(Seguin) – Texas Lutheran looks to extend its late-season surge with a third consecutive win Saturday when American Southwest Conference foe Southwestern visits Bulldog Stadium on Senior Day.
The Bulldogs (3-5, 3-4 ASC) own their first winning streak of Ricky Matt’s second season as head coach after edging East Texas Baptist 20-13 in Marshall last Saturday.
The 2-6 Pirates have a 2-5 ASC record under ninth-year head coach Joe Austin after slamming the brakes on a five-game losing skid last weekend with a 45-19 win over Austin College.
The TLU defense hopes to build on the momentum of strong performances against McMurry and ETBU with a solid outing against the reigning ASC Offensive Player of the Week, Southwestern quarterback Landry Gilpin.
Gilpin went 18-27 for 297 yards and four touchdowns through the air while rushing for 112 yards and a score on 17 carries in the Pirates’ win over Southwestern. He enters Saturday with 1,203 passing yards, 496 rushing yards, and 16 total touchdowns on the season.
TLU linebacker Markel Turner comes off one of his best games of the year against ETBU. Turner finished with 10 tackles and a sack, and leads the Bulldogs with 46 tackles on the season. Sophomore safety Sultan Abdullah and freshman linebacker Ian Ochoa each grabbed interceptions in that game, and Abdullah heads into the weekend with 42 tackles and four pass breakups on the year.
Offensively, the Bulldogs rank third in the ASC in rushing with an average of 212 yards per game. TLU looks for success on the ground against a Southwestern defense allowing 36.9 points (9th) and 398.9 yards (6th) per outing.
The backfield trio of Dakory Willis (557 yds., 5 TD), Jacob Forton (518 yds., 9 total TD), and quarterback Seth Cosme (912 passing yds., 6 TD, 390 rushing yds., 1 TD) has been the backbone of an option-heavy TLU rushing attack behind a senior-laden offensive line.
Saturday marks the 11th meeting between Texas Lutheran and Southwestern. The Pirates lead the all-time series 6-4. The Bulldogs snapped a four-game Southwestern winning streak with a 27-0 win in 2019, the last time the programs faced each other.
Saturday’s kickoff at Bulldog Stadium is set for 1 p.m. The game will air live on KWED 1580-AM and Seguintoday.com, with free streaming video at tlubulldogs.com. Pre-game coverage starts at 12:30.