Texas Lutheran burst onto the scene with a Week 1 win at Trinity and has barely looked back en route to a 6-1 start. TLU athletics photo by Nick Trumble

By Brian Lester
D3sports.com

Texas Lutheran head coach Neal LaHue knows full well reaching the NCAA Division III playoffs for the first time is a very real possibility for his team if it continues on its current path.

At 6-1, the Bulldogs are looking like a potential playoff team, and they should make it if they win out their schedule.

LaHue, however, isn’t thinking that far ahead.

“We are taking it one game at a time,” LaHue said. “We still want to play better football. We want to keep making improvements and keep getting better each week.”

Spoken like a true coach.

“I know that sounds like coachspeak, but that’s what we’re preaching around here,” LaHue said.

The players embrace that mindset. They are thrilled about how far they’ve come from the 2-8 season of a year ago, and know there is so much more potential to be reached.

“So far, it’s been pretty good, but we are taking it a game at a time. We’re not focusing on the playoffs,” quarterback Caden Bosanko said. “We have three more games. We are playing complementary football and everyone is doing their job.”

Defensive back Mason Hardy said it’s cool thinking about a possible playoff opportunity next month.

“But like coach said, we’re focused on the next game,” Hardy said. “Everyone is trying to make plans with me for two to three weeks from now, but the furthest I’ve got this week is Saturday. We take it week by week, and that’s how we’ll continue to roll with it.”

No question, the work isn’t done yet for the Bulldogs, who have won four in a row but need to win the remaining games to likely notch a playoff berth since their conference, the SCAC, has no automatic berth.

“Only winning six games the last two years and now having already won the same amount this year, it’s been gratifying,” Hardy said. “But we aren’t finished yet. We’re still hungry. We’re still looking forward to more wins.”

LaHue, while focused on the team’s next game on the schedule, is excited that his team could be postseason bound in a few weeks.

“I’m absolutely excited about that,” LaHue said. “It’s great for the young men in the program. The turnaround is great to see. The players are hungry and excited about the improvements they’ve made, but again, we’re still trying to get better every week.”

Texas Lutheran picked up its latest win last Saturday with a 28-6 victory over McMurry, moving into a tie for first place in the conference while avenging the 31-10 loss it suffered against the War Hawks on Sept. 21.

The defense held McMurry to a season-low in points while Bosanko threw for 219 yards.

The Bulldogs are playing at a different level this year, with all but one win coming by double digits. It’s a stark contrast to a year ago when Texas Lutheran lost four games by less than 10 points.

Experience has made a difference.

“We made a commitment last year to play some younger guys, and our record last year, I think we lost four or five games by a total of 14 or 15 points. We were in a lot of games. We just didn’t finish. We felt like with a good offseason we could make that turn.”

Bosanko has helped play a part in that. He’s completed 57.1 percent of his passes and thrown for 1,234 yards and eight touchdowns.

The Bulldogs are averaging 384.7 yards per outing as a team.

“We’ve been very mature and have been able to adjust on the fly and roll with the punches,” Bosanko said. “We never get down and have been pretty successful so far.”

Bosanko also points out that this team has a lot of faith.

“We all believe in each other,” Bosanko said. “With this team and the success we’ve had, we’re not surprised. This is what we’ve been working to do and what we wanted to do. We’re not shocked about it and just have to keep on going forward.”

Hardy agrees and is a leader on a defense that has been particularly tough against the run, holding opponents to an average of 107.7 yards per outing. Hardy has recorded 20 tackles. Troy Tomaselli leads the team with 37 tackles and is the reigning defensive player of the year in the conference.

Hardy said the team came into the year motivated and has relished the opportunity to show things are different in 2024.

“We almost had a sense of vengeance coming off of last year,” Hardy said. “One thing we wanted to prove is we are a good team and can play well. Last year we were in a bunch of games, but we have had a chance to show everyone times have changed. Everyone in the locker room believed we could do it, and now we are proving ourselves.”

LaHue said there was always a belief the hard work would pay off.

“What we have tried to preach around here is that hard work breeds success,” LaHue said. “It started back in the offseason, went through the spring and has continued on into the season. We’ve had some very competitive practices, and we’ve tried to practice hard to make each other better. There’s also a good brotherhood in the locker room right now.”

The final three games feature a game against Lyon at home this Saturday, a road game against Centenary the following week and a regular season finale at home against Southwestern on Nov. 16. The Bulldogs already hold a 31-8 win over Centenary and a 49-0 win over Lyon from earlier this year.

Despite all the success, and the potential for more, LaHue said there is still work to do if the Bulldogs are to punch a postseason ticket.

“I don’t think a team ever stays the same,” LaHue said. “They either get better or they get worse, and we want to continue to get better. If we are going to get a chance to go into the playoffs, we want to be playing our best at that time. The way to do it is by preparing and taking it one game at a time, and not taking anyone lightly.”