Bulldogs Fall to Belhaven 42-35

SEGUIN, TX -- Rallying from a 14-point fourth quarter deficit, Texas Lutheran clawed their way back to make it a one possession game with less than 2 minutes remaining but they could not recover the ensuing onside kick before falling to Belhaven 42-35 Saturday night at Bulldog Stadium.

After a Belhaven touchdown midway through the first quarter, the Bulldogs responded with a touchdown of their own as Jacob Forton (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley) found the end zone from 9 yards out to start his big day on the ground. The Bulldogs and Blazers went back and forth throughout the night - each going score for score to a halftime draw of 21-21 before setting up a fourth quarter that would start with a score of 28-28.

The Blazers were able to finish a late third quarter drive to start the fourth quarter scoring before taking advantage of the opportunity provided by a missed Bulldogs field goal to stretch out to a 14 point fourth quarter lead with 5:28 remaining in the game. The Bulldogs were able to respond with a fourth quarter drive capped off by a Seth Cosme (Angleton/Angleton) QB sneak with 1:53 remaining in the quarter. The Bulldogs were unable to recover the following onside kick and just when it looked like they were going to force a Blazers punt - which would have been the first of the night - the Blazers caught a desperation heave across the middle to seal the game with a final score of 42-35.

Running back Jacob Forton (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley) led the Bulldogs offense with 108 yards on 17 carries and three touchdowns. His running back stablemate DaKory Willis (Flatonia/Flatonia) rushed for 107 yards and one touchdown - averaging over 8 yards per carry. Seth Cosme was 8-14 for 117 yards adding an additional 90 yards on the ground. Junior wide receiver Trent Stefka (Caldwell/Caldwell) had another productive outing securing 4 receptions for 67 yards. As a team, the Bulldogs rushed for 327 yards - making for their most productive game on the ground so far this season.

Defensively, the Bulldogs were led by senior cornerback Robert Ramirez III (Brownsville/Los Fresnos) - who finished the afternoon with 14 tackles - 10 solo. Linebacker Markel Turner (San Antonio/Taft) finished with 7 solo tackles.

The Bulldogs have a bye week next week before they head to Belton, Texas, to take on 2nd-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor at 1 PM on Saturday, Oct. 16. All streaming and stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.