Mary Hardin-Baylor returned to its championship formula of relying on an elite defense and special teams to earn a 17-13 victory over rival Hardin-Simmons in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs in Abilene.
The Crusader special teams set up their first touchdown early in the game when Da’Marion Morris returned a punt 61 yards to the HSU thee-yard line. Asa Osbourn scored on the next play to give UMHB the early advantage.
The Cowboys responded on its next drive and reached the UMHB 40-yard line when Te’Ron Brown sacked HSU quarterback Kyle Brown, forcing a fumble that Dorien Hill recovered. The Cru took advantage of the turnover and took a 14-point lead late in the first quarter when Jake Wright threw a beautiful pass to Jerry Day, who secured the catch for a 26-yard touchdown.
After building a two-score lead, the Cru leaned heavily on its defense over the final three quarters, and the defense answered every call. The HSU offense had the ball first and goal at the UMHB six-yard line twice in the second half, producing only six points. The Cowboys had two missed field goals on the afternoon, including a 42-yard attempt that sailed wide left that would’ve given HSU the lead with 8:16 remaining in regulation.
The Cowboys finished the game with 194 total yards, while the Cru offense only produced 10 more yards but converted its opportunities inside the red zone.
For Mary Hardin-Baylor, the win is another step toward recreating the magical playoff run of 2004, when the Cru began the playoffs with road wins over Trinity and HSU on their way to appearing in the Stagg Bowl. The Cru will travel to meet Linfield at 2 p.m. next Saturday, Dec. 7.
The defeat is another heartbreak for an HSU program that still has one block it can’t break against UMHB. The Cru improves to 6-0 against the Cowboys in the DIII playoffs, their first win in a trilogy of games against HSU this season. The Cowboys earned the program’s first win inside Crusader Stadium earlier this season and secured their second consecutive American Southwest Conference title at home against UMHB.
The ASC chose to play a double round-robin schedule after it was unable to find a conference willing to form an alliance.
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