Bulldogs Fall at Howard Payne, 31-27

BROWNWOOD, Texas -- Joaquin Rodriguez (San Antonio/Smithson Valley) nailed a career-high four field goals, including a season-best 46-yard field goal and Jacob Wallace (Marion/Marion) recorded 119 yards receiving in Texas Lutheran's 31-27 loss to Howard Payne Saturday at Gordon Wood Stadium in Brownwood.

After the Yellow Jackets (6-2, 3-2 ASC) took a 31-27 lead with 36 seconds remaining, the Bulldogs (1-7, 0-4 ASC) drove to the Howard Payne eight-yard line but Caden Bosanko's (San Antonio/East Central) second down pass in the end zone fell incomplete as time expired.

Texas Lutheran would take an 11-0 lead early behind an opening drive 35-yard field goal from Rodriguez followed by a 36-yard touchdown pass from Bosanko to running back Jacob Forton (Spring Branch/Smithson Valley). Howard Payne would take a 14-11 lead before a Rodriguez 29-yard field goal would tie the game 14-all entering halftime.

After an opening drive field goal to start the second half from the Yellow Jackets and the respective offenses trading interceptions, TLU would drive 63 yards on nine plays capped off by a rushing touchdown from Caden Bosanko to take a 21-17 lead. The Yellow Jackets would go ahead 24-21 behind a 53-yard touchdown pass the following possession.

Two more Rodriguez field goals would give TLU a 27-24 lead with three minutes remaining before the Yellow Jackets would drive 83 yards for their game-winning drive.

Caden Bosanko completed 25 of 36 passes (69%) for 293 yards and rushed 16 times for 71 yards. The 293 yards passing are a career-high for Bosanko and a season-high for the Bulldogs. Each quarterback would throw an interception with Darrius Adams (Houston/Eisenhower) recording his first career interception. Freshman Diego Avila (Allen/Allen) recorded a career-high six tackles to lead the Bulldogs.

Texas Lutheran returns to Bulldog Stadium next week as they welcome the McMurry War Hawks on Nov. 4. The game is scheduled for a 1 PM kickoff and will be broadcast on TLU's YouTube Channel, TLU+, along with KWED 1580 AM. All streaming and stats links can be found 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 TikTok and @tlubulldogs on Facebook).