Cru routs Wesley, earns quarterfinal home game Posted On: Sunday, Nov. 30 2008 07:02 AM By Jason Chlapek
Killeen Daily Herald

BELTON – Mary Hardin-Baylor linebacker Eric Henri seemed to be at the right place at the right time on Saturday.

Wherever the ball was, Henri was there almost every time as he was in on nine tackles, forced a fumble on the opening play of the contest and returned a pair of fumbles for touchdowns to lead the Cru football team to a 46-14 rout of Wesley at Tiger Field in the second round of the NCAA Division III playoffs.

"The (defensive) line did a good job of putting pressure on the quarterback and I just happened to be the lucky one to get the ball to bounce in my hands," Henri said. "I couldn't have done it without the big guys up front."

The "big guys up front" for UMHB (11-1) not only dominated on defense, but also on offense. The Cru out-gained Wesley (9-2), 302-19, in rushing yards. UMHB ran 59 times for 302 yards, while the Wolverines were limited to just 19 yards on 24 totes.

"UMHB controlled the line of scrimmage the entire time," said Wesley coach Mike Drass. "Their linemen have great feet and move well on both sides of the football."

UMHB center Dustin Davis was honored by Drass' comment on the Cru's men up front.

"That's a huge compliment," Davis said. "We were more physical and played well together, and that was the plan coming in because they (Wesley) had some big defensive linemen. I really felt that we hit on all cylinders (Saturday)."

The Cru got things rolling early as Henri forced a fumble on the game's first play, which was recovered by fellow defender Lee Munn at the Wesley 30-yard line to set up his team from there offensively. Four consecutive carries were followed by a 14-yard touchdown pass from Josh Saenz to Ervin Johnson to give UMHB a 7-0 lead at the 12:50 mark of the first quarter.

The Cru forced a three-and-out on Wesley's ensuing drive before driving to the Wolverines' 4, where Alan Munoz drilled a 21-yard field goal to increase the UMHB lead to 10-0 with 5:33 left in the opening period. The kick was one of four field goals Munoz hit in the game, setting a school record for most field-goal attempts made in a single contest.

Wesley followed with its best drive of the contest, which was aided by a 29-yard run from Aaron Jackson and a 13-yard pickup by Shane McSweeney as the Wolverines drove to the UMHB 16. But McSweeney was sacked by Mark Manning on second-and-nine from the 16, and lost the ball in the process. Henri recovered at the 18 and ran the rest of the way for the first touchdown of his collegiate career.

The Cru led 17-0 after Henri's first fumble return and held that lead until the 5:24 mark of the second quarter when Munoz hit a 45-yard field goal to increase the lead to 20-0. Following the Wolverines' third three-and-out of the contest, UMHB drove 72 yards in 10 plays to make it 27-0 on a Brian Scott touchdown run with 44 seconds left before halftime.

Down 27-0 entering the third quarter, Drass rolled the dice and attempted an onside kick, which was recovered by Wesley at its own 48. Four plays later, McSweeney hit Blair Newman for a 15-yard touchdown to pull the Wolverines within three scores, 27-7.

McSweeney and Newman connected for a 23-yard gain on the first play of the drive.

Neither team could find the end zone or the goal posts on the next four possessions as UMHB missed a field goal and lost a fumble and Wesley was held to a three-and-out and threw an interception. A Brett Parker interception return to the Wesley 21 set the Cru up for another score – this one a 19-yard touchdown pass from Saenz to Marcos Garcia to give their team a 33-7 lead at the 2:39 mark of the third quarter.

A turnover on downs and a lost fumble set up back-to-back field goals from Munoz of 49 and 46 yards, respectively. The first of those field goals was a career-long for Munoz, and both kicks increased the Cru's lead to 39-7.

Henri put the icing on the cake for UMHB with his second fumble return for a score as he scooped up a loose ball at the Wesley 44 and ran the distance to give the Cru their biggest lead of the contest, 46-7, with 7:03 left to play. But Larry Beavers helped his team end the game with a sense of pride as he returned the ensuing kickoff 98 yards for a score to cut the lead to 46-14.

"We played hard, but it just didn't work out for us," Beavers said. "UMHB put a lot of pressure on us and disrupted a lot of our routes."

According to Parker, the game plan was to limit the big pass plays and limit Beavers' catches. He caught just three passes for 40 yards.

"We wanted to eliminate the big plays and keep the ball out of Beavers' hands and we did that," Parker said.

Saturday's game marked the fourth consecutive year that UMHB and Wesley met in the playoffs, and the second time in a row that the Cru defeated the Wolverines. Wesley won the 2005 and 2006 meetings, while UMHB won in 2007 and on Saturday.

"This was a great win against a talented and athletic Wesley team," said UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg. "This was probably the best game we've played all season."

Drass had nothing but praise for his team's opponent.

"I hope they go to the Stagg Bowl to play for the national championship," he said. "It's been an honor to know that the road to the South Region championship goes through Belton or Dover."

UMHB hosts Washington & Jefferson at noon Saturday at Tiger Field in the South Region championship game. The Presidents upset No. 1 seed Millsaps, 35-20, Saturday in Jackson, Miss.