Posted: Mar 17, 2021
Texas Lutheran Offensive Line named ASC West Division Player of the Week
SEGUIN, Texas -- The Texas Lutheran Offensive Line has been named the American Southwest Conference West Division Offensive Player of the Week after Saturday's dominant performance in a 51-21 home win over McMurry.
With starting offensive linemen Jackson O'Neil, Levi Torres, Trevor Hopkins, NaKoven Lewis and Nike Gooden leading the way, the Bulldogs relied heavily on the run game. TLU carried the ball 65 times against the War Hawks and averaged 6.0 yards per rush.
TLU rushed for a season-high 389 yards and scored four rushing TDs.
O'Neil is a sophomore left tackle from Katy (Cinco Ranch), and Torres is a senior left guard from Baytown (Baytown Lee). Hopkins is a junior center from New Braunfels (Canyon), and Lewis is a junior right guard from Port Arthur (Memorial). Gooden is a senior right tackle from Bryan (Rudder).
The Bulldogs held the ball on offense for more than 37 minutes against McMurry. The offensive line and the running game wore down the McMurry defense in the second half. Of the 389 rushing yards in the game, 147 of them came in the fourth quarter. TLU had 196 rushing yards total in the second half.
The Bulldogs accounted for 515 yards of total offense and ran 83 plays. TLU averaged 6.2 yards per play.
With Saturday's victory and a 3-1 record in the ASC West, TLU secured the No. 2 seed out of the West for the upcoming ASC Football cross-division playoff game.
TLU, with a bye week this week, will find out its opponent for the cross-division playoff game after this Saturday's ASC East Division games. TLU will face either East Texas Baptist, Louisiana College, or Belhaven (Miss.) on the road on March 27.