UMHB holds off nationally-ranked Texas Wesleyan in 28-19 win

File photo by Luke Zayas/@lukezayas_photography

BELTON — For the first five games of this fall, and the entirety of his sophomore year in 2024, Gavin Brzezinski’s role for UMHB defense was in the secondary, playing downfield from the line of scrimmage as a safety.

But with The Cru looking for a spark heading into Saturday’s non-conference tilt against Texas Wesleyan, the Cedar Park, Texas native shifted up to middle linebacker. It didn’t take long for his impact at his new position to come into view.

With Texas Wesleyan threatening in the red zone late in the third quarter, Rams quarterback Cole Francis dropped back for a pass, as receiver T.J. Curtis cut towards the middle of the end zone. But there was just one problem for the visitors from Fort Worth: Brzezinski was sitting right there, in the path of the pass.

As the ball flew, the 6’2, 200-pound junior’s defensive back instincts seemingly took over, as he intercepted the pass and then turned on the afterburners in a 100-yard sprint in the opposite direction. Brzezinski’s pick-six tied Eric Allen’s decade-old program record for the longest interception return by a Crusader and ignited a surge of energy from the homecoming crowd, as UMHB pushed its lead to 28-6 and out of reach of the nationally-ranked Rams.

While Texas Wesleyan found the end zone twice in the final 6:11 of the fourth quarter, cutting what had been a 22-point deficit to just nine, UMHB survived the late charge in a 28-19 win to kick off a crucial four-game homestand. The Rams, who came into Saturday ranked No. 19 in the NAIA, had their three-game win streak snapped, while The Cru raised its overall record to 3-3.

WOW! UMHB's Gavin Brzezinski jumps the route in the end zone and races 100 yards in the opposite direction for a pick-six! UMHB leads 28-6.

The return ties Eric Allen's program record, which was set in 2014 against Howard Payne.

#d3fb | #gocru | @CruFootball | @GavinBrz5 pic.twitter.com/AMH3xVAbgV
— True To The Cru (@TrueToTheCru) October 18, 2025

Getting back in the win column was the sort of bounce-back UMHB needed just seven days after falling to Hardin-Simmons, 34-7, in a game where The Cru never really challenged the Cowboys’ lead. Back at home, the offense clicked in the first half better than it had in the first two quarters of any of the five games prior, averaging 6.7 yards per play as it built a commanding 21-3 lead. For its part, the defense held a Texas Wesleyan offense averaging 35.1 points per game to a single 33-yard field goal in the first two quarters as each of the Rams’ first four drives ended in punts.

But it was also a tale of two halves, and that dynamic made Brzezinski’s pick-six especially key in a second half controlled by Texas Wesleyan. The Rams generated more offensive momentum in the final two quarters, as seven of their eight drives ended in Crusader territory while outgaining UMHB yardage-wise, 286-57.

In fact, a glance at the final stats is surprising when compared with the final score. Texas Wesleyan finished with a commanding advantage in total offense, with 512 yards to UMHB’s 284. The Rams had 12 more first downs, converted on 41.6% of their third downs to UMHB’s 25%, and crossed into the red zone four times, scoring on three of those chances.

And yet, UMHB won by nine in a game that really could have had a wider margin of victory if not for a defensive lapse in the final minutes. So what was it that leaned in The Cru’s favor, if most of the telltale stats didn’t? Even as TXWES churned up yardage and UMHB’s offense struggled to move the chains (The Cru had just two non-penalty first downs in the second half), the Crusader defense kept the Rams out of the end zone in the third quarter.

On the Rams’ first possession, Francis connected with Ronnie Schneider for a 16-yard gain to move the ball across midfield, but the Crusaders dug in their heels on the next three plays, forcing a punt.

Their second drive had far more length—11 plays in 3:42—but after Francis completed three straight passes to move the ball to UMHB’s 34-yard line, The Cru again answered the call. Brandon Eberwine got into the backfield on a first-down pass attempt, creating an incompletion. On second down, Denim Collins dove and broke up a pass near the UMHB sideline, setting up a 3rd & 10 play in which UMHB forced a third-straight incompletion. Texas Wesleyan, trailing 21-3 with 6:41 left in the third, opted for a 51-yard field goal from Max Luna rather than trying to extend the drive further.

Then came Texas Wesleyan’s third drive, and after moving the ball 52 yards in seven plays to get within six yards of the end zone, Brzezinski stepped up with the pick-six, ending yet another promising drive from the Rams without a touchdown. Over the course of those three possessions in the third quarter, the Rams went 126 yards, ran 23 plays, and took 7:50 off the clock. But only came away with three points, not much closer to challenging UMHB for the lead. And it didn’t even stop there. TXWES’ went 3-and-out on its next two possessions, forced to punt on both occasions as precious time ticked away, UMHB now leading, 28-6.

That stretch answers the question of how the Rams finished with such overwhelming offensive numbers in comparison to The Cru, yet fell short of completing a comeback. UMHB’s defense stepped up when it needed to at that juncture, bending significantly at times, yet not breaking.

That said, the Rams pulled closer in the final minutes, something head coach Larry Harmon talked about in his postgame radio interview. Because while UMHB kept TXWES out of the end zone in the first three quarters, the Rams put together drives of seven and 12 plays—the latter going 89 yards—to score twice in the fourth. Both drives took just over three minutes, sandwiched between a second-straight 3-and-out from the UMHB offense, and saw the Rams’ passing attack find plenty of success.

After Francis found Curtis for a 6-yard touchdown with 1:37 left, TXWES left the offense on the field for a two-point conversion attempt, aiming to cut the deficit to seven. But Francis’ pass fell incomplete, making it a two-possession game. Even still, the Rams recovered an onside kick and were driving back in the direction of the end zone before Collins came up with a game-sealing interception along the sideline.

“We started off good, like we needed to,” Harmon said postgame on KMIL 105.1 FM. “Went in at halftime, and kind of let it down. Then instead of finishing, we just kind of survived. So that’s our objective for next week; to try to figure out how we can learn from this and get a full game where we come out hungry, and ready to go, and then finish the second half to where we can feel good and not have to survive games like we just did.”

The start was about as good as it could’ve been in all three phases of the game, best illustrated by a seven-play sequence early in the first quarter. After TXWES went 3-and-out on its opening drive, with Francis pressured on a 3rd & 6 pass that sailed just off-target, Ram punter Tyler Strumila sent a line-drive punt straight to Luke Vidal standing at UMHB’s own 15-yard line. The speedy sophomore receiver ran behind his blockers and well past midfield in an early momentum play for The Cru. When he was finally forced out of bounds at the TXWES 32-yard line, the League City, Texas native had recorded a 53-yard return, setting up his offense with prime field position.

Quarterback Kirkland Michaux—back after missing the HSU game with an injury—made sure the return wasn’t wasted, as he completed an 18-yard pass to Quinci Jones, then another to Asa Osbourn for a gain of nine. Two plays later, Osbourn carried the ball five yards across the goal line, giving UMHB its first opening quarter lead of the season (The Cru had not led at any point in its previous five first quarters).

One quarter later, Osbourn added his second rushing score of the afternoon, this one a two-yard carry to cap a six-play, 80-yard drive. Michaux’s 45-yard completion to Vidal gave the drive its spark, and a subsequent 28-yard pitch-and-catch to Osbourn put UMHB into scoring range. That came with 12:23 left until halftime, and each of those scoring drives were valuable as UMHB gained its largest first-half lead of the season.

But the final scoring drive of the half—and as it turned out, the game—was also perhaps its most crucial. Having struggled to find a rhythm, the Rams settled in on their last possession of the half, marching 49 yards in seven plays down to UMHB’s 16-yard line. But just as the Crusader defense did on multiple occasions, they came up with a third-down stop, forcing a 33-yard field goal. Still, it was TXWES’ first scoring drive of the day, a confidence-builder for a highly-capable offense coming off a 61-point outburst against Louisiana Christian.

But UMHB countered immediately, pulling that momentum back in their favor. Running back Kamerin Ferguson picked up 10 yards out of the gate, and Michaux completed his next three passes, the last of which went for a 49-yard touchdown on a short pass to Ferguson. The senior running back trucked a defender and eluded two would-be tacklers on his way to the end zone, turning a routine pass to the flat into a much bigger gain.

Offensive play of the game goes to senior running back Kamerin Ferguson.

As we’ve seen many times if you let Ferg reach his top speed you’re either not catching him or you’re getting run smooth over 😮‍💨 pic.twitter.com/x9Boo3WNRT
— CouchCru 🛋 (@CouchCru17) October 19, 2025

It turned out to be the last explosive play (a gain of 20+ yards on a pass or 10+ yards on a rush) UMHB’s offense got, but built a lead that allowed The Cru to weather the storm when TXWES found explosive plays of their own in the fourth quarter.

Saturday’s win sets the stage for the resumption of American Southwest Conference play for The Cru, a four-game stretch that will close the regular season. For UMHB to have a chance at reaching the NCAA playoffs for the second year in a row, The Cru will need to win out, starting with next Saturday’s 1 p.m. home duel against Howard Payne.

The Yellow Jackets, who had an open date on Saturday, are 3-3 overall and 1-1 in ASC play. HPU’s last action came a week ago in a 36-18 home win over ETBU, the same team UMHB beat, 42-28, on Oct. 4.