UMHB Notebook: Cru gets rematch with '04 title game foe Posted On: Tuesday, Nov. 24 2009 05:06 AM By Angel Verdejo
Killeen Daily Herald

BELTON – No one on Mary Hardin-Baylor's roster was on the 2004 version, the year UMHB faced Linfield (Ore.).

But the current Crusaders know about the meeting. There are reminders all over Andersen Fieldhouse in the form of trophies, pictures and coaches on staff.

Linfield beat UMHB in the 2004 Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl in the Crusaders' only appearance in the NCAA Division III national championship game.

"It's magnified enough," UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. "We know if we don't play and play really, really well, we're going to be putting our equipment up, and our guys don't want to do that."

Linfield won 28-21, scoring the go-ahead touchdown with just under six minutes left to play. UMHB nearly rallied, reaching inside Linfield's 20-yard line before quarterback Josh Welch was sacked on fourth down with 16 seconds to play.

The two play Saturday at 2 p.m. CDT in McMinnville, Ore., in a second-round playoff game.

When asked what he remembers most from the title game, Fredenburg said the 43 second-half yards Linfield was limited to as UMHB attempted to come back.

"We were knocking on the door when we ran out of downs," he said. "I felt like if we would have done a few things in the first half like we did in the second, we would have had a much better chance to win the ball game."

UMHB has remained a national power, advancing to the semifinals in each of the last two seasons. Linfield followed its championship with a quarterfinals appearance, but after a coaching change, posted three straight 6-3 seasons before 2009's undefeated year.

The Wildcats average 41.7 points and 455.9 yards per game, and beat California Lutheran 38-17 in the first round.

Stopping the pass and run

As good as UMHB's run defense looked Saturday against Central (Iowa) College, the Crusaders struggled a bit guarding against the pass during Central's 19-point, fourth-quarter rally.

Central, a run-first team, came into Saturday averaging 251.4 yards on the ground before finishing with just 103 against UMHB. Most of that final total came from quarterback Nate Snead scrambling out of the pocket. Running back David Zachary finished with 12 yards on nine carries, but entered the game as a 1,200-yard back.

"It was exactly what we planned on doing," Fredenburg said. "In order for them to be successful, they were going to have to run the ball. That's what they hung their hat on and I was really proud at the way the defense played and stopped the run.

"But we gave up a lot of big plays in the throwing game."

Snead threw for 278 yards and four touchdowns, and even had a stretch in the second half where he completed six straight passes of more than 20 yards.

Fredenburg said in addition to Central's success through the air, the Dutch were also more physical at the point of the catch than the Crusader defenders at times.

"The officials let them play, which is good, but we didn't respond real well to that. They would hold position on us and pin us to one side, and the ball would be delivered well," he said.

Quarterback rhythm

Once a situation that had Fredenburg almost defending his actions, UMHB's quarterback rotation between junior Kyle Noack and freshmen LiDarral Bailey has evolved into an asset for the Crusader offense, the coach said.

"Each one of them has unique abilities and unique experiences and we're going to capitalize on that," Fredenburg said. "It's well-devised and well-executed. They just have to continue to develop."

Both have played in all 11 games, with Noack starting seven, including three of the last four. He threw for 82 yards and a touchdown, while Bailey threw for 43 yards and a score, while running for 95 and a touchdown.

Bailey replaced Noack as the starter for a three-week stretch in the middle of the season, including UMHB's only loss this season, a 17-14 setback to Mississippi College where the coaches realized using both would help the team.

Contact Angel Verdejo at averdejo@kdhnews.com or (254) 501-7564.