The Mary Hardin-Baylor defense made plays when it needed on Saturday, and the Crusaders needed every single play in a 24-17 win over Trinity in San Antonio in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

UMHB advances to meet the winner of Bethel and Linfield next Saturday. The NCAA will announce the host of the quarterfinal contest on Sunday afternoon.

The Cru held a 24-7 lead midway through the third quarter. However, the Tigers were far from finished and made a valiant comeback over the final 22 minutes of the game. Trinity pulled within 24-17 with 11:34 remaining in regulation when the Cru defense took the game over.

The Tigers had two opportunities to tie the game with a touchdown in the final 10:34 and moved the ball to the UMHB 25-yard line with 22 seconds remaining. However, the Cru defensive line sacked Trinity quarterback Tucker Horn twice in the last three plays of the game to seal the win. 

Scoring opportunities: UMHB earned its advantage in the first half by taking advantage of the scoring opportunities set up by the special teams unit. Matthew Jackson returned a punt 15 yards, allowing the Cru offense to start its drive to the Tigers 33-yard line.

The Cru scored the game's first touchdown five plays later and added a field goal in the second quarter to take a 10-0 edge into halftime. UMHB quarterback Kyle King and the passing attack struck for two long touchdowns in the third quarter to provide enough points to stave off the Tigers comeback.

Missed opportunities: Trinity returned the opening kickoff to the UMHB 38-yard line and held a 60.4 percent chance to score, according to a study by Andy Wittry of Stadium. The Cru stuffed the Tigers on fourth down, ending the scoring threat.

The Tigers had another good scoring opportunity when they recovered a fumble at the UMHB 48-yard line. But, again, the Cru defense held firm and forced another turnover on downs.

Size, strength, speed: It’s December again, so it’s time for UMHB wide receiver Brandon Jordan to shine. Jordan owns three traits that are tough for defensive backs to counter. He’s 6-foot-6, has the strength to stiff arm a would-be tackler, and possesses the speed to pull away from the rest of the defense.

Jordan showcased all three traits on his 45-yard touchdown in the third quarter. The wideout is the main target King looks for on big downs in the playoffs, and the quarterback’s confidence in Jordan was apparent on Saturday. King targeted Jordan eight times, with the wide receiver catching six of those targets for 139 yards and a touchdown.