A look at UMHB Football’s history against NAIA opponents

The 2024 season opener for UMHB Football is a unique one, as it marks the first time in program history that the Crusaders will set foot in the state of Tennessee. It is also the first time since 2011 that UMHB is set to face an NAIA opponent, as The Cru visits Bethel University (TN) on Saturday afternoon. 

Bethel enters the fall ranked No. 8 in the NAIA GoRout Preseason Top 25, as the Wildcats are coming off an 11-2 campaign in 2023. Though they lost several senior contributors from last season, including quarterback Joaquin Collazo III, the Wildcats are expected to be a strong contender in the Mid-South Conference once again. Bethel has won 11 games in each of the last two seasons and is seeking its fourth-consecutive winning season in 2024. Last Saturday, the Wildcats began the regular season with a 20-6 home victory over Point University. 

“All our kids have to do is watch the film to see that they have a big test on their hands,” UMHB head coach Larry Harmon said of Bethel on Monday.

It is important to note that while this matchup will be a formidable test for The Cru against a Top 10 NAIA opponent, it will not count towards the primary criteria used by the national selection committee for the Division III playoffs. The result will factor into UMHB’s overall record in 2024, but only the Crusaders’ results against D3 opponents are used in calculating their NPI rating, which is then used to make postseason selections and plays a major role in playoff seeding. 

Notably, while Division III and NAIA are often considered to be on par with one another (which is true in most cases), the major difference between the two lies in the world of athletic scholarships. As most know, Division III does not permit any member institution to offer athletic aid. However, in NAIA, programs are given 24 full scholarships, which can then be split up throughout the roster. In essence, an NAIA football program could offer 16 full athletic scholarships, eight half scholarships, and 16 quarter scholarships, giving 40 players some form of athletic aid. 

That said, despite the difference in scholarship structure, Division III programs have generally fared well against their NAIA counterparts in the few matchups we’ve seen in recent years. Just last season, 2022 national champ North Central College opened its season by beating Roosevelt, who was transitioning to Division II, 41-7. Howard Payne defeated SAGU, 42-10, in 2023 as well. In 2022, UW-La Crosse took down a solid Dakota State squad, 42-7. Still, UMHB’s season opener is an entirely different scenario, facing one of the NAIA’s top-ranked programs. One of the only instances of a Division III program defeating a Top 10 NAIA team in recent history came in 2007, when UW-Platteville upset No. 9 St. Ambrose, 16-6. 

Seeing this matchup on UMHB’s schedule got us thinking. How many times has UMHB faced an NAIA opponent since the program was launched in 1998? What is The Cru’s record in games against NAIA programs? And what historical value have these non-D3 contests contributed to UMHB’s record books? 

We break all of that down in this article, taking a look at every UMHB vs. NAIA matchup on the gridiron since The Cru’s inaugural season. 

Sept. 19, 1998: Belhaven, 20, UMHB, 19

It may seem odd to see Belhaven, now a Division III member, within this article, but that’s because the Blazers were NAIA members until 2015, when the switch was made to Division III and the American Southwest Conference. On this particular day in Belton, UMHB hosted its first-ever varsity football game with a 7:30 p.m. kickoff against the Blazers. And interestingly enough, it was also Belhaven’s inaugural football season, making it a matchup of two first-year programs.

Looking to avenge the previous week’s loss at Trinity, UMHB got on the board early with a field goal and a 16-point second quarter led to a comfortably 19-7 halftime lead. But it wasn’t comfortable enough. At least not to hold off the Blazer offense over the final 15 minutes. Belhaven put 13 points on the board in the fourth quarter, while the defense shut out The Cru in the second half, as the Blazers stunned the home crowd in Belton with a 20-19 victory. UMHB wouldn’t lose another one-point game until the 2015 season, when UW-Whitewater won, 16-15, in a postseason matchup in Belton.

Anton Holloway scored both of UMHB’s touchdowns in the loss, and led The Cru in rushing, with 66 yards on nine carries. Alonzo Esparaza led the defensive effort, with 11 tackles, and a team-high 3.0 tackles for loss, two of which were sacks.

Sept. 26, 1998: UMHB, 32, SAGU, 12

On a Saturday afternoon in Waxahachie, Texas, UMHB’s inaugural team made history, earning the first victory of the program’s existence. It remains one of the key moments in Cru Football history, and came on the heels of that narrow 20-19 loss to Belhaven. Using a strong rushing attack, UMHB took a 14-6 lead by the end of the first quarter, then shut out SAGU’s offense over the next 15 minutes while scoring nine points of their own. With a 23-6 halftime lead, The Cru kept the pressure on in the second half, outscoring the opposition 9-6 for the eventual 20-point victory. 

The defense played lights-out against both the run and the pass, completely shutting down everything the Lions tried to do offensively. When the final horn sounded, SAGU had recorded just 85 passing yards with a completion percentage of 32.1% (9-of-28), and just 55 positive rushing yards. Nine sacks helped bring the net rushing total to -46 yards on 27 attempts, and The Cru recovered a season-high three fumbles. 

Anton Holloway led the rushing attack in UMHB’s first victory, with 92 yards and a touchdown. In fact, The Cru totaled 353 rushing yards on a season-high 67 carries, and averaged 5.3 yards/carry, with three of their four touchdowns scored on the ground. 

Sept. 11, 1999: Belhaven, 19, UMHB, 16

The Cru’s first trip to Jackson, Mississippi ended with yet another tough, narrow loss to the Blazers, and ironically, another 13-point fourth-quarter from Belhaven. In the second meeting between the two programs, played at Pirate Stadium in Jackson, it came down to the final eight minutes.

After Belhaven took a 6-3 lead at halftime, the two remanded deadlocked through the third quarter. But in the fourth, with 12:33 to go, Doc Ashford caught what would be the first of two 80-yard touchdown passes from Orlando Garza that season. Ashford scored on the reception, putting UMHB in front, 10-6. Belhaven then answered back with a nine-play, 68-yard scoring drive, taking back the advantage, 13-10. That lead grew to 19-10 on a 15-yard touchdown pass at the 5:33 mark, and while UMHB’s two-minute drill offense produced a touchdown reception from Skeeta Jenkins with 1:17 to play, it was too late for a comeback.

Garza threw for 269 yards, his first 200-yard passing performance in a UMHB uniform. Defensively, Dylan DeCuire challenged Belhaven’s passing game, and broke up a team-high three passes in addition to his four tackles.

Sept. 25, 1999: UMHB, 48, SAGU, 0

Once again, The Cru faced the Lions in Week 3, and UMHB enjoyed a similarly-dominant result on the heels of an 0-2 start. Played at Belton’s Tiger Field on a warm, 87-degree afternoon, the victory marked UMHB’s first-ever shutout. It was simultaneously a breakthrough for the Crusader offense, as it marked the highest-scoring performance in program history, a mark that wasn’t bested until Oct. 28, 2000, in a 52-14 over Sul Ross State. 

Anton Holloway put The Cru on the board early with a 69-yard touchdown run on UMHB’s first drive with 13:17 in the opening quarter. Though both offenses slowed in the remainder of the quarter—SAGU recorded three empty possessions and UMHB had two—The Cru extended its lead signficiantly in a 28-point second quarter. Orlando Garza and Jeff Shinn opened the quarter with rushing touchdowns followed by a pair of passing touchdowns from Terry Taylor. 

With a 35-0 advantage at the half, UMHB’s defense didn’t let up over the final two quarters. SAGU marched into UMHB territory just once in the second half, with that drive ending on a Tommy Williams interception at the UMHB 20-yard line early in the fourth quarter. 

UMHB’s high-powered rushing attack once again delivered, with 373 rushing yards and an average of 8.5 yards per carry. Combined with their 160 passing yards, the Crusaders dominated in the total yards of offense comparision, tallying 533 yards to SAGU’s 58. 

Sept. 9, 2000: UMHB, 34, Belhaven, 17

The turn of the century also brought about The Cru’s first win over Belhaven, doing so behind a strong second-half performance. Cody Fredenburg, in his UMHB debut at quarterback, was 5-of-14 through the air and ran for 84 yards, scoring two touchdowns. The run-heavy attack of The Cru saw UMHB rack up 432 yards on the ground, slowly wearing down the Blazers’ defensive front.

Belhaven actually jumped out to a 10-7 lead in front of the crowd of 2,500, but UMHB stayed persistent offensively. A Kevin Wilson field goal 52 seconds into the second quarter knotted the score at 10 apiece, and the two went into halftime tied at 17. But UMHB certainly went into the locker room with momentum, as Fredenburg took a snap on a 2nd & 7 from the Belhaven 32-yard line and ran the entire distance, scoring with nine seconds left. UMHB opened the second half with a scoring drive for its first lead, and then put up a 10-point fourth quarter to seal the victory.

Jeff Shinn stood out within the powerful UMHB rushing attack with 112 yards on 17 carries, averaging 6.6 yards each time he touched the ball. Donnie Fuller also contributed out of the backfield, with 93 yards on 14 rushing attempts. UMHB’s team average of 6.2 yards/carry was the highest rushing average for the program in a game during the 2000 season.

Sept. 8, 2001: UMHB, 20, Belhaven, 6

For the fourth straight season, The Cru and Belhaven met on the gridiron, something they would not do again until the 2015 season, when both were Division III programs as part of the ASC. Playing at Newelll Field in rainy conditions, UMHB utilized a more balance offensive attack and a strong defensive effort, beating Belhaven for the second year in a row.

The defensive performance was especially impressive, considering Belhaven found the end zone just once on a third-quarter passing touchdown. The Blazers rushed for a net total of 15 yards and only had 53 positive yards on the ground. The passing attack didn’t fare much better, with just 95 yards and a completion percentage of 40.7%.

That said, the offense stepped up as well in the fourth quarter, shutting out the Blazers, 13-0 (sensing a trend here?). UMHB clung to a 7-6 lead entering the final 15 minutes, but a 47-yard touchdown catch by Isaac Shaw gave The Cru breathing room with 6:53 left. With Belhaven threatening to cross midfield and less than a minute to play, Preston Meyer stepped up with one of the game’s biggest defensive plays, intercepting a pass from Belhaven quarterback Samuel Husband. He returned it 42 yards for a pick-six, putting the game out of reach as the visitors from Belton emerged from their season opener with a victory. It marked Meyer’s second-straight game with a pick-six, as he had returned one 63 yards for a score in the 2000 season finale against ETBU.

Sept. 12, 2008: UMHB, 30, Southern Nazarene, 7

This matchup holds the distinction of being the first time in program history that UMHB played on a Friday, and The Cru made it 3-0 against NAIA opponents with a season-opening home win. SNU, who was ranked No. 23 in the nation in the NAIA’s Week 1 Top 25, had the benefit of opening its season two weeks prior to The Cru, and secured wins over Eastern New Mexico and Olivet Nazarene leading into the contest in Belton. 

UMHB, who reached the 2007 D-III national semifinals, jumped all over the Crimson Storm in a 16-point first quarter. A seven-play, 69-yard drive was capped by Quincy Daniels’ 20 yard touchdown run less than three minutes into the game, and UMHB’s defense came up with a safety 54 seconds later. Daniels scored once again in the opening quarter, this time from one yard out, before Kyle Noack completed the game’s longest pass with 10:34 in the second quarter. The 41-yard strike to Brian Scott put UMHB in front, 23-0, at halftime. 

In fact, the Crusaders widened the lead to 30-0 on Noack’s 15-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, and SNU didn’t find the end zone until the fourth. The UMHB defense kept the Crimson Storm from marching into Crusader territory on 10 of its 13 drives, with the two of the three that did get past midfield ending in an interception and a turnover on downs. 

Noack, in his first collegiate start, completed 16 of his 23 passes for 196 yards. Daniels rushed for an even 100 yards in the victory on 21 carries. An interesting note, though unrelated to UMHB, is the fact that current McMurry Athletic Director Larry Dockery quarterbacked the 2008 SNU squad and threw for 182 yards in the loss. 

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Oct. 25, 2008: Southern Oregon, 40, UMHB, 28

For the first time in program history, UMHB faced two non-D3 opponents in the same season. Unlike the matchup at home against SNU, The Cru traveled almost 2,000 miles to Ashland, Oregon for the mid-October duel. UMHB was 6-0 up to that point, and coming off a home win over Mississippi College, but on that sunny West Coast afternoon, the Raiders prevailed. Interestingly, SOU went just 3-7 in 2008, and had dropped five straight games entering the matchup. 

For the first half, UMHB and SOU went stride-for-stride. It was 7-7 through the first quarter, and tied at 21 at halftime. But UMHB took possession at the beginning of the third quarter and went three-and-out, SOU began moving upfield. Two penalties against UMHB helped sustain the drive, which traveled 46 yards in six plays, culminating with a two-yard rushing touchdown for a 28-21 lead. 

SOU followed another empty possession for The Cru with a touchdown drive of its own, going up by two scores. Things appeared to get even worse when SOU intercepted a pass from Josh Saenz on the Crusaders’ ensuing possession, but UMHB’s Derrick Williams forced a fumble just inside midfield and returned it 47 yards for a touchdown, keeping The Cru in contention. 

That was UMHB’s last touchdown. SOU outscored The Cru 19-7 in the third, and the visitors from Belton ended the contest with back-to-back punts and a game-sealing interception. Coming out of the loss, UMHB went on to win six consecutive games, reaching the national semifinals for the second year in a row. 

Sept. 12, 2009: UMHB, 42, Southern Nazarene, 7

For a second straight season, UMHB opened the fall against the Crimson Storm, who at that point were in their final three years in NAIA before making the move to Division II. In this case, the game was played on SNU’s campus in Bethany, Oklahoma, marking the first time that UMHB competed in the state of Oklahoma. 

Underneath a rainy sky on a cool Saturday night, UMHB jumped out to a 28-0 in the blink of an eye. The Crusaders’ first play from scrimmage saw Quincy Daniels break away on a 32-yard touchdown run for an early lead. What was notable was the fact that it was Daniels’ first carry since his 2008 season ended on a season-ending injury on the first offensive play of the 2008 ASC opener. He scored again less than two minutes later, after a bad punt snap by the Crimson Storm put UMHB on the SNU 2-yard line. Two plays, two touchdowns, and UMHB held a 14-0 lead less than five minutes in. 

The Cru went on to score on its next two offensive possessions, and took a 28-0 halftime lead. A 14-point third quarter saw quarterback Kyle Noak toss his first—and only—touchdown pass of the game, finding Trey Hazelton for a 24-yard score with 13:03 in the third. 

Much like in the first meeting between UMHB and SNU, the Crusader defense shut down the run game, holding SNU to just 30 rushing yards, an average of 0.8 yards/carry. Meanwhile, 326 of UMHB’s 447 yards of offense came on the ground, led by 83 yards from Rickie Williams and 71 from Daniels. 

Oct. 24, 2009, UMHB, 21, Southern Oregon, 0

There was little doubt that The Cru was in revenge mode when Southern Oregon made the trip to Belton in 2009. There was, of course, the memory of the frustrating 40-28 loss at SOU the season prior, which broke up a potential undefeated season. But even more recent than that was the narow 17-14 loss the week prior in Clinton, Mississippi. In the annual mid-October showdown between UMHB and Mississippi College, the Choctaws, who went on to win a share of the ASC title, took down The Cru for the first time since the inaugural meeting in 1998. That provided plenty of motivation for UMHB entering its final non-conference duel of the season. 

And that’s what played out in Belton, evidenced by the 21-0 final score. SOU’s passing attack proved ineffective, even on a sunny Saturday afternoon at Tiger Field. UMHB forced and recovered fumbles on each of SOU’s first two drives, forced a pair of punts, then recovered another fumble. The third fumble recovery, made by Javicz Jones, was especially timely, as the Raiders were well into UMHB territory on The Cru’s 21-yard line. In all, SOU turned the ball over six times in the loss, as UMHB’s defense showed up time and time again. 

The Cru offense threw the ball just 10 times, with quarterback LiDarral Bailey completing three passes for a miniscule 13 yards. But that’s because they had no need to take to the air. Bryson Tucker, who would earn First Team All-America honors from the AFCA and D3football.com at the season’s conclusion, ran with purpose, going for 218 yards on 24 carries. That included a thrilling 90-yard touchdown run midway through the second quarter, etching itself into the record books as the third-longest touchdown run in program history. Tucker scored two of UMHB’s three touchdowns in the shutout. 

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Oct. 16, 2010: UMHB, 31, Southern Oregon, 10

A return trip to Ashland, Oregon turned out very different from The Cru’s first venture into Raider Stadium two seasons prior. In yet another season that ended with a deep playoff run—UMHB reached the national quarterfinals—the Crusaders took care of business on the West Coast. Sandwiched between their first four conference games and their second four, all of which produced victories, this trip turned out to be UMHB’s last road game against a non-D3 opponent. When The Cru takes the field against Bethel on Saturday, it

Led by Ty Dooley, who had 11 tackles, UMHB’s defense proved to be just as tough as it had been against SOU the year prior. The Raiders picked up just 13 first downs, only three of which came on running plays, as SOU totaled just 52 yards on the ground, averaging 2.1 yards/carry. And while SOU threw for 41 more yards than UMHB (165 to 124), the Raiders actually averaged fewer yards per completion (12.7 to UMHB’s 13.8). 

Bailey, who threw for 115 yards on a 7-of-14 passing day, displayed his remarkable dual-threat ability by running for several big gains. He finished with 143 rushing yards on 20 carries and a pair of touchdowns, ending the game as UMHB’s passing and rushing leader. 

It was 10-3 at halftime in favor of The Cru. With 13:04 left in the third quarter, Bailey capped a six-play, 50-yard drive with a 19-yard rushing touchdown, changing the outlook of the game. While 10-3 had the feeling of a tight and competitive game, UMHB’s 17-3 lead gave a much more one-sided feel. Quincy Daniels’ five-yard touchdown run on the following drive furthered that advantage, putting UMHB up 24-3 midway through the third, and The Cru coasted to a 21-point victory, with both sides reaching the end zone in the fourth. 

Oct. 15, 2011: UMHB, 52, Southern Oregon, 12

UMHB’s highest-scoring effort against an NAIA opponent came in Belton in front of a crowd of over 2,000, as The Cru entered the matchup ranked fourth in the nation. The first of what would be four straight 50+ point performances by UMHB’s offense featured 512 yards of offense and a 38-9 halftime lead. 

After two fumbles ended UMHB’s first two drives, The Cru settled in, scoring on their next five possessions. That helped lead to a 28-point outburst in the second quarter, as all five scoring drives took fewer than four minutes. With 1:16 left until the half, UMHB took possession on its own 37-yard line after SOU’s lone touchdown of the contest. Bailey, who threw for a whopping 279 yards in the win, opened the drive with a 24-yard completion to Ervin Johnson. He then ran for a 12-yard gain, crossing midfield as UMHB pressed to extend its lead. With 16 seconds on the clock, Bailey found Johnson again, scoring from 13 yards out. 

Johnson finished with two touchdown receptions, while Damian Davis was UMHB’s leading receiver with 158 yards on six receptions. Davis’ 90-yard touchdown catch was one of the game’s highlights, as it marked the second-longest passing touchdown in program history. 

For his part, Bailey, who is still responsible for the two longest passing touchdowns in UMHB history, excelled against the SOU defense yet again. He completed 16-of-22 passes, three of which went for touchdowns, and ran for a team-high 85 yards. Defensively, Dooley had yet another double-digit tackle performance against the Raiders, registering 10 tackles. Mike Maldanado and Cody Jones each had one interception, and the defense collectively held SOU to just 47 rushing yards. 

Final Breakdown

• UMHB’s record vs NAIA opponents: 9-3
• UMHB’s road record vs NAIA opponents: 4-2
• In those 12 matchups, UMHB averaged 46.6 points per game. Conversely, The Cru allowed just 118.8 points per game. 
• Bethel will be the fifth NAIA opponent that UMHB has faced in program history.