The contest marked the first collegiate start for eight players and the Texas Lutheran debut for a number of other Bulldogs.
Both teams were sluggish to start trading punts and turnovers as neither team was able to get on the board in the first quarter.
After an opening drive punt from Trinity to start the second quarter, TLU was able to sustain an 18 play, 80-yard drive that saw a number of third and fourth down conversions and took over eight minutes off the clock end in the first points of the 2026 season from either squad as Micah Casson(Killeen/Copperas Cove) scrambled for a four-yard touchdown.
Trinity responded with an 80-plus yard drive of their own that ended with a field goal in the closing moments as the Bulldogs carried a 7-3 lead into halftime. The Tigers (1-0) took their first lead of the night as they found the end zone on their opening drive of the second half but would have the extra point blocked by Andrew Silva (Sinton/Sinton) to carry a narrow 9-7 lead.
The Texas Lutheran defense kept the deficit within one possession several times despite less than ideal circumstances. The first four drives of the quarter started in plus territory for the Tigers and were limited to a field goal on one drive and another ended with an interception by Adrian Sanchez (Glen Rose/Glen Rose). After a turnover on downs by the Bulldogs, Trinity would rattle off 17 unanswered points to extend their lead to 29-7 in the fourth quarter.
Elijah Favela (Converse/Judson), who made his first career start on Saturday, orchestrated a 75-yard drive with all the yards coming through the air on the ensuing possession that was capped off by an 11-yard passing touchdown to Ty Reyes(Lumberton/Lumberton) to bring the score to 29-14 and keep the Bulldogs hopes alive. Trinity recovered the onside kick and drove down the field to score one more time to seal the Bulldogs fate.
Texas Lutheran went for 213 yards of total offense, including 207 yards passing. Trinity collected 378 yards, including 163 yards rushing and 215 yards passing.
Favela threw for 125 yards and a touchdown with an interception on 13-of-23 passing while Casson finished 10-of-18 passing for 82 yards and rushing touchdown. Reyes led the Bulldogs with 40 receiving yards and a touchdown while Javin Logan (Houston/North Shore) led the team with six catches for 39 yards.
Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by Troy Tomaselli (San Antonio/Cornerstone Christian) and Marvin Farris (Rosenberg/Lamar Consolidated) who had eight tackles each. Justin Navarro (Edinburg/Robert Vela) added five tackles and an interception.
The Bulldogs (0-1) return to action when they host Southwestern at Bulldog Stadium on Saturday, September 12. Kickoff is scheduled for 6 PM with “Gold Rush” set for the theme at Bulldog Stadium. The game will be broadcast on FloCollege along with KWED 1580 AM with Reily Chestnut on the call. 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).