“We’ve got to find a way to dig deep”: No. 21 UMHB shifts its focus to Saturday’s ASC opener at ETBU

Photo by Luke Zayas/True To The Cru

BELTON — On Wednesday, the calendar will turn from September to October. With it, a page will turn in the story of UMHB’s 2025 season. 

September featured three noteworthy tests against a pair of non-D3 scholarship programs and a familiar nationally-ranked foe. In that span, the 21st-ranked Crusaders went 1-2, struggling in ways that still leave UMHB with question marks heading into Week 4. 

But that was non-conference play. 

October signifies Week 1 of the American Southwest Conference schedule for Larry Harmon’s squad, the all-important set six of games that will determine whether or not this year’s campaign warrants a trip to the NCAA playoffs. There is no downplaying its significance. The first three games were important. But UMHB’s ASC opener at East Texas Baptist on Saturday? It’s crucial. 

An undefeated team of hungry Tigers awaits in Marshall, eager for another crack at taking down The Cru in front of a home crowd after coming up short, 27-14, a year ago. And from the fanbase back in Belton, there is perhaps some warranted concern, with UMHB having slipped from No. 6 to No. 16 to now No. 21 in the D3football.com Top 25 after back-to-back double-digit losses, albeit to high-caliber opposition. There is everything to prove in the Piney Woods of East Texas on Saturday for a team that Harmon said Monday will need “to dig deep” to get back into the win column. 

“Playing out in the pine trees is harder than what you think it is,” Harmon noted at his weekly press conference. “There’s been years we’ve been heavily favored, gone out there, and come away with a win, but by the skin of our teeth. So we know it’s a great challenge for us. It’s the second week of being on the road and traveling. We’ve got to find a way to dig deep and get back on the right track to get a Division III win, get a win in the conference, and come home to get ready to go to Hardin-Simmons.” 

ETBU is 4-0 to start the season, its best start since 2016. The Tigers lead the conference in total offense, averaging 480.3 yards/game. They have one of the most productive running backs in the country in junior Paul Woodard. The ETBU defense’s 19 sacks are the most in the ASC by 10, and their nine forced fumbles also lead the league’s four teams by a fair margin. 

Some of those numbers have been aided by their weak non-conference schedule, but that doesn’t take away from the fact that this is a team riding a wave of momentum. The Crusaders understand that, as Harmon alluded to multiple times, referencing the “challenge” playing at ETBU will be. But they also draw confidence knowing this is a caliber of opponent they’ve already seen multiple times in the season’s first month. 

“We’ve kind of gone through the gauntlet and gone against some scholarship guys, bigger people, twitchier people,” Harmon said. “We feel like we’re battle-tested and ready to make a run at our conference. ETBU’s going to be a good test. They’re running the ball, they’re leading the conference in rushing, and leading in total offense and a lot of defensive stats. We’ve got our work cut out for us.”

UMHB enters its conference opener—and its second-straight road game—just a week after facing a D2 opponent for the first time in program history. The 21-7 loss to Mars Hill, a scholarship program that is now 3-1 overall, saw The Cru stay close with the Lions through the opening two quarters, as they trailed 7-5 at halftime before two long touchdown passes turned the tide in favor of MHU in the third quarter. 

On Monday, Harmon praised the mentality of his team in dealing with the 90-minute lightning delay just before kickoff and responding in a road environment for the first time this season, though he also expressed disappointment in his team’s 14 penalties. While the game was officiated much tighter than most—UMHB and MHU combined for 31 penalties on the day—The Cru’s penalties came in a handful of untimely scenarios, particularly resulting in two long returns being negated. 

“Obviously, it was a long delay, but I didn’t think that affected us coming out and starting the game,” Harmon said. “I thought our kids did a good job with that. I just feel like we knew our backs were against the wall. We knew we had to play a lot better, a lot harder than what we did against Wisconsin-Whitewater the week before, and I really believe we went out and played incredibly hard. We just didn’t play very disciplined and we hurt ourselves with some ignorant penalties that hurt our team and our chances of winning the game.”

At quarterback

UMHB’s offense has been under scrutiny for the last two weeks, and failing to score a touchdown at Mars Hill added to that pressure. Against the MHU defense, The Cru rushed for just 42 yards and threw for 186, their longest passing play going for 24 yards. Of UMHB’s 13 possessions on Saturday, just one ended with points: Jack Hight’s 24-yard field goal in the first quarter. 

With the recent struggles on that side of the ball, the coaching staff has continued evaluating its talent at the quarterback position, seeking more consistency under center. UMHB used two quarterbacks against Mars Hill—Kirkland Michaux and Seth Mouser—and flipped the two on two different occasions in the second half after Michaux played the entirety of the first half. Michaux, an Illinois transfer who has started since Week 1, completed 15 of his 26 passes for 126 yards. In a more limited role, Mouser completed 5 of 8 passes for 32 yards, on the field for three possessions in the second half. 

Michaux played the first drive of the third before Mouser came in for the next two possessions. Michaux then led the offense for the two that followed Mouser’s stint, and Mouser closed the game, under center for The Cru’s final possession late in the fourth quarter. 

“It was to evaluate,” Harmon said, when asked about using both Michaux and Mouser over the final two quarters. “After the Whitewater game, I didn’t feel like we had a starting quarterback and we had a plan to get them both in in the first half. The way the game was going, and trying to catch up with some of the stuff they were doing on defense, we just missed a couple insertions of Seth and we needed to get him in a little sooner. 

“We’re in an evaluation process. Our passing game has been nonexistent and we need to be better at what we’re doing right now. So offense has a lot of work to do this week. We’re going to get in there and make sure we get it done.” 

The offense will be up against an ETBU defense whose four interceptions lead the ASC, but has allowed an ASC-worst 271.5 passing yards per game, potentially opening the door to an awakening for The Cru’s aerial attack. After throwing for 186 yards in each of the last two games, UMHB—whether using just one quarterback or continuing to split time between Michaux and Mouser—has a real opportunity to get above 200 yards against the Tigers, indirectly opening up more space for the run game to find much-needed traction as well.

On defense

Harmon was asked about the performance of the secondary against MHU, as The Cru’s defensive backs—one of the most promising units coming into the season—broke up three passes, bringing their total to nine through three games, and eight over the last two. That came along with JJ Davis’ interception near the goal-line in the third quarter, ending a drive that almost certainly would have ended with points had Davis not made the leaping catch. 

Those were the positives. But the truth is that UMHB’s interception total easily could have been tripled, as they dropped two more would-be interceptions, including one near the goal-line on MHU’s first touchdown drive of the day. Harmon talked about that aspect and capitalizing on those turnover opportunities at length on Monday. 

“We’ve been in position. We just haven’t made the play,” Harmon said. “That’s the frustrating part of it. We dropped two picks Saturday and caught one. We’ve always been about creating turnovers and setting up field position for our offense. That’s part of our DNA. That’s what we expect to do. And when you’re dropping them, it’s frustrating. I know our kids get frustrated with it. 

“We have to get past this mental block, keep our eyes on the ball, watch it into our hands, and all of those things, and start making the plays we’re very capable of making. We’re highly-athletic, and we have the potential to be a very good football team. We’ve just been beating ourselves the last two weeks and that’s got to stop.” 

Up front, UMHB missed Brandon McGruder’s presence at defensive end, as the junior transfer was recovering from an injury. A D3football.com Team of the Week honoree after the Bethel win, McGruder will be back for the ASC opener, Harmon said, something that will no doubt provide a boost for the defensive line.  “We’re excited to get him back,” Harmon added. 

The Cru struggled to apply much pressure on MHU quarterback JR Martin, failing to record a sack for the first time this season. But against the run, they made improvement in fighting off blocks, something Harmon said would be prioritized after the loss to UW-Whitewater. It showed up multiple times in crucial stops by UMHB’s front seven, who held MHU to its second-lowest rushing output of the season (121 yards). 

“All of our pressures basically came off us sending six or five [rushers],” Harmon said. “We didn’t get much off the four-man rush. But as far as holding up on the line of scrimmage, punching, and getting off blocks against the run, I thought we were very much improved in that aspect, as far as the D-Line was concerned.”

Looking ahead

UMHB kicks off at 1 p.m. CT on Saturday from Ornelas Stadium in Marshall. It marks ETBU’s first home game since shutting out NAIA Oklahoma Panhandle State on Sept. 13 and The Cru carries a 20-game win streak against the Tigers into the matchup. Saturday’s ASC opener will be streamed on goetbutigers.com.