Football Games Notes for Texas Lutheran at Howard Payne (Feb. 6, 2021 - 1 p.m. - Brownwood, Texas)

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46th all-time meeting between TLU, HPU
Texas Lutheran and Howard Payne meet for the 46th all-time in their respective histories when they meet again this Saturday in Brownwood. TLU has played more varsity football games against Howard Payne than any other intercollegiate opponent. Kickoff this Saturday is set for 1 p.m. at Gordon Wood Stadium in Brownwood, Texas. After Texas Lutheran's 27-14 win in 2019, the series is all tied up at 22-22-1. The Bulldogs have won the last eight meetings, including the last four in Gordon Wood Stadium. The last time TLU lost in Gordon Wood Stadium to HPU was on Sept. 25, 2010 when the Yellow Jackets secured a 39-17 victory.

Twenty-second meeting as D3 universities
When TLU re-started football after a 10-season hiatus (1988 to 1997), the Bulldogs also re-started their series with Howard Payne. Since both schools have played as non-scholarship programs, starting in 1998, TLU holds a 12-9 advantage over HPU. In addition to winning eight in a row against the Yellow Jackets, the Bulldogs have won 11 of the last 13.

5-game schedule in the COVID era
Texas Lutheran University will play a five-game varsity football schedule this spring semester, starting with this Saturday's match-up vs. Howard Payne in Brownwood. TLU and all of its fellow football members in the American Southwest Conference will play four games against divisional opponents and a final game against a cross-divisional opponent. For the first time in ASC history, the conference's football schedule will be played under a two-division model with teams closing the 2020-21 season with a playoff pitting teams cross-seeded in a single game.

Two divisions this semester in ASC Football
Each ASC Football division will have five teams. Belhaven, East Texas Baptist, Louisiana College, Mary Hardin-Baylor and Southwestern will be in the East Division. Hardin-Simmons, Howard Payne, McMurry, Sul Ross State and TLU will be in the West Division The ASC's fall sport 2020-21 schedules are subject to change and contingent upon health and safety guidelines of the NCAA and local, state, and federal entities. Regular-season division play begins this Saturday and runs five weeks with eight teams in action each week.

ASC Playoff Games set for March 13
The ASC Football playoffs are scheduled for March 13 with the game location predetermined. The No. 1, 3 and 5 seed in the West will host the cross-division match-up. The No. 2 and 4 from the East will host their cross-division game. The winner of the game between the two number one seeded teams will be named the 2020-21 ASC champion.

TLU re-ups FB affiliate membership
Texas Lutheran University's football affiliate membership with the American Southwest Conference has been extended four years. The ASC announced on Aug. 18 the extension of affiliate membership in the sport of football for both Southwestern University and TLU. Southwestern and TLU play the bulk of their athletics programs as members of the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference. TLU has 18 intercollegiate programs in the NCAA Division III. Three of those programs do not have membership in the SCAC. TLU Football is an affiliate member of the ASC, and TLU Men's Indoor Track & Field and Women's Indoor Track & Field compete as independents. TLU and Southwestern have played with the ASC since the 2017 season. The new affiliate agreement will run for the 2021, 2022, 2023 and 2024 seasons. "We are excited to continue our affiliation with Southwestern and Texas Lutheran," said ASC Commissioner Amy Carlton. "And we look forward to the continued success both programs have brought to the league."

Bulldog success in ASC since re-join
Texas Lutheran has finished among the top three in the ASC Football standings in each of the last three seasons. The Bulldogs were the 2019 conference runner-up with an 8-2 overall record and an 8-1 league mark. Since coming over from the SCAC when the conference's football league disbanded, TLU Football has registered an ASC record of 20-7 with an overall mark of 21-9. TLU has produced 24 ASC All-Conference players. In 2018, place-kicker Juan Ocampo was named the 2018 ASC Freshman of the Year, and recently retired head coach Carl Gustafson earned ASC Coach of the Year twice (in 2017 and 2019). As a member of the ASC, TLU has had four All-America picks – guard Alejandro Briseno in 2017, safety James Bell in 2019, offensive lineman Garrett Garza in 2019, and defensive lineman Manny Longoria in 2019. Austin College, a former football member of the ASC and the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference, begins play in the 2021 season as a new football affiliate with the ASC.

First game as TLU Head Coach Matt
Ricky Matt, TLU's former assistant head football coach and defensive coordinator, became the 22nd head football coach in school history on Dec. 12, 2019. He will have waited 422 days to coach his first game as head coach of the Bulldogs. Matt (pronounced "MOTT") succeeded Carl Gustafson, who announced his retirement the same day Matt was hired. Once Gustafson made his announcement, TLU and Matt were ready with the succession plan. Gustafson, a two-time American Southwest Conference Coach of the Year, was TLU's head coach for three seasons and produced a 21-9 overall record and 20-7 mark in the ASC. The Bulldogs were 8-2 overall and 8-1 in the ASC in 2019.

Matt was one of first hires by Gustafson
Ricky Matt was one of the first hires by Carl Gustafson after Gustafson accepted the TLU head coaching position on Nov. 17, 2016. Matt was named defensive coordinator on Jan. 10, 2017. He served as defensive coordinator in all three of Gustafson's seasons as head coach. Matt was promoted to assistant head coach prior to the 2018 season.

Matt brings 41 years of coaching experience
Matt, 63, has 41 years of football coaching experience. He has coached collegiately at TLU, Central Arkansas, Trinity (Texas), Texas State-San Marcos, Texas A&M-Kingsville, McNeese State (La.), Nicholls State (La.), and Louisiana State-Monroe.

Three years of defensive success with Matt
Matt's three years at TLU as defensive coordinator have produced three of the best statistical years in the Bulldogs' non-scholarship era, which started in 1998. The Bulldogs went from allowing 38.2 points per game in 2016 (the year before Matt's arrival) to allowing 29.2 in 2017 – a nine-point improvement per game. TLU also went from two overall wins in 2016 to six wins in 2017. The points allowed per game by the TLU defense has gone from 29.2 in 2017, to 26.9 in 2018, to a new TLU DIII-era record of 18.4 points per game in 2019. Under Matt, TLU became a much better defense against the run. The Bulldogs went from giving up 171.6 yards of rushing per game in 2016 to allowing only 91.8 yards per game in 2017.

Record-setting defense with Matt
The 2018 squad set the TLU DIII-era record for rushing defense by allowing only 76.5 rushing yards per contest. The 2019 squad came within six yards per game of tying the mark of the 2018 team. In 2019, the TLU defense gave up only 82.5 yards on the ground per game. In Ricky Matt's three years as defensive coordinator, the Bulldogs have produced the top three rushing defense seasons of TLU's NCAA Division III era, spanning 22 seasons.

Pass defense numbers vastly improved
TLU's pass defense numbers under Ricky Matt also have enjoyed significant improvement. In Matt's first season as defensive coordinator, 2017, the Bulldogs allowed 309.1 passing yards per game. That number dropped to 259.8 per game in 2018 and fell to 203.7 per contest this season. The Bulldogs' 2019 pass defense allowed the fewest passing touchdowns (10) in TLU's 22 seasons since the re-start of the football program in 1998. The total number of opponent touchdowns allowed (24) in 2019 also set a new TLU DIII-era record for fewest TDs allowed in a season. The 2019 squad broke the DIII-era record by six touchdowns.

Bulldogs will miss Wade Freeman
TLU's returning starter at quarterback, junior Wade Freeman, will miss Saturday's game with Howard Payne. Freeman is out with a non-COVID medical issue. Freeman started all 10 games at quarterback for the Bulldogs in 2019. After being part of a two-QB rotation in the season-opener, Freeman took hold of the starting job in game No. 2 – the road victory at East Texas Baptist. In that victory, he completed 10-of-14 passes for 151 yards, tossed three touchdowns, rushed 12 times for 58 yards, and scored a rushing touchdown in the 31-21 win in Marshall. Freeman would go on to complete 65.6 percent of his passes, setting a new TLU DIII-era record for single-season completion percentage. He threw 14 touchdowns and tossed only four interceptions. Freeman also rushed for 622 yards and seven touchdowns and averaged 5.4 yards per carry. Twice, Freeman was named the ASC Offensive Player of the Week.

Seth Cosme steps into starter role
Sophomore quarterback Seth Cosme takes over the starting position with Wade Freeman's absence. Cosme is 5-foot-9, 190-pound signal-caller from Angleton, Texas. He played his high school football at Angleton High School. In his last three years at Angleton, he threw for 4,274 yards and 50 touchdowns, with only 13 interceptions. In his senior year of high school, he completed 58.4 percent of his passes, threw for 1,745 yards and had 20 TDs with only five interceptions. Cosme appeared in one game, the road contest at Mary Hardin-Baylor, in 2019. He did not have a pass attempt or rush attempt in the brief appearance. Saturday will be a game of firsts for Cosme

James Bell anchors defense once again
Free safety James Bell will start at free safety for a fourth consecutive season with the Bulldogs. The Houston Lamar product was named to Dave Campbell's Texas Football Small College Preseason Team, and he was named to the Draft Diamond Texas Small College NFL Draft Prospects list. Bell was ranked as the 51st-best free safety and as the No. 2 free safety in NCAA Division III. In 2019, Bell was a Second Team All-America pick by D3football.com and earned First Team All-ASC honors and D3football.com All-South Region honors for a third consecutive season. Bell racked up 48 tackles with an interception and a half-sack last season. In his career, Bell has 11 career interceptions, 156 total tackles, nine pass break-ups, and one interception returned for a touchdown.

Bulldogs welcome back DaKwa Davis
DaKwa Davis was on his way to have a truly break-out season at linebacker for TLU in 2019, but an injury in the third game of the season wiped out the rest of his year. Through two full games and a little bit of a third, Davis already racked up 29 total tackles (9.7 tackles per game) and had a half-sack and three tackles for loss. He also had a pass interception (returned for 25 yards) and a pass breakup. For his career, Davis has played in 22 games and has 129 total tackles. He also has seven sacks, 17.5 tackles for loss (with 63 yards in losses), a fumble recovery, an interception and four pass break-ups. Davis was an ASC Honorable Mention selection as a sophomore in 2018, when he had 64 total tackles, 4.5 sacks and 10 tackles for loss.

Holman set for another great season
Senior linebacker Keyshawn Holman, like DaKwa Davis, has been a key linebacker for the Bulldogs ever since he joined the team. Entering his fourth season with the Bulldogs, Holman has 121 career tackles, with 4.5 sacks, 15.5 tackles for loss, a force fumble, three fumble recoveries, an interception, and four pass break-ups. Last season, Davis recorded a career-best 53 tackles and had a career-high seven tackles for loss. His one interception last year went for 19 yards. All four of his career pass break-ups also occurred during the 2019 season.

Worley returns as starter on defensive line
Senior defensive end Jackson Worley is the only returning starter on the Bulldogs' defensive line. All-American Manny Longoria graduated and is now an assistant coach with the Bulldogs, and Brandon Bennett transferred out of the program. Those subtractions leave Worley as the unquestioned leader of the d-line. The 6-3, 235-pount defensive end has appeared in 23 total games as a Bulldogs. After playing in 13 games combined as a freshman and sophomore, Worley played in all 10 in 2019. He registered 32 total tackles, 5.5 sacks, 10.5 tackles for loss, two forced fumbles, and a fumble recovery. His 25-yard interception return for a touchdown in the road game with No. 6-ranked Hardin-Simmons effectively sealed the upset victory for the Bulldogs.

Bulldogs finished 12th in defensive TDs
Jackson Worley's interception return against Hardin-Simmons was one of three defensive TDs scored by the Bulldogs in that game alone. TLU finished the year with four total defensive touchdowns and ranked 12th in that category in the final NCAA Division III rankings.

TLU was No. 6 in turnover margin
One of the clear hallmarks of Ricky Matt's defense has been the ability of his Bulldogs to take the ball away from opposing offenses. The Bulldogs of 2019 finished the year ranked sixth in all of NCAA Division III in turnover margin. TLU gained 25 turnovers last season, with 12 fumble recoveries and 13 interceptions. TLU's offense only lost 10 turnovers (six fumbles, four interceptions).

Monroe prepares to lead rushing attack
Senior running back Chris Monroe is back for his fourth year as a key running back in the Bulldogs' offensive attack. Monroe has rushed for 1,541 career yards in three seasons. He rushed for a career-best 594 yards in nine games a season ago. He averaged 6.3 yards per carry in 2019 and is a career 6.3 yards-per-carry producer. Monroe has scored at least four rushing touchdowns in each of his three prior seasons at TLU. He scored five as a true freshman in 2017. He had four in 2018 and four again in 2019. Monroe's career long run is 66 yards, which he did in a home win over McMurry on Sept. 29, 2018. That game also produced Monroe's single-game rushing best - 14 carries for 181 yards (12.9 yards per carry) and two rushing TDs. Monroe's career best for rushing TDs in a game is three (vs. Louisiana College on Oct. 7, 2017).

Monroe's prior success against HPU
Monroe did not play against Howard Payne in 2018, but he did have good production in his two prior contests against the Yellow Jackets. As a freshman in 2017 in Brownwood, Monroe carried the ball a team-high 12 times and rushed for a team-best 72 yards. He scored on a 14-yard touchdown run in the first quarter. In 2019, also in Brownwood, Monroe had a season-high 20 carries and 132 rushing yards (6.6 yards per carry) in TLU's 27-14 victory.

Revamped offensive line debuts Sat.
Texas Lutheran's offensive line will have a new look Saturday against Howard Payne. The Bulldogs lost All-American guard Garrett Garza, First Team All-ASC tackle Travis York, and starting tackle/guard Coy Tutt. The cause of the starting losses is a great one: graduation from TLU. Garza is now a coach with the Bulldogs. The only returning starters for TLU on the offensive line for the 2020-21 season are junior center Trevor Hopkins and senior right tackle Nike Gooden. Hopkins (6-0, 250) has lettered in each of the last two seasons at TLU. Gooden will be in his fourth season with the Bulldogs after transferring from Southeastern Oklahoma. Gooden has played in 24 career games as a Bulldog.

Three new starters on the O-Line
The three new starters for TLU on the offensive line are sophomore left tackle Jackson "Jake" O'Neil, senior left guard Levi Torres, and junior right guard NaKoven Lewis. All three saw action on the varsity last season. O'Neil appeared in six games as a true freshman. Torres saw action in six games as a sophomore and in five games as a freshman. Lewis also appeared in five games last year.

Perkins leads receivers into 2021
Senior receiver Mason Perkins is in his fourth season with the Bulldogs and is a returning starter in the TLU receiving corps. Perkins had a career year in 2019, catching a team-high 37 passes last season. Those 39 catches went for 448 yards, an average of 12.1 yards per catch. He caught a pair of TDs - a 13-yard pass from Wade Freeman in the road win over East Texas Baptist and a two-yard pass from Freeman in the road win over Howard Payne. In his career, Perkins has 39 receptions for 469 yards with those two touchdowns.

Receiving corps has some experience
Not only does Mason Perkins bring experience to this year's receiving unit, but the Bulldogs have four other receivers on the this week's two-deep that caught passes a year ago. Senior receiver Hunter Jaehne caught eight passes for 67 yards last season. Sophomore Caleb Cervenka, a starter in 2021, had seven grabs for 81 yards. Keon Torello, another 2021 starter, caught five passes for 46 yards last year. The returning starter at tight end, Aaron Sotelo, caught four passes for 40 yards in 2019.

Ocampo returns as place-kicker
Junior place-kicker Juan Ocampo starts his third year with the Bulldogs. Ocampo has started every game at kicker for the last two years. The biochemistry major has made 16 of his 24 field goal attempts and 85 of his 89 extra-point attempts. In 2018, when he was the ASC Freshman of the Year, a First Team All-ASC selection and an All-South Region First Team choice, Ocampo went the entire season without missing a kick. He was one of three kickers in DIII that year to go without a miss of any type (either field goal or extra-point). He was 8-for-8 on field goals and 45-for-45 on extra-points. In 2019, he made eight of his 16 field goal attempts, and he was 40-for-44 on extra-points. For his career, he has scored 133 points and has a long field goal of 44.

Porter back as starting punter
Junior punter Justice Porter also is back for his third consecutive year as the team's starting punter. Porter has punted in 18 games with TLU. He has a 37.5 average with a long of 69. He has forced 19 career fair catches, and he has placed 24 punts inside the opponents' 20-yard line. In 2018, he had 16 punts inside the 20 and forced 15 fair catches.

Last meeting between TLU & HPU
Texas Lutheran 27, Howard Payne 14
Oct. 19, 2019

The Texas Lutheran Bulldogs moved to 5-0 in the American Southwest Conference with a 27-14 road win Saturday over Howard Payne. The Bulldogs, 5-1 overall, jumped out to a 21-0 lead over the Yellow Jackets and held off an HPU second-half rally. The Yellow Jackets closed within 21-14 with 8:43 to play in the fourth quarter, but TLU mounted an eight-play, 68-yard scoring drive to push the lead back to two scores. Bulldog quarterback Wade Freeman (Richmond/Bush) scored on a 10-yard run to give to a 27-14 lead with 2:56 to play in the game. Freeman threw for three scores. He hit CJ Romero for a five-yard TD in the first quarter, found Charles Robinson for a 39-yard score in the first quarter, and connected with Mason Perkins for a two-yard touchdown in the third quarter. Freeman completed 16 of his 28 passes for 204 yards, and he rushed 13 times for 77 yards. Junior back Chris Monroe carried the ball four times and gained 54 yards on the final drive. Monroe, a junior, rushed for a season-best 132 yards on 20 carries. The Bulldogs rushed for 269 yards as a team and carried the ball 50 times.

New coordinators for TLU
With Ricky Matt's promotion to head coach and the departure of Neal La Hue to Texas A&M-Kingsville, the Bulldogs start the 2020-21 season with new coordinators on the offensive and defensive sides of the ball. Tommy Holmes, TLU's assistant coach in the secondary the past two seasons, moves up to defensive coordinator. Brent Verzwyvelt is the new offensive coordinator. While Holmes is the coordinator of the defense, Matt will still call the defenses during the year. Verzwyvelt brings a wealth of experience as a high school head coach and coordinator.

Road to 2021 spring FB started in July
On July 22, 2020, Southwestern University and TLU, as affiliate football members of the American Southwest Conference, jointly announced that both universities were suspending their intercollegiate football competitive seasons for the fall of 2020 due to ongoing health and safety concerns arising from the COVID-19 pandemic. The two universities made plans for football intercollegiate contests in the spring semester of the 2020-21 academic year, provided health and safety conditions warrant a return to the sport and a blanket waiver is provided by the NCAA to allow such activity. The Bulldogs and Pirates, and later the entire ASC Football establishment, have spent the days and months since July preparing for this spring football season. TLU has implemented testing and healthcare guidelines that are in line with the NCAA's requirements. Each player on the field Saturday will have passed COVID screening in the days before kickoff.

No D3 post-season possibilities for FB now
On Aug. 5, 2020, NCAA Division III championships in fall sports for 2020-21 were canceled. With the health and safety of the division's student-athletes, coaches, athletics administrators and communities as its priority, the Division III Presidents Council made the decision to cancel the championships due to the COVID-19 pandemic and related administrative and financial challenges. The DIII Presidents Council's decision affected the TLU sports of football, men's soccer, women's soccer, women's cross country, men's cross country, and women's volleyball. These sports will not have NCAA Division III National Championship possibilities in the 2020-21 academic year.

TLU moving forward with competitions
TLU and the two conferences (the Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference and the American Southwest Conference) in which it has membership are committed to holding fall sports seasons and conference championship opportunities in the spring semester of the 2020-21 academic year, even without national championship possibilities. This week NCAA DIII canceled NCAA Championship possibilities for winter sports, which affects TLU's sports of men's and women's basketball and men's and women's indoor track & field.

TLU vs. Howard Payne
(Series tied, 22-22-1)

1952 Howard Payne 39, Texas Lutheran 13

1953 Howard Payne 21, Texas Lutheran 0

1962 Howard Payne 14, Texas Lutheran 7

1963 Texas Lutheran 8, Howard Payne 7

1964 Texas Lutheran 7, Howard Payne 0

1969 Howard Payne 15, Texas Lutheran 13

1971 Howard Payne 7, Texas Lutheran 0

1972 Howard Payne 7, Texas Lutheran 0

1973 Texas Lutheran 7**, Howard Payne 28

1974 Texas Lutheran 50, Howard Payne 14

1975 Howard Payne 17, Texas Lutheran 12

1976 Texas Lutheran 32, Howard Payne 16

1977 Howard Payne 30, Texas Lutheran 7

1978 Texas Lutheran 18, Howard Payne 12

1979 Texas Lutheran 23, Howard Payne 6

1980 Howard Payne 14, Texas Lutheran 3

1981 Howard Payne 35, Texas Lutheran 6

1982 Texas Lutheran 24, Howard Payne 20

1983 Howard Payne 10, Texas Lutheran 9

1984 Texas Lutheran 7, Howard Payne 7 (TIE)

1985 Howard Payne 26, Texas Lutheran 8

1986 Texas Lutheran 9, Howard Payne 0

1987 Texas Lutheran 27, Howard Payne 13

1987 Howard Payne 56, Texas Lutheran 37

1998 Howard Payne 39, Texas Lutheran 0

1999 Howard Payne 42, Texas Lutheran 7

2000 Howard Payne 45, Texas Lutheran 13

2001 Howard Payne 36, Texas Lutheran 29

2002 Howard Payne 49, Texas Lutheran 10

2003 Howard Payne 49, Texas Lutheran 24

2004 Texas Lutheran 44, Howard Payne 38

2005 Howard Payne 21, Texas Lutheran 14

2006 Texas Lutheran 28, Howard Payne 23

2007 Texas Lutheran 55, Howard Payne 48

2008 Texas Lutheran 28, Howard Payne 21

2009 Howard Payne 45, Texas Lutheran 23

2010 Howard Payne 39, Texas Lutheran 17

2011 Texas Lutheran 51, Howard Payne 13

2012 Texas Lutheran 47, Howard Payne 6

2013 Texas Lutheran 63, Howard Payne 14

2014 Texas Lutheran 54, Howard Payne 27

2015 Texas Lutheran 49, Howard Payne 20

2017 Texas Lutheran 63, Howard Payne 21

2018 Texas Lutheran 53, Howard Payne 7

2019 Texas Lutheran 27, Howard Payne 14

** forfeit by Howard Payne