Finally, the Texas shootout
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The similarities between the two teams are striking. Both were tri-champion of the ASC, and both were sat at home while East Texas Baptist carried the conference flag into the playoffs. Both teams have outscored their opponents by identical margins, 49-17 (after rounding). Both feature running backs among the national leaders despite playing few, if any, complete games. Both have strong defenses allowing around 100 yards or less per game on the ground. And both have coaches who are among the nation’s best — HSU’s Jimmie Keeling (122-36) and UMHB’s Pete Fredenburg (49-13, 42-5 the last five seasons). Keeling and Fredenburg were also good enough to give D3football.com some of their time this week.
Mary Hardin-Baylor leads the conference in both scoring offense (49.3 points per game) and in rushing offense (359.3 yards per game). Hardin-Simmons, however, leads the conference in rushing defense (78.3 yards per game); who will win — the irresistible force, or the immovable object?
“There are no big secrets” to stopping the Crusader rushing attack, Keeling said. “We know they have good blockers and good runners. (We will) just play our game and play down and distance situations well.” Fredenburg observed that “HSU does a great job of defending the run, so this will be a huge challenge for our team. All we can do is try to do the things that we believe in and hope we can execute them.”
The heart of the Crusader running game is Justin Bryson, a 5-8 junior. Bryson leads the conference with 840 yards rushing on 123 carries, a 6.8-yard average; his nine touchdowns (eight on the ground) place him second in ASC scoring. “Justin loves to play this game and just gives great effort. He is a real key to our success,” said Fredenburg. Bryson is joined in the backfield by junior college transfer Fredie Rollins (50 carries, 411 yards, five TDs) and senior Chad Starnes (43 carries, 315 yards, four TDs).
Andy Padron has done a good job running UMHB’s option; the sophomore signal caller has 58 rushes for 211 yards and two scores. On those rare occasions when the Crusaders throw the ball, Padron has been effective, completing nearly 60% of his passes (43-for-73, four interceptions) for 661 yards and seven scores. “Andy is a great competitor and really does a good job running our offense,” Fredenburg says. “He has really taken off from where Cody was and is a real bright spot for our team.”
Padron’s favorite targets are wide receivers P. J. Williams (14 receptions, 244 yards, four touchdowns) and Austin Schrader (13 receptions, 286 yards, four scores).
Over on the Hardin-Simmons side, the offensive cupboard is far from bare. The Cowboys trail only the Crusaders in scoring offense (48.8) and rushing offense (285.3). Senior Lance Moore (114.5 yards per game) trails Bryson in rushing, but his 15 touchdowns (12 rushing) lead the conference. One place where the Cowboys have a decided advantage is in the passing game, where Jordan Neal rates among the national leaders in passing efficiency. The junior has completed nearly 75% of his passes (101-of-136) for 1322 yards and 11 touchdowns against six interceptions.
Of Neal, Keeling said “he has unusually good accuracy. … Most of all he is an intense competitor that can throw the ball and run it a little bit too.” Indeed, Neal’s 237 rushing yards and three scores on 39 carries ranks him third on the team behind Moore and fullback Donta' Hayward (47 carries, 282 yards, three touchdowns).
Neal spreads the wealth when passing, but his primary targets so far have been slot backs Triandos Sherrard (29 receptions, 248 yards, two touchdowns) and Jared May (16 catches, 231 yards, one score), plus flanker Matt Epperson (12 catches for 191 yards and one touchdown). Moore has eight catches, three for touchdowns.
“Our fly sweep guys, Triandos Sherrard and Jared May, have been key to our offense,” said Keeling. “Our perimeter guys do a fantastic job of blocking down field and they have done what we have asked of them in the passing game.”
Both teams are nearly as strong defensively as offensively, but it is here that Hardin-Simmons may have a slight edge. The Crusaders are strong against the run, allowing just over 105 yards per game. The team has recorded 48 tackles for loss, led by eight from senior end Keith Zunker, who has four of the team’s nine sacks. Opposing teams have had more success passing the ball against the Crusaders, completing just over 50% of their passes for nearly 230 yards per game.
Overall, Mary Hardin-Baylor is allowing 335 yards per contest. Senior linebackers Ryan McCabe (48 tackles, 16 solo, two for loss) and Bret Page (43 tackles, 15 solo, 5½ for loss) lead the Crusader defense. “Elex Reed (26 tackles, 4½ for loss, two sacks) is doing some good things and our two linebackers, Ryan McCabe and Bret Page, are real players,” Fredenburg said. “Also doing a good job on defense is (defensive end) Keith Zunker.”
The Cowboys defense is even stingier, especially on the ground where opposing teams have been held below 80 yards per game, 2.4 yards per attempt. Junior end Reggie Robinson’s 5½ tackles for loss and four sacks lead in both categories, and HSU has recorded 54 tackles for loss and 13 sacks. The Cowboys have yielded 225 yards per game through the air, for a total of 304 yards per outing. Linebackers Brent Gailey (46 tackles, 23 solo, two for loss) and Anthony Thomas (40 tackles, 24 solo, 4½ for loss) lead the defensive charge, while cornerback Will Galusha, a transfer from Rice, has five picks to go with 26 tackles (20 solo). “Brent Gailey is doing a great job at middle linebacker,” said Keeling, adding “Our biggest strength on defense is not just one strength, but rather the fact that we are reasonably good at all the positions.”
Keys to the game? In this observer’s eyes, it will be which team can execute both sides of its offense. Keeling seems to agree, saying “we try to be balanced — and having the ability to mix the run and the pass will be a giant factor in the game.” Fredenburg’s thoughts are slightly different, as one might expect given his team’s strengths: “we realize that HSU has really good players and we will try to slow them down by playing sound — and hopefully getting a lot of people running the ball.”
One thing both coaches agree on: The team that comes out second on the scoreboard on Saturday deserves a Pool C slot. Fredenburg said, "we have been burned by the selection process and we are a bit skeptical, but I do believe that HSU and UMHB have ouststanding teams and certainly deserve consideration."
Keeling went one step further: “Absolutely, there is no doubt about. Our league is one of the better leagues in the country … I think our league deserves to have a couple of teams.”
Neither team will rely on the NCAA’s charity; for in Keeling’s words “everybody knows how to get in for sure and the rest of that is out of your control. There is one way to get in for sure.”
That will be to win the conference, and both teams will try to take their biggest step yet along that path on Saturday.
Four OTs decide Pineville homecoming tilt
In a wild and crazy game, Texas Lutheran (4-2, 4-1 ASC) finally prevailed in quadruple overtime at Louisiana College (2-3, 3-3), 64-62. The Bulldogs were behind all day, but took their first lead with 52 seconds left when Kenny Gransberry scored from one yard out. The extra point attempt was blocked, but holder Sean Salinas picked up the ball and found Michael Janek in the end zone to complete a two point conversion. The resulting 36-28 lead would last less than 45 seconds; in that time, and with only one timeout, Wes Cooper led the Wildcats 67 yards, finding Schuyler Anderson for 15 yards and a score to get within two. LC’s Justin Johnson came uncovered on the ensuing two-point try, and Cooper found him to knot the score.
Once the game got into overtime, it became clear that neither team was able to stop the other. Cooper was able to find receivers at will, and TLU kept handing the ball off to Gransbury, who accounted for three of the four touchdowns TLU scored in overtime. Even more incredibly, he accounted for 93 of TLU’s 100 overtime yards. The game finally ended when LC could not convert its mandatory two-point try in the fourth overtime. Gransbury then ran three times for 25 yards and the score, setting up a play action pass to Matt Ross which was good to secure the win.
As you might expect, the game set numerous team and conference records. The 126 points scored shattered the ASC record of 103, and was just five points shy of the national record for total points in a game. Gransberry ended the day with 244 yards on 40 carries, and a TLU record four rushing touchdowns.
Elsewhere around the region
Azusa Pacific (6-1 NAIA) proved that a really good team with 20-plus athletic scholarships will usually defeat one without any, easily downing Trinity (5-1) 30-14. Dan DesPlaines’ first pass of the day was picked off, and things went downhill from there. Of all things, it was perhaps the best performance of the year by the Black Flag defense, which held last year’s NAIA runner-up below 350 yards despite seven Tiger turnovers, which kept the game within reach until late. The two touchdowns scored by Trinity were two more than defending NAIA champion Carroll could manage against a very tough Cougar defense. The loss broke Trinity’s 43-game home regular season winning streak and dropped the Tigers to No. 13 in the D3football.com poll.
Two weeks ago, Huntingdon had the first win in the program’s two-year history. The Hawks (2-4) now have their first-ever winning streak after a 34-21 victory at Colorado College. David Smiley and Mark Colson combined for 229 yards and three touchdowns on only 16 carries, and Zach Golson completed nine of 11 for 135 yards and 2 scores. The win sets up an intriguing matchup next week against North Carolina Wesleyan, which has surprised most observers by going 3-3 so far in its first season.
Speaking of winning streaks, Maryville (Tenn.) also has its first three-game streak going since 1999 after a nail-biting 35-33 shocker over Centre (3-4). The Scots had a seemingly comfortable 35-21 lead midway through the fourth, but Centre quarterback Brian Behrendt (33-for-52-2, 445 yards, four touchdowns) brought the team back. Two consecutive missed two-point tries cost the Colonels any chance of victory (or overtime). Behrendt broke his single game record for passing yards, and established a new record for career touchdowns (56).
Games of the week
We’ve already covered the biggest game. Here’s some others of interest:
Trinity (5-1, 2-0 SCAC) at Centre (3-4, 1-2): A win in Danville, where the Tigers have had problems in the past, would redeem the Colonels’ season. Behrendt is in form.
Howard Payne (4-2, 3-2 ASC) at Austin (3-3, 3-2): Kangaroos looking to upset HPU, and confirm that the upswing in the program to date is no fluke. Containing Adam King will be tough, though.