The second round of ASC play began with a key road win for The Cru, who did plenty right but missed a few opportunities in a victory that sets up next week’s showdown in Abilene
MARSHALL, Texas — There were questions about how the second round of the double round-robin American Southwest Conference schedule would be handled. How different, or similar, would the matchups be the second time around, considering both teams had already gone toe-to-toe just weeks prior?
On Saturday afternoon, under dark clouds and rain in East Texas, UMHB and ETBU provided an answer to that question. It wasn’t the same kind of game as the first meeting, a 42-28 contest that saw a combined 41 points scored in the opening two quarters. It took double the amount of time to reach that total on Saturday afternoon.
There were no 20-point quarters from UMHB. No second-half comeback from ETBU. Once the Crusaders reached out and grabbed the lead, they never trailed, though the Tigers tied the score once midway through the second quarter. But then again, The Cru also never entirely pulled away, despite having multiple chances to do so.
Winning by 13 wasn’t the 21-point margin the Crusaders were going for due to ASC tiebreaker purposes, which could come into play if UMHB manages to beat Hardin-Simmons by at least 21 points next week. The next tiebreaker would be margin of victory against the league’s third-place team, ETBU. UMHB won its games against the Tigers by a combined 27 points, while HSU won its first meeting with ETBU by 18, and has the second scheduled for Nov. 16.
But it was a double-digit win nonetheless, and on the road against an up-and-coming squad that has only seemed to further coalesce around its new pieces as the season progresses. Most importantly, winning on Saturday kept UMHB in contention for the ASC title heading into an all-important Top 25 duel in Abilene next Saturday. No. 5 Hardin-Simmons, at 8-0, hasn’t been beaten yet, but the opportunity is on the table for UMHB to change that in the second-to-last week of the season.
It’s difficult to grade what was seen at Ornelas Stadium on Saturday from a UMHB perspective, considering there were several positives in the outcome aside from just the final score. ETBU entered the game with a 5-2 record for a reason, and playing with any last gasp of hope of contending for the ASC title, the Tigers weren’t going to back down early nor easily. Especially not at home. And they didn’t. But for as much as ETBU put up a fight, the Crusaders seemed to hold themselves back at times as well. Notably, three possessions ended inside the ETBU 40-yard line without points. Overall, UMHB is 4-1 against Division III opponents, and very much in the playoff conversation, even if they do not win the ASC’s automatic bid. Saturday’s victory certainly contributed to keeping The Cru’s goals of a postseason run intact, but it will take a more effective performance for UMHB to steal a win in Abilene next week.
With that, here are three observations from Saturday’s victory, along with a unique stat of the game.
Strong first quarter, timely fourth-down stops in second half were critical to UMHB defense’s solid effort
Ideally, you don’t surrender a touchdown with just 2:23 left when the margin of victory is of importance, even UMHB’s victory was already well in hand. But the defensive performance as a whole on Saturday was fairly positive, yet another solid showing from a unit that pitched a shutout at Howard Payne two weeks ago.
The 14 points mustered by ETBU marked the Tigers’ lowest scoring output of the season. In fact, ETBU found the end zone at least three times in every game until Saturday, including in the first matchup against UMHB, when they scored four touchdowns in The Cru’s 42-28 win.
Yet, this time around, the Tigers struggled to move the ball and even when they did, sustaining drive proved problematic. ETBU outgained UMHB in total yardage, 341 to 334, yet turned the ball over twice on fumbles, in addition coming up short on fourth down three times.
The defensive effort was evident from the beginning, as the Crusaders forced a punt on ETBU’s first possession. That punt came on the heels of what seemed to be a promising start, with the Tigers moving 20 yards on the first two plays. A seven-yard gain on a 1st & 10 run had the makings of producing yet another first down, until Dillan Botts and Mason Cavness heavily pressured ETBU quarterback Kaden Brown on 2nd & 3, forcing an incompletion. Then Brown was tackled three yards behind the line of scrimmage on 3rd down, leaving ETBU no choice but to cut its losses and send on the punting unit.
ETBU then got the ball back for its second possession after UMHB’s 10-play, 74-yard touchdown drive, aiming to counter with a touchdown of its own. But Te’Ron Brown had other plans. When ETBU left its offense on the field to face 4th & 1 from its own 34-yard line, Brown made a huge tackle of Kaden Brown, stopping him short of the line to gain, and putting the ball back in the hands of the UMHB offense.
The Tigers’ third drive saw yet another firm stand and momentum-shifting play from the Crusader defense, when Cavness forced a fumble with the Tigers near midfield. As Hymond Drinkard ran right, Cavness quickly moved to the play and knocked the ball loose, with Botts recovering it inside ETBU territory on the Tiger 46-yard line.
For an offense that had reached the end zone twice in the first quarter in each of its previous three home games, ETBU never even crossed midfield in the opening quarter against UMHB.
The Tigers’ lone momentum-building scoring drive came early in the second. It was the only point at which the Crusader secondary seemed out of sorts, as ETBU took possession on its own 10-yard line and proceeded to march 79 yards in a mere four plays. Brown found Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox on gains of 11 and 16 yards before Zay Thomas found himself open on back-to-back play that went for 20 and 32 yards. The 32-yard reception put ETBU at the UMHB 11-yard line, as Thomas caught a short pass and raced up the right sideline. He would’ve scored too, if not for UMHB’s Robert Williams tackling him as The Cru’s last line of defense before the goal line. But ETBU found the end zone nonetheless, with Paul Woodard taking a handoff up the middle two plays later, tying the score at 7-7.
From that point on, though, big passing gains were mostly absent from ETBU’s offensive production. Then there were the fourth-down stops in the third quarter, which proved key when looking back on the sequence of events around them.
The first such occurrence came minutes after Jerry Cephus dropped a punt at the ETBU 45-yard line, squandering solid field position and allowing the Tigers to regain possession two yards inside UMHB territory. A pass interference penalty against the defense didn’t help things, moving Brown and the Tigers further up, to the 35-yard line. But The Cru held Brown to just three yards on a pair of QB runs and kept Thomas in front of the first down marker when he recorded a six-yard catch on second down. ETBU faced 4th & 1 from the UMHB 26, and opted to keep the offense on the field. Just as they had the first time, the Crusader defense came through, pressuring Brown, who threw a deep incomplete pass in the direction of Llanas-Wilcox. Turnover on downs.
That came with 9:30 in the third, but the second one was at a much more desperate time for ETBU, who now trailed 21-7 with less than 11 minutes remaining. After the Tigers crossed into UMHB territory on a must-score drive, The Cru seemed to push back, and ETBU faced a 4th & 9 on the UMHB 37. With their backs against the wall to some degree, knowing the importance of the play, the Crusaders responded. Brown threw to the middle of the field, looking for Thomas, but Da’Marion Morris, one of the defense’s breakout players in this 2024 season, knocked the ball away. Another turnover on downs.
Plays such as those two were important in keeping ETBU’s offense out of the end zone. UMHB now leads the ASC in defensive fourth-down conversion rate, with opponents picking up first downs on just 26.7% of their attempts (4-of-15).
Squandered opportunities on offense
As UMHB head coach Larry Harmon told the Temple Daily Telegram’s Eric Drennan postgame, he was perhaps most disappointed in the offense’s inability to capitalize on some of the favorable field position and turnovers set up by the defense. One of the most fitting examples came in the third quarter, when UMHB forced a fumble on the ETBU 28-yard line, the product of a strip-sack by defensive end Gaige Sanders. Sanders recovered the ball, giving UMHB favorable odds at taking a 21-point lead. But the first play from scrimmage ended up in the hands of ETBU defender Tytron Hanley, an interception that saw Hanley make an acrobatic catch on the Tigers’ own 8-yard line. UMHB didn’t get the ball back for the next seven minutes, 7:12 to be exact.
There were other cases, too. The early turnover on downs in the first quarter, forced on ETBU’s own 34-yard line, set The Cru up perfectly, coming off a 10-play, 74-yard drive in which they seemed to cut through the ETBU defense with ease. Only that didn’t happen this time, as Wright threw four straight incompletions and the running game had a minimal effect, forcing a field goal try from 45 yards out. A field goal try that was missed, keeping UMHB’s lead at 7-0.
Then there was even the final possession, which came after ETBU’s second touchdown in the back of the end zone with 2:23 to go. UMHB recovered the onside kick attempt, and took over inside midfield on the Tigers’ 44. A one-yard loss began the drive, and while a seven-yard completion put The Cru in a manageable 3rd & 4, Wright’s third-down run came up short by a yard. On 4th & 1, Cameron Bibins fought to reach the marker, but was pushed in the other direction, dropped for a three-yard loss.
In all, nine of UMHB’s 10 drives ended in ETBU territory. And while four of those nine went for touchdowns, the other five were concluded by a missed field goal, two punts, an interception, and a turnover on downs. Being well within striking distance, yet unable to put more points on the board was certainly a difficult pill to swallow.
Offense added to its lead in second half, reached the end zone twice
It wasn’t all bad from the Crusader offense. That needs to be noted. In fact, for the first time this season, UMHB recorded a touchdown in all four quarters. Though it was The Cru’s lowest point total in a victory this season, the offense reached the end zone twice in the second half, something they were unable to do even once against Howard Payne.
And unlike the first meeting with ETBU, UMHB put points on the board in the third quarter. For the third time this season, The Cru scored first in the second half, with the win over HPU and the loss to Bethel (TN) being the two previous occurrences.
That early third-quarter score came after the defense forced a turnover on downs, proving UMHB could and did take advantage of some of the opportunities made possible by the defense. It wouldn’t be the last time, either, as UMHB’s fourth-quarter touchdown drive, capped by a 23-yard reception by Christopher Gacayan, also came after a fourth-down stop by the defense.
After exchanging punts and the Crusader defense forcing a turnover on downs, UMHB took possession with 9:30 in the third quarter. In the first meeting between the two programs, it was the third quarter when ETBU turned the corner and began its 14-0 run that captured the lead. But this time around, UMHB only pulled further ahead, widening the margin to 14.
Jake Wright completed four passes of 10 or more yards on the nine-play, 74-yard drive, with the first big completion coming on a 3rd & 8 pass to Jerry Day Jr. that went for 11 yards and a first down. Two plays later, after a holding penalty that set UMHB back 10 yards, TJ Rone pulled down a pass across the middle for a gain of 18, putting The Cru into ETBU territory. After a pair of short runs from Daunte Blake, Wright’s longest completion of the day put UMHB across the goal line. The sophomore signal caller found Hobart transfer Ranius Daramola, who had four touchdown receptions in each of the previous two seasons, in stride for the 37-yard score. 21-7 UMHB. The fact that it came just one play after UMHB converted on a key 3rd & 1 only added to the significance, and made ETBU’s chances of a comeback less likely. The nine-play, 74-yard drive tied The Cru’s opening scoring drive as the longest offensive possession of the day for UMHB. That 21-7 lead became 27-7 in the fourth on Gacayan’s lone catch of the game, putting it well out of reach of an ETBU comeback at that stage of the second half.
Aside from just the ability to add to its lead in the second half, the way in which UMHB did so is worth pointing out. It was through a heavy dose of running, with passes spaced between, keeping ETBU’s defense on its toes as UMHB put together balanced drives. The first and fourth quarter drives, each 10 plays, saw The Cru run the ball eight times, with just two passes included. The second quarter drive, ended on Asa Osbourn’s 10-yard reception, saw The Cru hand it off seven times with three passes on the possession. And in the third quarter, it was a perfect balance with five running plays and five passing plays (though one run play, a touchdown from Daunte Blake, was called back due to holding).
When UMHB scored, it was as part of longer, more calculated drives that steadily forced ETBU’s defense backwards, until the Tigers were standing inside their own end zone. The rushing attack, which accounted for 142 yards but 10 of UMHB’s first downs, certainly opened the passing lanes at points. Wright threw for 192 yards, finishing 14-of-22 through the air.
Of note, one more offensive positive: UMHB was 7-of-12 on third down. It was only the second time this season that The Cru picked up a first down on more than 50 percent of its third down plays. The first? Oct. 5 in Belton against ETBU, when they posted the exact same 7-of-12 conversion rate.
Unique Stat
ETBU finished with 341 yards to UMHB’s 334, marking the second time this season in which The Cru has been outgained in offensive yardage, yet won the game by double-digits. The first was the 35-17 win over UW-Whitewater in which the Warhawks had 332 yards on 25 more plays than UMHB, who had 307. When was the last time that UMHB won multiple games in a single season by double digits while having fewer yards than its opponent? 2017. Ironically, a 31-21 win over ETBU was the first occurrence of that season, as the Tigers put up 343 yards to 306 from UMHB. A playoff victory over St. Thomas in the national quarterfinals was the second, as St. Thomas picked up 252 yards to The Cru’s 143, yet UMHB won, 21-10.
| Box Score | 1st | 2nd | 3rd | 4th | Final |
| UMHB (5-2) | 7 | 7 | 7 | 6 | 14 |
| ETBU (5-3) | 0 | 7 | 0 | 7 | 27 |
