Postgame Analysis: No. 13 UMHB overpowered by No. 6 Hardin-Simmons in 44-21 loss

BELTON — It happened slowly, yet swiftly. Possession-by-possession, Hardin-Simmons asserted its dominance, at least on this particular day. There was no one play that seemed to put it away, but rather the collective result of a game in which the sixth-ranked Cowboys put forth a performance they will long remember, aided by one of UMHB’s most ineffective performances in recent memory. 

It wasn’t for a lack of effort on the part of The Cru. But there was never a counter to HSU’s offensive production. Never a punch back in the direction of their rivals from Abilene to pull momentum back in the favor of the 13th-ranked Crusaders. When HSU quarterback Kyle Brown fired a pass to Dozie Ifeadi at the back of the end zone with 2:47 left in the third quarter, the scoreboard summarized it best: HSU, 44, UMHB, 0. 

The 44-21 final score was the worst home defeat for UMHB in Crusader Stadium history, statistically-speaking, surpassing the 19-point loss to UW-Whitewater in the 2019 national quarterfinals. And that was even with the two touchdowns scored by The Cru in the final two minutes, when the result had been decided long before. 

“We came out flat,” UMHB head coach Larry Harmon said after The Cru’s first loss to HSU at home since 2004. “And for the life of me, I don’t know why we came out flat.” 

All the pieces seemed to be in place for a memorable Top 15 showdown. The rivalry between The Cru and the Cowboys has long stood as one of Division III’s best, often deciding the ASC title. HSU came to Belton off a 35-27 win over then-No. 9 Endicott, the program’s first Top 10 victory since 2015. And UMHB surged into the national polls three weeks ago after going on the road and taking down a UW-Whitewater squad that was third ranked in the country. 

But the team that defeated UWW wasn’t to be found against HSU. In fact, the very thing that contributed most to the win over the Warhawks—turnovers, and more specifically, interceptions—was what bit the Crusaders in a defeat that left those around the program with little else to do but shake their heads. Four first-half interceptions, three from starting quarterback Isaac Phe and one from backup Jake Wright, sunk UMHB’s offensive momentum rather quickly. 

“[Defensive coordinator] Craig Neece had a great plan and was adjusting things throughout the week,” HSU head coach Jesse Burleson said. “He put our guys in the best position to succeed today. Our guys knew they’d have some opportunities against their passing game, but we had to take advantage of them. We did that today.” 

The most notable of the four picks came with 12:23 in the second quarter, and with HSU already leading, 9-0. Micah Henderson stepped in front of Phe’s third-down pass, and the ball, thrown into double coverage, was returned 20 yards by Henderson to the end zone. It extended the advantage to 16-0, giving further momentum to the visitors, who already had plenty of it. 

A well-executed flea-flicker on offense late in the first quarter, a play that saw running back Noah Garcia take a handoff before flipping it back to Brown, was completed with Wes Douglas’ touchdown catch. The 38-yard score put HSU in front by two possessions, and that scoring drive was immediately followed by a defensive stop of UMHB on 4th & 1 from the HSU 25-yard line. 

That wasn’t the last time The Cru knocked on the door in HSU territory and came away without points. Later in the game, with 7:01 left in the third quarter, UMHB drove 58 yards, and found itself in a 4th & 2 situation from the HSU 15-yard line. Asa Osbourn took the handoff but was hit—and stopped—immediately by defensive end Hayden Hays. Another turnover on downs, another possession without points. 

As for the interceptions, they were at the center of a much more significant issue that contributed to the loss: a severe lack of passing production. In a head-scratching opening half stat, Phe and Wright combined for just one completion on 13 attempts, a dismal number, especially compared against the HSU offense, who threw for 202 yards in the same span. The lone completion, a seven-yard pass from Phe to tight end Christopher Gacayan early in the second quarter, was the extent of the pass game through the first two quarters, as HSU simultaneously mounted a 30-0 advantage. Three more passes were caught by Cowboy defensive backs than Crusader receivers, even with a change made at quarterback on UMHB’s sixth offensive drive. 

Harmon said postgame that he wanted to take a look at the film before singling out one particular aspect of the passing attack as the reason behind such a limited first-half performance. 

“Right now, I would say it’s a trust issue of guys being open and hanging in there and throwing the ball where it’s supposed to go. We had people open, but I think there were just some decisions that weren’t correct. But that might be unfair, so I want to have a chance to really look at it and go from there.” 

When asked about the change at quarterback, going from Phe to Wright with 9:39 left in the second quarter, Harmon answered matter-of-factly. “We needed a spark,” he said. 

Wright ended up overcoming five straight incompletions in the second quarter, and was 12-of-18 for 226 yards in the second half. A 35-yard completion to Jerry Day Jr. and a 41-yard strike to Gacayan highlighted the third quarter, as Wright displayed good arm strength at points throughout the second half. That said, much of the second-half passing, including Wright’s 34-yard touchdown pass to Myller Royals with just 24 seconds left in regulation, came with the game already decided. 

“Jake is the positive point of this thing,” Harmon said. “He’s been out with a tear in his arm. We’ve worked Jake back in slow. I thought he did a great job today with the reps that he had. He showed the fire and tried to lead his team.”

HSU’s performance can’t be left out of the equation, either. Not at all. The Cowboys outscored UMHB 35-0 through the second and third quarters, with the defense shutting out The Cru while the offense found the end zone on four straight drives. After taking a 30-0 lead into halftime, the main question seemed to be if HSU would carry its momentum into the second half, or if a comeback from the Crusaders was in store. One didn’t have to think back far to remember when UMHB righted the ship in a 34-28 win in 2021, the last meeting between the two rivals in Belton, after falling behind by 21 at the intermission. But this wasn’t 2021. HSU refused to let a victory slip away this time. 

“We’ve been there before,” Burleson said, referencing the fact of holding a sizable halftime lead against UMHB when asked what he told his players after the second quarter. “We’re a 60-minute team. We’re not going to be a 30-minute team. We’re not going to be a first half team. I think we definitely took some steps towards doing that today.” 

The Cowboys forced a UMHB punt to end The Cru’s first drive of the third quarter. Then, three plays later, Brown found Kris Sims wide open in the middle of the field. Sims blew past the UMHB secondary and into the green turf beyond the Crusaders’ last line of defense. The pass from Brown reached Sims in perfect stride, going for an 82-yard score. Chances of a memorable comeback seemed to fade as Sims ran untouched into the end zone. 

“We came out in the second half and gave up the long pass,” Harmon said. “That was a kid’s eyes not being where they were supposed to be. They were in the backfield and not on the guy.”

HSU averaged 19.2 yards per completion, throwing for over 300 yards for the first time this season. Brown was 16-of-23 through the air, and it seemed that even when UMHB forced the Cowboys into difficult situations, such as third down & long, HSU made a play. One play before the first quarter touchdown pass to Douglas, Brown dropped back on 3rd & 9, and found Douglas running a route across the middle for a 21-yard gain. Not only did it infuse new life into the Cowboy offense, but that completion also pushed HSU across midfield and up to UMHB’s 38-yard line. 

“We got in situations with some bad eyes because we were so focused on the running back that they were able to do a little RPO (run-pass option) action on us,” Harmon said. “It got us sucking in and they were able to throw it over the top of us.”

UMHB cleaned up some of its miscues in the second half on the defensive side of the ball, but plays such as the 82-yard touchdown by Sims hurt The Cru’s attempts at a comeback. There were no real, consistent signs of positive momentum until the fourth quarter, when UMHB outscored the Cowboys 21-0. By then, it was too late. 

The home crowd, on hand for homecoming weekend, had thinned significantly once UMHB finally erased the zero from the scoreboard.The two-yard touchdown run from Kamerin Ferguson came with 8:11 left, the final play in a lengthy drive that saw Day’s touchdown catch called back due to offensive pass interference and HSU’s fourth-down stop taken away on a defensive pass interference call. 

Another odd turn of events in a game that was fairly odd in itself. While HSU was higher-ranked and perceived to be the favorite despite playing on the road, hardly anyone could’ve predicted the one-sided result seen on Saturday. Not on UMHB’s homecoming. Not in Belton, a place HSU hadn’t won since 2004. Not in a rivalry that had been decided by 10 points or less in four of the last five meetings. But there it was. And it was over for The Cru before it really even began. 

As for how to not let the loss result in a further slide, especially with conference play continuing at Howard Payne next week?

“The only way I know to do it is everybody, coaches and players, needs to decide to bow their neck and really take a hard look at themselves and the accountability they have with everything that happened today,” Harmon said. “And then we make a pact that we’re going to be better than what we were today and go out and work. That’s the only choice we have. You’re either going to bow your neck and fight or you’re going to lay down.”

For as much as the double round robin league schedule has been loathed, it gives UMHB a second chance against HSU in just four weeks on Nov. 9. And that was something Harmon reminded his team of in the post game huddle at midfield. It was an ugly loss on Saturday in the midst of a well-executed performance by HSU, but it doesn’t automatically have to define the season. Four more league games remain. 

“I wish we would’ve played better than what we did,” Harmon noted. “But we didn’t. So we have to go look at the film and find out what we did wrong, both coaches and players. We’ll get that fixed and be better the second time we play them.”