiting the visitors to just 70 first half yards and seven first downs. Hendrix, who averaged 469.6 yards per game, was held to 157 total yards on Saturday. One of the red zone opportunities ended with an interception from
Troy Tomaselli (San Antonio/Cornerstone Christian), his first of two interceptions.
Texas Lutheran added four more interceptions to their nation-leading tally with Tomaselli finishing with two and
Andrew Silva (Sinton/Sinton) and
Malik Johnson (Paris/Paris) adding one each. It is the third time this season the Bulldogs have intercepted four or more passes in a single-game this season and with their season total now at 20, they are three away from the program record set in 1970. Johnson's interception was a historic one as he returned his for his fifth pick-six of the season, establishing a new NCAA single-season record across all levels in the process. The record was previously held by Mount Union's Louis Berry (4, 2018) in Division-III with the record being no more than four from FBS to Division-III until Saturday. Johnson needs one more pick-six to tie Berry for the career Division-III pick six record as well as tie Stony Brook's Chuck Downey's record for single-season all-returns (interception, kickoff, punt) (6, 1986). Johnson has had a pick-six in four of the Bulldogs last five games.
The list of contributors to the defensive effort extended past interceptions, including a nine-tackle, two sack effort from
Marvin Farris (Rosenberg/Lamar Consolidated). Tomaselli added eight tackles and a pass break up to his two interceptions.
Owen Garcia (Austin/Connally) contributed six tackles and a fumble recovery, while
Travonne Woodley (Killeen/Shoemaker) totaled five tackles and a sack.
Up next, Texas Lutheran heads to Batesville, Arkansas, for a rematch with Lyon College, this time in conference play, on Saturday, Oct. 24 at 4 PM. All streaming and live stats links will be available 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).
