Bulldogs Fall 48-31 to No. 21 Wisconsin-Oshkosh In Season Opener

OSHKOSH, WI -- Texas Lutheran wide receiver Jacob Wallace (Marion/Marion) had three catches for 68 yards and two touchdowns in his TLU debut while Jacob Forton (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley) totaled 138 all-purpose yards and a touchdown as the Bulldogs came up short in the 2023 season opener, 48-31, to No. 21 Wisconsin-Oshkosh at Titan Stadium in Oshkosh, Wisconsin.

Texas Lutheran scored on the opening possession of the 2023 season - driving 70 yards and capping the drive with a 28-yard connection to Wallace from Seth Cosme (Angleton/Angleton).

Wisconsin-Oshkosh immediately responded - scoring on the first offensive play of their season, a 79-yard touchdown pass. The Titans pulled away tacking on two more touchdowns in the first quarter to lead 21-7 after the first period of the 2023 season.

The Bulldogs controlled the pace and chewed the clock to open the second quarter, driving 53 yards in nearly eight and a half minutes of game time, ending the drive with a 32-yard field goal from All-ASC kicker Joaquin Rodriguez (San Antonio/Smithson Valley) to shrink the Titans lead to 21-10. The Bulldogs defense was able to limit the Titans offense to one score in the second quarter and due to a blocked extra point from fifth-year senior linebacker David Augustin (Missouri City/Willowridge) entered the locker room trailing 27-10.

The Titans would put the game out of reach in the third, scoring on three of their first four second half possessions to take a 48-10 lead.

TLU began to find a rhythm late in the third quarter as Cosme found Wallace down the left sideline for a 14-yard touchdown, his second of the game. The following Titans possession, defensive end Grayson Kowalski (Sabinal/Sabinal) would come up with a huge forced fumble that he would turn into a 40-yard defensive touchdown to cut the Oshkosh lead to 48-24 as time expired in the third quarter.

The Bulldogs would score once more in the fourth as quarterback Caden Bosanko (San Antonio/East Central) would drive the Bulldogs down the field with a 4-for-6, 78 yard effort before handing it off to Jacob Forton for the final touchdown of the day for either squad.

Seth Cosme was 14-25 for 135 yards with two touchdowns. Jacob Wallace led the Bulldogs with 68 yards receiving while Caleb Camarillo (Gonzales/Southside), also making his TLU debut, added 60 yards receiving. Jacob Forton led the Bulldogs with 69 yards rushing and a touchdown while adding 50 yards receiving.

Defensively, Markel Turner (San Antonio/Taft) led the Bulldogs with eight tackles (two solo). Caleb Giles (Houston/Lamar), who was recently tabbed a player to watch by the American Southwest Conference (ASC), recorded seven tackles while Blake Lowry (Marquez/Leon) and freshman Jonathan Cooper (Anahuac/Anahuac) recorded six tackles each. Safety Mason Hardy (Flynn/Normangee), who led the Bulldogs in interceptions a season ago, tallied his first of the season to go along with a tackle.

The Bulldogs return to Texas next week as they travel to Georgetown to face former ASC foe, Southwestern, in non-conference action on Saturday, September 9, at 7 PM. All streaming and stats links can be found on tlubulldogs.com.