San Antonio - The Tiger football team began its Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference schedule with a narrow 21-14 loss to Texas Lutheran University on Saturday afternoon.
Trinity fell to 6-2 with the loss, while the Bulldogs improved to 6-2. The Tigers committed three turnovers in the game, while TLU escaped without committing any. Trinity also outgained the visitors 398-276, but Texas Lutheran had the advantage on the scoreboard.
The game started wtih Texas Lutheran going 62 yards on eight plays to take a 7-0 lead. Trinity's first series last just three plays, and ended with an interception by the Bulldogs. Texas Lutheran took advantage of the short field to score again to make it 14-0.
The two defenses took over from there, and neither team mustered much offense until late in the second quarter. Trinity's Austin Grauer found Cody Sandman in the middle of the field, and after Sandman broke an early tackle, he was headed for the end zone. Texas Lutheran never quit on the play, and Justus Parker stripped Sandman inside the five yard line, and the Bulldogs recovered in the end zone for a touchback.
The Tigers finally got on the board in the third quarter, as Grauer connected with Sandman from 34 yards out. Trinity was actually stopped for a three-and-out on the drive, but Texas Lutheran was called for running into the kicker. The Tigers took avantage just three plays later for the score to make it 14-7.
The ensuing kickoff went out of bounds, as did the next attempt, and Texas Lutheran answered on its next drive, which went into the fourth quarter. The Bulldogs converted twice on fourth down in the nine-play drive, finishing it off with a 14-yard touchdown pass.
Trinity made it three straight scoring drives in the game, going 80 yards over 10 plays, and making it a 21-14 game with 9:32 to play. Once again it was Sandman picking up the score, this time from Justin Ventura from 22 yards out.
The defense held on the next Bulldogs drive, but Texas Lutheran pinned the Tigers inside the 10. Trinity got a huge 57-yard pass play from Grauer to Travis Williams, setting the Tigers up at the 22 yard line. This time it was the TLU defense that held, stopping Trinity on a fourth-and-three from the 15 with just three minutes remaining. The Bulldogs converted a third-and-nine on the next drive to seal the win.
"I am really proud of our guys...they kept fighting," said Head Coach Jerheme Urban. "Defense played outstanding the whole game, and our offense really battled and made some big plays. It came down to one fourth down play at the end, and I'm going to own this one. I think our guys played very well. They battled, and I need to make sure I am putting them in a good position to be successful on fourth down there."
After allowing 85 yards on the first two scoring drives, Trinity's defense held Texas Lutheran to less than 200 yards of offense the rest of the game. Mitchell Globe led the way for the Tigers, picking up 13 total tackles. Camden Joubert had 11 stops, including six solo tackles. Julian Turner and Luke Packard also reached double digits with 10 tackles each. Turner also had 2.5 tackles for loss in the game.
"We started protecting the football, and the defense was flying around," said Coach Urban when asked about the strong second half. "Again, our defense has played outstanding all year, but we gave them (TLU) the short field early on, and they capitalized like championship teams do. There is a lot to learn, and a lot to take from this game, adn we are ready to move on to Southwestern next week.
Sandman finished with four receptions for 135 yards and the two touchdowns, while Grauer finished 14-25 for 273 yards and a score. Jeremy Simmons was held to 57 yards rushing on 15 carries.
Trinity resumes SCAC play next weekend, hosting Southwestern University at 1:00 p.m. on Saturday, November 7.