Photo courtesy of David Morris
BELTON — After a week spent focused on readiness for its season-opener under the lights, seventh-ranked UMHB finds itself back in a camp mode mindset…temporarily. As is standard on the practice fields in Belton, fundamentals will be worked on, and situational awareness will be a priority over the coming days. But this week, they’ll do it without an opponent awaiting them on Saturday.
For the first time since 2001, The Cru finds itself facing a bye week between the season’s first two games, a situation few other D-III programs tend to find themselves in. On Saturday, UMHB clawed its way back from an early 13-0 deficit, beating Bethel (TN) in a 30-23 victory. Their next chance to step onto the turf at Crusader Stadium won’t come until Sept. 20, when No. 21 UW-Whitewater makes its second trip to Belton in the last four years.
But the two weeks between games certainly won’t be wasted. Not by a team that showed plenty of promise against a nationally-respected NAIA program, while also revealing aspects in all three phases—offense, defense, and special teams—in need of fine-tuning coming out of Week 1.
“None of it will be gameplanning for Whitewater,” UMHB head coach Larry Harmon said Monday, when asked how much the current week would be used prepping for The Cru’s second game and how much would be focused on team development. “We have to clean up [some things]. We broke down fundamentally on so many different little situations that we’ve got to get corrected and get fixed. We’re kind of going back to camp mode this week, and getting some work done that way.”
The last time UMHB found itself with an open date after Week 1, The Cru sandwiched it between a pair of victories, knocking off Belhaven (at that time an NAIA program) in the opener, 20-3, before overwhelming Austin College, 20-3, 14 days down the road. It goes without saying that the hope is for a similar 2-0 stretch this time around, 24 years removed from that 2001 campaign. But for that to happen, it starts this week, keeping the energy and attention to detail high, and buying in, even with The Cru sitting idle in terms of the regular season schedule on Saturday afternoon.
“I think it depends on the buy-in of your team,” Harmon added. “The guys have to buy into the direction we want to go this week. [We] had a long meeting with them yesterday. I already had it mapped out. I have every practice done, the full week is already in front of them.
“We talked about everything we’re going to do and our expectations. Our kids saw the fundamental breakdowns that we had. They want to be great. They understand what we’re going to do, and why we’re doing it.”
For those not immersed in the day-to-day of a college football season, it may be easy to dismiss the challenge of an open date immediately after Week 1. But in reality, it has importance, especially for a team that built so much momentum with the second half performance against Bethel. When an open date comes in Week 4—as it did inadvertently last season when John Melvin backed out of its scheduled game at UMHB five days before kickoff—at least there have been three consecutive weeks of games to set a schedule and find a rhythm. But having a standalone Week 1 game, followed by two weeks until the next one, doesn’t allow for that same routine to get established.
“I don’t like breaks, me personally,” Harmon, who won his 28th game as UMHB’s head coach on Saturday, noted. “I’d rather just play 10 weeks straight and not have a bye week in there at all. I don’t like anything that’s not a routine. I know some coaches will tell you, ‘It’s great. We get people healed up and all that.’ But I’ve never been a big fan of that. We’re creatures of habit and I like getting my team on a schedule and routine and just chugging away.”
UMHB will get the next best thing to playing 10 straight weeks once next Monday rolls around, with nine consecutive Saturdays on the regular season schedule, starting with UW-Whitewater on Sept. 20 and ending with the ASC regular season finale at Howard Payne on Nov. 15. As far as this week is concerned, it might be unideal, but they’ll use the time wisely to take another step forward, gearing up for their first matchup against a nationally-ranked opponent in 2025.
“Even if we were playing somebody this week, the fundamental stuff, you do it everyday regardless,” Harmon said. “We would get this fixed if we were playing an opponent or if we weren’t. But we’re just going to be really locked in and have some very specific pod-type work groups to get the things done that we need to get done.”
Saturday in review
The defensive showing against Bethel was stellar, as The Cru quickly adjusted to the Wildcats’ offensive tempo and new style under offensive coordinator Drew Chance. While Bethel put up 20 points in the first half, with the offense producing two of the three scores, UMHB held the Wildcats to only a fourth-quarter field goal over the final two quarters. Much of that had to do with the collective play of the entire group, as the defensive front repeatedly forced Bethel’s offensive line backwards, disrupting quarterback Destin Chance, while the linebackers and defensive backs took away open receivers downfield.
Safety Gavin Brzezinski had a key pass breakup on a fourth-down pass after The Cru went up 30-20, and Deion Drinkard came up with a game-sealing interception on Bethel’s final drive, leading the secondary in a solid performance.
“I think our backend did a great job of keeping game speed and conditioning throughout the whole game,” Harmon said, referring to the secondary. “Our linebackers did good as well. We didn’t rotate those guys nearly as much as we did our front; we rotated our front quite a bit. With the linebackers and secondary, the guys who were starters pretty much played for the most part. Those guys were in the 90+ snap count range, and were still playing at a high level, so I was very pleased with that.”
Harmon also praised the adaptability of the offense, which included newcomers in starting quarterback Kirkland Michaux and receivers Isaiah Nesmith, B.J. Stewart. Neither team exchanged film leading up to the game, so the first half was more about getting a feel for what Bethel’s defense was running and then adjusting accordingly.
“Considering not having film and knowing that we were going to have to see how they were going to deploy their people, what coverages they were going to run, and where pressures were going to come from, I thought our kids did an incredible job of adjusting to the changes at halftime,” Harmon said. “They were able to go out and execute in the second half, got 14 points right away, and put the game in a situation where we did not have to take as many chances going into the fourth quarter. We just had to play good solid defense and special teams, and make sure that we didn’t lose the game on ourselves with turnovers or pressing too much. I’m so proud of our team and our kids and our coaches for what they did.”
Stewart, a transfer from Trinity, had UMHB’s second touchdown of that third quarter as part of a six-reception, 114-yard stat line in his debut wearing the Purple and Gold. The 5’7 senior certainly brings back memories of previous Cru greats in the slot receiver and kick return spots, notably Aaron Sims and K.J. Miller, with his remarkable speed and vision running upfield. While Stewart is only one game into his time in Belton, it’s clear his skill set will be well-utilized over the course of this fall, both in the offense and on special teams. And let it be known, he’s not just a playmaking receiver and returner. He’s a quality blocker, too.
“He’s built very similar,” Harmon said, when asked how much Stewart reminded him of Miller and Sims. “The thing that kind of goes unnoticed, he was probably our best perimeter blocker on Saturday. He’s a tremendous competitor, [has] an incredible football IQ, and had some catches on punt returns where he looked like Willie Mays Hayes back there, running back and catching it over his shoulder. He’s got an incredible skill set. We’ve got to continue to do a great job of designing plays specifically for him, because he’s dynamite. He’s very fun to watch and he’s just a great person. He’s never in a bad mood, always smiling. He’s one of those guys that just brings a lot of laughter to the locker room.”
Stewart was one of several newcomers who stood tall in Saturday’s win. Michaux completed 20-of-26 passes in his first start, good enough for a completion percentage of 77%. Defensive end Brandon McGruder, a transfer from Cisco College, played his way onto D3football.com’s Team of the Week with his five solo tackles, and a huge hit on Chance, the Bethel quarterback, to force a fumble that was returned by teammate Te’Ron Brown for a second quarter touchdown. Transfer safety Izeal Jones also had five solo tackles.
Harmon credited the returners from the 2024 team for forming bonds with the new faces on the roster, helping them acclimate quicker to the program and as a result, be impactful pieces right out of the gate.
“I think it really says a lot about our players from last year who are still here, the leadership they’ve exhibited and the relationships they’ve built in a short time with these new faces to get them bought into our culture,” Harmon said, noting the resilience to twice overcome a deficit on Saturday. “People just don’t do that for anybody. You’ve got to show them that you care. You’ve gotta show them that they can trust you and then they’ll go out and change and form the way you want them to form.
“I feel like our transfers have done a great job of coming in, being inducted by our returners, and getting a relationship built to where they trust each other and they went out and played incredibly hard for each other.”
