2018 NCAA Division III Semi-Finals - UMHB v. Whitewater 12/8/18

for the last decade wisconsin whitewater has dominated division three football winning five of the past nine championships but mary hardin baylor is going for its third straight trip to the finals after winning it all two years ago two of the best in the nation meet for a spot in the stag bowl [Music] welcome to the ncaa division three semi-finals on espn after a wet 48-hour stretch the skies have eased up just a bit as we welcome you to belton texas the home for the university of mary hardin baylor today the second ranked crusaders host the university of wisconsin whitewater the warhawks fly south ranked fourth both teams unbeaten both teams looking to advance to the stag bowl mount union with a lead over john hopkins that game has went final so a ticket already punched who will be mount union's opponent next weekend hi everybody sean kinney alongside coach al grow great to have you with us really no surprise today this was the semi-final that everybody expected these two dominant division three programs have had a remarkable season and really a remarkable decade their styles are a little bit different shawn but the blueprints the same they both have a terrific infrastructure that will support championship football within the overall university and they have veteran leadership that has a plan that works they know how to do it uw whitewater has built their winning program around playing fast physical and disciplined football and nobody embodies that more than their star defensive end harry hinchlan well he's athletic he's relentless he loves to play and he just has a nose for the ball he knows where that football is going to be hinchler has had such a big year he was a semi finalist for the gagliardi trophy which is the heisman equivalent at division three mary hardin baylor features explosive speed and they have a talented running back in markeith miller well he's a power back but he combines that with lateral quickness which allows him to make jump cuts at the line of scrimmage and therefore get into the secondary the sixth time national champion warhawks are back in the spotlight mary hardin baylor primed for a third straight run to the stag bowl off coming up next [Music] it really has been a messy weekend here in texas the past couple of days heavy rain the good news it's eased up a bit but it is on the chilly side if you're a texan 44 degrees it's balmy if you're from whitewater there's a good look at kevin bullis in his fourth year when lance leipold left uw whitewater for the buffalo head job there was a lot of concern on who would carry on the winning ways they stayed in family when they promoted kevin bolas and he has delivered on the other side pete fredenberg the texas sports hall of famer has been there since day one of this mary hardin baylor football program the longtime coach has led the crusaders the past 21 years since its inception back in 1998. sean the way i would describe the approach of these two coaches these teams are built with nuts and bolts that means they're ready to withstand whatever challenges come up there are no gadgets or gimmicks that have gotten them to the semifinals on an annual basis umhb trying to figure out a way to beat uw whitewater you saw that graphic 5-0 for the warhawks they've won the last two and their trips to belton short kick taken at the 15 straight up the middle and a big semi final hit put on as whitewater will start just shy of the 30-yard line well that big hit sean that was characteristic of the play of middle linebacker drake jackson in there he's a he's a heavy puncher he's their heavyweight fighter in the middle of the defense cole wilbur has been the three-year starter for the warhawks he's really played his best football over the past month 24 touchdowns just the eight interceptions for the senior from california and they will try to get this ground game going on first down and they have a two-headed dragon with their two backs alex pete and ronnie ponik even though whitewater is a little bit more of a ground and pound team than mary harden baylor the quickest back on the field is alex pete number 23 one of the two alternating tailbacks for whitewater pete is only a sophomore but he plays like an upperclassman he's rushed for over 1300 yards this year second down on five he'll test the waters on that right side a little bit better job by the crusader d and this sets up a third down and short and third downs were a problem area last week for uw whitewater as they went just four of 14. each particular team has had phenomenal success on offense all season long but equally good on defense so the matchup of the third down offenses against the third down defenses is like the game within the game four receivers set one running back for cole wilbur there's no mystery as to what mary hardin baylor is going to play they're going to rush for and play a soft two deep zone on eight out of ten third downs for the third straight time they keep it on the ground and a hole opens up for pete and a third down conversion for the warhawks smart call by uw whitewater they recognized that mary harden baylor was in their third down defense that had the linebackers deep the safety's uh soft there was a big opening in the middle they checked to it from the sideline that's good communication from the press box big kick out block delivered by the junior right guard brian barrett first year starter on this very talented offensive line so the sophomore pete moves the chains first down for uw whitewater the ball sniffing midfield wilbur is going to throw for the first time a little hitch pattern through the hands of derrick kumarow incomplete coverage by keith gibson well keith gibson was playing the corner position in this two deep zone now this is the so-called tampa two defense in this type of cover two all the defenders just go to a spot they don't really relate to the receivers they get their eyes on the quarterback so they get a very good break on the ball that's what happened on that play and that's why they have the phenomenal number of 29 interceptions this year it's an interception defense by seeing where the quarterback's going the number one defense in division three football for takeaways trying to stretch it with the corner goes pete penalty flag flies in as he's driven out of bounds by raylen hickey let's see what the game's first flag is all about well that was a corner blitz from the short side of the field here and the wide receiver from the warhawks was called for a block in the back against the corner who was blitzing flags on the sophomore derrick kumarow this is a receiving core that's depleted today for uw whitewater no ryan wisniewski he did not make the trip the team's leader in receptions this year the sophomore from sparta out with an injury so you'll see a lot more of kumarow this afternoon [Applause] so after the penalty second down and 20 for wilbur play fake they whip it out quickly and defended nicely by mary hardin baylor nowhere for mitchell des the speedster to go hickey again the first one to greet him second and 20 now third and 15. this is crusader football this is the way they like to play defense they play that cover two too they've wrapped it so often during the course of the season that they're experts at running it they know exactly where their place is in the defense they're going to get deep to the sticks now at the very best the warhawks can expect to throw something soft underneath and try to pick up some yardage after the catch a little bit more difficult chore for cole wilbur on this third down they rush four wilbur's going to tuck and run he has a lot of work to do and wisely he's escorted out by gibson well shy of the first down so the penalty comes back to slow down wisconsin whitewater and they'll send out the punting unit we'll do take off and run like that on third and 15. that's exactly what the crusaders want the quarterback to do they know he's not going to run for 15. if they had the wishbone from the thanksgiving turkey they had to make a wish on all those third longs they'd wish that the quarterback tries to scramble that is kj miller he has returned three punts for touchdowns the other guy next to him aaron sims he's returned four for scores this year whitewater won't give them an opportunity so a strong start for the crusaders will see this high-powered offense when we return to belton it is a wet afternoon in belton mary hardin baylor and wisconsin whitewater at stake at birth in next weekend's stag bowl both of these defenses have been outstanding eye-popping numbers stopping the run it's remarkable and you got to play line of scrimmage football to be a championship team and both these teams dominate with their running attack well it will be mary harden baylor to test the running game patient run by markeith miller who has rushed for over 1 000 yards the last three seasons the senior from garland hoping to have a big day today there's going to be tough sledding up in there in the middle against white this defense however markeith miller has the patience to let things sort out as he showed us on that play jace hammack is a transfer from abilene christian he'll stretch it to miller nowhere to go that time david o'gorman he's the stout interior tackle able to shadow the elusive back now here on third down we will see whitewater utilizing more man-for-man coverage and a greater diversity of coverages than what mary hardin balor will use on third down when they are primarily in there too deep this is an offense that scored at least 75 points in five different games this year third down and three they will go on the ground and a first down for the crew up to the 45-yard line it's a gain of nine for miller both teams use exactly the same strategy on their first third down and that they spread the defense out with a wide open formation but hammered the ball right up inside in the guard tackle gap each team thinking the same way hey if you want to play third down defense we're going to give you first down runs miller had such a huge season he was the south region offensive player of the year school and conference record 27 rushing touchdowns this year play fake hammock's going to throw for the first time they love this screen game defended well by the warhawks out past midfield falling forward as kj miller matt anderson brings him down the crusaders run quite a few of the very popular rpo run pass option which the quarterback has the choice to hand the ball off or to throw it out to an outside receiver there's an opportunity for yardage good choice on that we'll get into more detail in how quarterback makes his decision on second down it will be miller stood up at the line of scrimmage and he has driven back picks up maybe a yard bryce leschinski the leader of this defense from the linebacking corps the first one to hit him we can expect a similar approach from mary harden baylor as on the first third and short okay that is perhaps an rpo that is they want to give the ball to markeith miller to pound it for the sticks but if they're over defense inside they'll whip it outside for an easy catch and run play reed and sims to the bottom josie and miller the two receivers to the top miller stays in the game on third down hammock will look to throw pressure on the edge and he's sacked back at the 46 yard line anderson came through untouched well that was very nicely done by the warhawks and that they baited mary harden baler into throwing the rpo but after they showed him a loaded box throw the rpo they brought pressure off the perimeter nobody to block him after the ball was faked inside some real good coaching decisions going on here early in the game anderson picks up his third sack of the year and that was something head coach kevin bolas told me yesterday he loves anderson speed he's like a safety playing linebacker deep punt nowhere to go on the return for josh ringleberg as you see the punter holton ironkoff limp his way toward the crusader sideline well i iron cough got bumped he wanted a call he's trying to sell it by limping off the field but obviously he's not going to convince anybody a little bump but this is semi-final football no flag here for the shakespeare act kevin bolas joked with the media all week talking about replacing the legend in whitewater in lance lipold and he said you never want to follow a legend well he's done a pretty good job lipold won six national titles in his eight years nobody reached 100 wins faster he was hired by the university of buffalo in 2015 this year he guided buffalo to the mac championship game and they're getting set to take on troy in the dollar general bull but bolus was on his staff he was an assistant for seven years uw whitewater wanted to keep it in family and you talk to a lot of folks around the white water area they hire the right guy and here they are back in that national spotlight after missing the playoffs last year and working deep in their own end well d jackson's had a special teams tackle and a tackle on the first play of each possession for uw whitewater he's a force in the middle of the defense for the crusaders and there's quite a match-up in there by knit with him and nate trewin the excellent center for uw whitewater [Music] [Applause] second down and nine they again will try to punch it inside tough running second and third effort that's all on the running back as he surges ahead out past the 15 alex pete with a tough nose run both of these teams employ four down linemen and their defense they're strong physical the crusaders down lineman they're an aggressive off the ball knock the blockers back style of defense they're going to try to beat the blockers through the punch and so far they have done that on most of the running plays early in the game a prolific rushing attack this year for uw whitewater third down for the warhawks pressure comes over the middle and the catch is made it looks like it's about a yard shy of the first down kumarow hold it in and this will all be dependent on the spot and it looks like about a half a yard shot well that was a textbook example of how to play the tampa two defense the receiver was lined up wide to the right he came in on a slant into the soft area of the defense trying to create a catch and run play martin the outside linebacker held this position perfectly got a great break on the ball and a terrific tackle knocking the receiver down short of the sticks the freshman zach lahassek on the punt this is only his second game punting the starter andy cooper went down with an injury earlier in the playoffs the speedster sims and miller both converge on the ball it's miller who ends up with it and terrific special teams play by whitewater the first one down there was they're starting safety that was jacob fry loss of three on the return and series number two today for the crusaders part of the formula for the crusaders to be here in the semifinals is amazing special teams play they've had seven punt returns for touchdowns this year four by miller three by sims it's an issue every time the ball is opponent the excitement starts when these two guys catch the ball that's a necessary play as it will be the whole game for whitewater to limit the punt return yardage [Music] they have put up a lot of points this year and it's not just been the offense special teams in the defense everybody getting in the act speaking of points they're going to take a shot sims goes up and he can't make the catch it was there the hit put on by nate channel a good throw by hammock but the speedster from texas a m aaron sims unable to haul it in well that's going to be a critical match-up in this game is the speed of the slot receivers sims and miller against the safeties of uw whitewater trammell and bruning in that case channel was right on it he played the ball in the deep field excellently knocked it away as the receiver tried to put it away it is a swirling wind inside crusader stadium today second down and 10 from the 39 they're gonna run that little jet sweep pass as they flip it to john l reed and it is cornered beautifully that time by bailey breinig the starting safety able to bring him down a gain of three channel and brining of showed on these two plays one 40 yards deep down the field the other one on the line of scrimmage how versatile and significant the safeties are in the uw whitewater defense multiple substitutions now for the warhawks as they go to their pure third down nickel package they've got speed at all four down rushing positions hammock has that strong breeze behind him on this third down play third and seven it's a low snap on the delayed handoff miller is able to get outside tries to make a defender miss and he does look at the effort by markeith miller holy cow dead to right he squirts it outside for first down yardage he made maximum use of the two best tools in his toolbox that is power initially and lateral quickness and the spin on top of it that's how he turned a dire looking circumstance into an important first down for the crusaders he stepped out of bounds close to where the sticks are so they're going to measure and that is a clear-cut example of why he has rushed for over 4 thousand yards in his outstanding career has set three school records because of runs like we just saw with both of these offenses being as high scoring as they are keeping the ball away from the opponent is a critical part of this game and a first down like that is really significant early in the game [Applause] it's a family affair when you look at markeith miller his older brother malcolm played football for the crew he has a younger brother montana who's coming through the ranks you see him step out of bounds with that right foot [Applause] now i'll be anxious to see if whitewater challenges because it looks like where he stepped out that might not be enough for the first down the officials come together [Music] this is one whitewater b would be wise to let the replay booth ruling out of the runner making the first down is under review so they are going to go upstairs for the first time and take a number of looks at where miller stepped out of bounds and the reason i would say let the replay booth do it with the ball out here at midfield and only inches to go if it's not a first down the odds are that coach pete fredenberg will go for this on fourth down so you could challenge it get the call reversed and still end up giving the first giving away the first down as we take another look the line to get is the 49 that's the magic number for the first down the right leg prior to that spin it's coming up right here keep an eye on the right foot right there and it clearly looks like it's at the 48 which would be a full yard shy of where they need to be well if it's a full yard as it appears to be on the screen sean then it would be worth coach bullis's challenge still going to put the owners back on coach pete fredenberg as to what to do i'm going to bet on the fact the time of possession being so critical in this game and with a power running back like that that he's going to go for it on fourth down and trust his defense if it doesn't work out i know all week we were looking at these two teams and the eye-popping numbers you have an offense scoring 57 a game you have a defense in uw-whitewater allowing single digits what gives in a game like this and after the first nine ten minutes really no surprises with either team both trying to establish that ground game well you're exactly right sean something's got to crack here both are teams that score in excess of 45 points a game they give up less than 10 a game if it stays if it stays that way we might take it take us eight or nine overtimes to settle it but i don't think it will a certain point one of these teams is going to be able to exert its will along the line of scrimmage they have reached a decision let's listen in after further review the runner is short of the first half the ball will be placing the 48 yard line will so if you're mary harden baylor do you play the field position game early or do you roll the die with the nation's highest scoring offense well that's the question that goes through the coaches minds every time one of these come up in the first quarter here sean okay i would play the field position game with the punter that mary harden baler has and that appears to be the case a late shift by whitewater to react but they have sent out the senior punter iankoff so he will pump for the second time in this first quarter both defenses standing tall early as even as many of the match-ups are this is an area where mary harden balor does have an advantage and they're looking to take advantage of that kick is away line drive kick booming inside the five and into the end zone for the touch back so iron cough unable to pin the warhawks deep series number three for uw whitewater in a scoreless time i have to go all the way back to 2004 for the last time a team not named whitewater mount union or mary hardin baylor won a division three national championship you look at that run of dominance by the warhawks which began in 0-7 they had the three consecutive titles in 09 10 and 11 trying to get back into that national championship game on first down wilbur has the pocket collapse and so does he sack back at the 18-yard line well that's the second time in the game that wilbur has had guys open initially in the pocket pocket production passing the ball sean is all about timing and rhythm make a decision get the ball out of your hands get it to somebody to make a play he simply held the ball too long there he had a receiver open on the seam you got to throw it and let these guys make a play shepard and johnson will tag team and get the game's first sack for the crusader defense second down and 12. wilbur spreads out the offense takes the snap with five on the play clock he'll stretch it out wide to ronnie ponik here's that other part of that dynamic running duo ponic is the hard nose back he was a tremendous high school wrestler actually started his collegiate career wrestling for augsburg which is a power he comes right at you well he certainly did on that one he threw his haymaker on that knocked the tackler down and got an initial two to three yards that creates a very makable third down for the warhawks [Applause] [Applause] confusion offensively you saw wilbur have to go over toward the sideline he's going to have to hustle up play clock to two play clock to one and he just did get the snap off with the carry panic and he has nowhere to go the crew shuts the door hard isaiah johnson one of the first ones blowing it up along with d jackson johnson is the anchor of the defensive line he's by far the biggest he's a lot to handle he came off the ball as if he was an offensive lineman knocked the blocker back created distortion in the running pattern for the back he's a hard guy to handle and he has been so far on every inside run that white water has attempted these two down tackles for mary hardin baylor are are pretty special when you look at joey longoria and then the transfer isaiah johnson from northeast oklahoma a m two big athletic bodies third punt of the day for la josek shallow kick and again both return men dangerously close to that football as it comes to rest at the 37-yard line with a little more than two minutes to go and a scoreless first quarter between these two perennial powers the hidden yardage that affects field position that's so critical a game like this comes a lot on punt and punt returns so far there's a slight advantage to mary harden baylor in terms of yardage but the advantage to uw whitewater is that these dynamic return men have not really been able to get started neither quarterback really able to get going either jace hammack just two for three in the nine yards let's see if he cranks it up for this high scoring offense that has put up a lot of points this year close to 58 per game they run that jet sweep pass to kj miller turns the corner puts on the brakes cuts up ahead and a gain of nine on first down miller's got tremendous initial speed and acceleration featured him all year long on these jet sweeps he's been very effective he certainly was on that one the middle linebacker anderson was able to get out there tried an ankle tackle on him just too much speed and quickness on miller's part that goes down as receiving yards for miller with that little flip on the jet sweep motion tight end russell switches to the right side second down and two miller gets the call and not much bryce leschinski timed it that time from his inside linebacker position setting up third in a yard the early numbers and the advantage has been with the defense harry hinchler and company the gagliardi trophy semifinalist it's the heisman equivalent at division three getting ready to crank it up third and less than a yard as we hit inside a minute to go and a first down carry for miller just enough tried to reverse direction and nearly ran backwards but forward progress will get him up to the 49 training o'gorman in on the tackle well we've talked about the different the primary tools that miller has a runner first one being power he knew on that play all that was needed was power it wasn't elusiveness put his pads down knocked it across the line a little bit of a different twist offensively with the quarterback it's denirion thomas they use him as a wildcat he's an exceptional athlete so it will be thomas to take the snap in the shotgun fresh set of downs for the crusaders whitewater shows blitz off the edge they go with that replay as he hands it to miller trying to spin out of the pile not much he gets three well this is true option football when they make this change at quarterback and thomas is the quarterback he's either going to hand the ball off or run with the ball at the very most passing game wise it'll be one of those rpos white water recognize that they brought both outside linebackers off the slots to create a six-man front so you wonder coming into this semi-final game what would stand out you had two dynamite offenses two stubborn defenses and so far after the opening 15 it's been the d setting the tone we're scoreless from belgium [Music] no score as we get set to begin quarter number two in this division three semi final from belton texas mary hardin baylor with a busy 24-hour stretch especially for that young man t.j josie as he went through commencement exercises yesterday he graduated here at the mid-semester both he and his teammate jaylen martin both picking up their degrees on second down here's a tfl blown up and there's mr hinchler for the first time the outstanding defensive end wreaking havoc well i'm sure henchler is an equally outstanding student as to those other young guys but he's really got his master's degree in football he smells things out it's like there's a magnet in the football that he's attracted to terrific play by hinchler getting penetration on the reverse puts mary harden baler in a difficult third down situation now thomas remains at quarterback sean which really limits their options here offensively henchler led the nation last year in tfls right near the top again this season and he has a big one to start this second quarter and the warhawks are going to use the timeout the warhawks noticed late that thomas was the quarterback not hammock they had their nickel team out there that's a smaller lineup designed to play pass they needed to make the substitution [Music] a lot of purple inside crusader stadium here this afternoon wisconsin whitewater with their traditional purple and white the purple and yellow of mary hardin baylor third down coming up third and 14 after the tackle for loss by hinchler and hammack back in the game to man the controls at quarterback the warhawks rush four hammock steps up fires into the seam and it's caught hauled in by miller in a first down grab to the 35-yard line a pickup of 18 herbs with the tackle well the chess game played itself out there after the time out coach fredenberg put his passer back in the game after the warhawks had substituted their base defense back in there smart gamesmanship hammock threw that one with some confidence he comes out high this one a bit offline but making the midair adjustment was miller as he had to angle up high to snatch it tipped it to himself terrific athletic play mate and a nice job by josie the wide receiver who got a block on the corner and allowed miller to make the cut to turn that into a positive play back-to-back completions for hammach who grew up in nearby andrews texas abilene christian look at that whole explosion by miller no waste and movement he'll move the chains the deepest penetration of the day for mary hardin baylor there's not going to be much diversity in the mary hardin baylor running game will get a few of those jet sweeps with a little flip to the wide receiver coming across but their running game is about 90 percent in the guard tackle the center guard gap to either side it is strictly a straight ahead inside running game crusaders sniffing at that red zone it is miller bouncing off a tackle to the 15. finally brought down by hinchler but not before he picks up double digit yards a run of 11 and mary harden baylor really for the first time with some rhythm offensively yeah not to correct you sean but showing the strength that he has in his lower body miller actually never did go down to the ground he did it did he he looked like the rugby ball in the middle of a scrum now this area in the red zone mary hardin baylor has been a terrific red zone team but with the running game the way it's going good thing to do right now is stay with what's got you down here in the red zone they usually get six when they get inside the red zone too first down at the 13-yard line it's a fake hammock's going to keep it and he will be driven back at the six a flag flies in the vicinity of a hole as briana came in with the tackle been a pretty well played football games so far in this first half but i think it's going to be 10 yards marched off against mary harden baylor here well there's some more of that hidden yardage that was discussed earlier this won't show up in total offense or total defense statistics but it's just moving the ball 10 yards further away from the goal line offense number 76 10 yard penalty in previous box repeat the doubt these defenses as they have shown here today are making it very difficult to move the ball forward and when it an offense on their own moves it backwards they just double the challenge of the upcoming down we saw the holding call on the very first drive by wisconsin whitewater stole a potential impressive drive and now the holding call on carter has them behind the chains thomas back in at quarterback on the read it's a real late handoff and nowhere to go for markeith miller gangpile by a swarm of war hawks indecisive by thomas as to whether to hand the ball off to miller or keep it miller's game is based on exploding at the line of scrimmage when he has to stand there and wait to see whether he's got the ball or not that takes away one of his strongest elements you see the eyes of thomas what's he looking at as he makes that decision well clearly he didn't see enough to make a decision just as a passer in the pocket has to make a quick decision and get the ball out of there on rhythm so does an option level quarterback as thomas is being used he was a quarterback at mart high school and he's going to throw whips at near side plenty of space for josie makes the catch and he'll drive ahead setting up a third down and two leshinsky and famous hasty both in on the stop but a big cushion given to tj josie well josie did a really nice job of pushing hard off the line of scrimmage he drove hasty back hasty really sank soft to try to defend against the vertical pass that left the receiver wide open and thomas delivered with a real good throw josie has been their main guy through the air of the past couple of years third down a long two thomas from the gun he will keep it try to shake to the outside he has speed dives goes high into the air touchdown catapulting his way to six thomas showed on that play the value of making that quick decision he held the ball out there for miller to take it he decided to pull it back and then he took off so two things showed up on that play decisiveness by the quarterback and the speed of mary hardin balor which is certainly the most speed that the uw whitewater warhawks have seen all year an impressive 12-play 62-yard drive and let's not forget the throw by jace hammack on third and long to keep the drive alive both quarterbacks contributing as pete fredenberg rolled the right die on that series [Music] snap down kick on the way by avila is up and through [Applause] how about some midair acrobatics provided by the senior daeneryan thomas high up into the air mary harden baylor something to celebrate about marion thomas played quarterback at mart high school he set central texas all-time rushing records during his time there was eventually broken later on by treyhawn smith but he has six and he has the opening salvo in this division three semifinal thomas and hammack the two quarterbacks each producing on that drive and the first curve ball given to this defense for wisconsin whitewater thomas only had 59 runs and 27 passes coming into this game coach fredenberg wisely is using all the clubs in his bag to hit whatever shots need to be hit at that particular time thomas has shown he has to be treated as a dual threat but most particularly the adjustment to this player in the game is going to be critical to whitewater's playing defense high short kick and it goes out of bounds and it will be good starting position for uw whitewater sean as i just mentioned in-game adjustments are going to be critical in this game not just at halftime not even just in between series but in between plays and they have to adjust quickly to that and one of the ways to do it when thomas is in the game is to bring more perimeter pressure to narrow the edge of the field espn's ncaa coverage continues on friday with the division three championship on espnu at seven for more information go to ncaa.com the official online home for all 90 ncaa championships it's go time for the warhawk offense for their first three possessions one first down 45 yards of offense that's it can wilbur get the troops fired up and we have a whistle and a stoppage not quite sure what this delay is about as the official comes over toward the near side so as they discuss some options looks like possibly a microphone issue that's a shame that we won't be able to hear from the officials i figured you would be a heart broken out so he's ready to go cole wilbur the senior place 10 minutes 33 seconds on the game club so we'll add a second to the game clock wilbur the senior from dana hills high school in california three-year starter for this offense and we asked coach bullish yesterday where has he made the most progression from last year and he said quite frankly it was his pocket presence and his leadership ability those were two of the areas that he has grown a lot had some indecisiveness at times last year especially early in the season when whitewater struggled to a 1-3 start but he has looked good all season including last week's win against bethel 26-12 they're trying to get that ground game going with ponic just his second carry in this first half and panic wills his way up to the 39th well that was another rpo now the decisions on rpo shawn are based on two things the number of defenders in the so-called box what is the box the box is the area basically from the outside shoulder of the offensive tackle all the way over to the other offensive tackle and then simply as far as shooting the ball out to a wide receiver is there enough space to catch and run with it julio perez is the h-back they tried to run that direction panic bus-free from one tackle then he has hit hard no wrapping up though by the defense that was joey longoria number 57 he lowered the shoulder pads but he never wrapped up and you gotta wrap up a guy like panic terrific balance probably hearkening back to his wrestling days physical toughness and effort on his part to turn what was really about a four-yard loss into a two-yard gain whitewater is really struggling on offense right now particularly with their running game a first down here to go out there defense time to regroup is very important four receivers set on third down and three they're going to hand it off ponic with a block off the edge and he'll pick up the first down excellent downfield block by the receiver kumero and something to build on if you're the warhawks well the warhawks now have the best field position that they've had because they're going to have to loosen this defense up with some play-action passing it's much easier for a quarterback who's not in rhythm to throw the ball on first or second down at a play action because that those particular downs you usually get less sophisticated and tricky coverages than you do on third down see if wilbur puts the football up nope they're going to stay with the ground game and here is pete and he lost the football it would strip and one of the more opportunistic defenses jumps on top of it raylen hickey with the recovery boy one of the things all running backs playing against the crusaders have to be warned against is this team has an unbelievable 29 fumbles cause this year you know going into the game if you're a running back for an opponent against the crew your number one goal has got to be don't fumble the ball and he just did that on what really wasn't that heavy at contact play but the way the crew swarmed the pile they've always got somebody there to get it joey longoria who just found out earlier this morning he's the nominee for the cliff harris award given to the best defensive lineman in small college football he had the strip hickey the recovery and mary hardin baylor back in business in good starting position and besides the field position that takes some time of possession if you don't have the ball you can't score and that's one of the ways to keep a high scoring offense down and the time of possession clearly favors the crusaders to this point by the way that take away the 42nd of the year for the crusader d miller two hard yards up to the 47 and this will set up a third down even though the crusaders are operating out of a spread no huddle offense this is not a fast-paced offense they recognize the value of time of possession in this game they're taking full advantage of the play clock on almost every down what do you like here third down and four especially this portion of the field i would like a sprint out pass on the part of hammock to get them away from the pressure that's been so important to the third down defense let him throw the ball on the run the two speedsters are right with miller and sims joe see the reliable hands at the bottom of the screen they are going to throw the football on the slant there is miller on cue making the catch check that that's janelle reed with the grab up to the 32 it's a third down conversion a strike of 19. exactly the same pass that hammock hit on the previous drive he had miller lined up to the right he faked the handoff and eb who's an excellent slot defender as an outside linebacker for whitewater played the fake and knocked the down and distance on that down third down he should have disregarded the fake and played the receiver second catch of the day by reed who is described as having a great knowledge of this offensive system look at that change of direction by miller avoiding torpedoes falls ahead to the 29 lesinsky who's been active in on the stop for all of miller's toughness he really has a nice sense of how to run these zone runs they're really the only runs that the crusaders run so he's got a lot of repetition at it and part of that combination of running it is patience to the hole and then burst through the hole he gives those zone blockers an opportunity to push the defenders whichever way they can move them and then he accelerates using all of the play clock inside five seconds hammock will take the snap wanted to get rid of it quickly floats right still looking downfield could run if he wants to and finally he takes off dalton heckle chased him out of bounds but boy hammack really could have taken off about two or three seconds earlier that's right well not only does this early down play action simplified coverages for the quarterback to read but it also minimizes pass rush as those defenders play the run blocks that they see we can see on that play no pressure on the pocket whatsoever hammack stepped out of bounds around the 22 so they will stop the action for a measurement jace hammack and transfer luke poorman both battled it out during the summer and fall camp for the starting nod at quarterback this was an offense last year led by carl robinson the third and it was an offense that that struggled at times last year in particular the championship game as they finish with just the 144 yards of total offense but hammack has brought some stability this year and some experience from his days with aveline christian was frustrated by playing time wanted to make an immediate impact found a home here in belton and both parties have been happy and you see his accuracy in this first half first down from the 22-yard line miller is hit and drop in his tracks hello matt anderson man anderson and leschinsky are two terrific inside linebackers for the warhawks they've got quickness they're physical they're downhill players that was an excellent player on a guy with powerful legs he got away from that upper body or upper leg power went right down at the knees lassoed him dropped him in his tracks anderson has had a breakout season in his junior campaign just 22 tackles a season ago but boy has he stepped in they run that jet sweep pass again third time they went with it to miller and really for the third time it's defended well leshinsky the other inside linebacker another stop he has eight tackles already in this first half well the important thing here on third and long against a good pass rushing team is to safeguard the potential field goal that that doesn't mean you don't want to score a touchdown to make a first down but your quarterback has to be schooled at this point of the season the 14th game of the season to know what you want done we're going to take a shot for it but we're not going to be foolish and we are not going to take a sack to extend the distance for a potential field goal mary hardin baylor has been golden on third downs five of seven here comes the delay blitz they set up the screen to miller change of direction burst inside the 15 down to the 13 yard line about a yard and a half shy of the first down justin hansen trailing the play able to stay home well that was a very wise call in that particular case by offensive coordinator stephen lee that gave them their shot at the first down protected the ball and got him even closer to the field goal and the key to that was the offensive lineman who got out as the blockers they did a really nice job of clearing running space for miller [Music] 31-yard field goal from anthony avila who's been a pretty reliable kicker this year and he drills it [Applause] avila extends the lead for fredenberg's crusaders to the delight of the faithful here in belton [Music] 10 unanswered points in this second quarter by mary hardin baylor they're able to take away the fumble and turn it into three on the other end and the crusaders with a 10-0 lead over wisconsin whitewater late in the second quarter a lot of pride around these parts for the program at mary hardin baylor around belton last night in the temple area everybody talking about this semi-final game and the run that the crusaders have enjoyed looking for their third straight appearance in the stag bowl and what's extra special this year it's going to be not too far away just down the interstate three hours to shenandoah texas the new home for the stag bowl and pete fredenberg long time coach the only coach this program is known hoping to get his guys there but a lot of football clearly though his team with the momentum late in this first half they went with these shallow pooch kicks and charging up on the return and getting good field position for wisconsin whitewater will be justin prostanac the junior from milwaukee avila is not a power kicker he really doesn't kick the ball to the end zone for touchbacks or right around the goal line to force returns that you could tackle deep in their territory so they're trying to do some creative things with their kickoff game popping the ball up real high so it's up in the air a long time for the coverage guys have a chance to get down the field smart thinking on their part very important drive for whitewater late in this first half wilbur a deep drop on the crossing pattern he has his man that's jeremy richards richards will get 11 yards up near midfield corralled by gibson those soft patterns those crossing routes against these deep drop zone linebackers for mayor hardin baylor are a good strategy for uw whitewater richardson wanted to be involved with a winning tradition he wanted to play for a championship transferred in during his sophomore year from uw-platteville and has contributed that's his 15th reception of the year [Applause] [Music] this is the part of the field where whitewater lost it on a fumble on their last series and confusion and frustration from the warhawks and they're going to have to burn their second timeout second in the first half we'll take a break 257 to go second quarter bolus and the warhawks down 10. the wisconsin whitewater offense used that last time out but what you're looking at is that defense in a pretty engaging conversation as they try to figure out a way to slow down mary harden baylor in particular in the second quarter they've got some issues on defense particularly that scene pass up the right side that's why it's so important that this offense keeps the ball for a little bit makes some first downs so the defensive coaches have time to do their work yeah they've been on the field a lot pete trying to get to the outside is cut down low open field tackle by hickey who's been all over the board in this first half oh boy what a good tackle that was that was the shoulder tackle that's become so popular he went down right around the knees used his right shoulder on the runner cut his legs right out from underneath him textbook stop for the senior from giddings spent hours in the off season with defensive coordinator larry harmon evaluating his game watching phil second down on the delay pete again scooting toward that boundary side pursuit by gibson the cornerback setting up a third down that was a draw play up the middle was designed to go up the middle there was nothing there pete had the speed to take it to the outside but it took so long to get out there that the pursuit was able to come off blocks [Applause] this crowd making some noise on third down a whitewater offensive line that just dominated throughout the course of the regular season having some trouble today [Applause] they can expect that same too deep zone that has been so effective the crusaders bring four they get to wilbur down he goes longoria with the sack back at midfield well both longoria and keyvon shepard burst off the ball they look like sprinters coming out of the box on that one they knew what to anticipate they watched the ball they got great takeoff they collapsed the pocket immediately eighth sack of the year by joey longoria he's been in on a handful today wrapping up cole wilbur and again this defensive front four of shepard johnson longoria and cross really inflicting their will against this offensive line this is not a trick em defense whatsoever okay this is defense built on repetition athletic ability the skill to beat blocks and real effort to get to the ball it's the same front on most plays the same coverage on some all third down plays it's coming straight at you and with the mentality is we're just going to play better than you can block us mary hard and baylor using a time-out wisely they want the football at least one more time with a minute 35 to go in this first half and they'll have two time-outs remaining throughout the game from this point on what the coaches in the press box for uw whitewater must do is keep their eyes at all times on number 12 daeneryon thomas the change of pace quarterback surely they're going to call defenses differently when he's in the game they can't let him get in the game without recognizing it immediately it's been a busy first half for la josek on the punt for the fourth time dangerous return men await poised sends an end over in line drive kick this will be sims who started his career on the sprint team at texas a m and he's using some of that sec speed tight roping down the near side see you later 93 yards touchdown oh was that fun with this kid running the ball you're not going to see too many 90-yard putt returns that happen faster than that great burst of speed to go from the right side of the field all the way across to the left and then he was like a ballet dancer going down the sidelines staying in bounds mary harden balor is utilizing their formula that they used to win 13 games this year amongst them causing fumbles and recovering them and getting touchdowns on punt returns al you have been around this game a long time can you recall the team that has returned eight punts for touchdown in the same season just an incredible number never heard of anything like that what a weapon what a way to add points to your team total aaron sims with his fifth punt return for six point after hit the upright but there is a flag down [Music] prior to the snap false start offense number 56 five-yard penalty repeat the truck well that's a break for well york and baylor that's when you can profit from your mistake so they lost the point now they get a chance to get the point back after this kick we'll get back to that punt return point after up and through and mary hardin baylor with a statement in this second quarter the offense able to crank some juice and now the return game which has been dynamite all year with the speedster sims well part of that was sims got exactly the kind of punt that you can return a low line drive we saw how he caught it in a non-conventional punt catching style just because of the type of catch kick that it was which allowed him to get a head start to bring the ball all the way across the field before the coverage could ever get down the field he had open field to run in from the start you saw the fun with aaron sims he was imitating as if he was in a track block back in his days in college station he ran track for texas a m was a 100 meter specialist in the sec and he showed that speed always loved football in fact coming out of high school cameron high school which is a heavily recruited area for mary hardin baylor he thought long and hard about going the football route instead decided to go in the blocks and he showed some of that track speed on that 90 plus return and the celebration from mary hardin baylor as they lead 17 nothing late in this first half well the benefit too for the crusaders is as fast as he is they're not very many 135 pound punt returners in the sec but they welcomed them with open arms here and they're loving the fact that he's returning punch for them kevin bolas told us yesterday whoever emerges from this game will handle adversity better right now it's his warhawk so we're going to have to deal with it late in this first half down 17. [Applause] just the one time out to work with remember they had to use a couple of timeouts early in the first half so 68 seconds down 17 an offense that has really sputtered in the first half how aggressive do you play in here well possessions now are going to every possession is going to be very important with a 6 17 point deficit they can't afford the forfeit of possession here they need to try to get something out of this a good way to go based on the ferocity of the pass rush that the crusaders have put together particularly that last sack is to open this with a screen offense that averaged 43 per game has not been shut out once this year throw over the middle and a dangerous one getting his hands on it was santos villarreal the sam linebacker and he nearly had a pick well he certainly did he had the receiver well walled off that was too small of a window at this point in the game for the quarterback to try to force the ball in there you do want points in this particular circumstance but the most important thing is while mary harden balor's got 17 let's make sure they don't have any more than that to start the second half second down give is to alex pete pete will pick up eight yards see if whitewater uses a timeout or maybe it will be mary harden baylor with 52 seconds to go neither one stopping the clock as it continues to count down inside 50 seconds to go well after a brief rest here comes longoria back in the game we know what that means for the interior of the warhawk offensive line it's been a dominant first half by longoria and isaiah johnson the two interior tackles they bring in extra beef josh gallegos pete smith anticipating a short yardage situation and hit in the backfield raylan hickey finding a way slithering in from his safety position and now the crusaders will use a time-out there are three areas not the only three but there are three areas where a team establishes its toughness and its preparation the ability to run the ball which mary hardin balor has done a nice job of the ability to stop by the run which they clearly showed how well they've been doing that on that last play and on special teams where they've had a decided advantage this team is putting all the components together to make themselves extremely hard to beat it's a lightning quick defense that's secondary which is on record pace this year 29 interceptions they're the top pass defense in the country but in this first half these safeties in these corners have showed the ability to lend support to that ground game in stopping the russian attack for wisconsin whitewater well it's all about recognition and quick reaction to what they see and as we discussed earlier they run just a very few defenses so these players by this time of the year have had thousands of repetitions of their reads their reactions and their run fits and they're really doing a nice job with it coming up on our halftime report we'll take a look at tonight's heisman race and what inspires the alabama quarterback and what keeps him going each and every year a terrific story all the way from hawaii plus we'll have first half stats and highlights it's all coming up at the break line drive returnable kick this time it's miller's turn a flag flies as well so miller will survey cut toward the wide side follow that same path that we saw sims go along this near sideline as he steps out of bounds and let's wait and see what the penalty is clock showing triple zeros sean certainly with a returner like sims most coaches would say to their punter don't punt the ball to sims but mary harden baylor wisely has two return men deep miller and sims pretty hard to kick it away from both of them we saw the benefit of it on that play on the return illegal block in the back on the kicking team 15 yards in the spot of the foul first down you've been in football games where it just seems like you can't catch a break and that is the way it's going right now for whitewater yeah i don't quite get that one we got a block in the back by the kicking team i don't think the warhawks have it figured out as well as you can take a look at some of their faces reacting to that penalty it happened really early on before miller even touched the football on the return so the officials will sort it out the little bit i caught of it sean it looked like a punt cover man simply pushing back 10 yards simply pushing one of the crusaders out of his way as he knew he better get down the field on these two return men so with the penalty that means we get one untimed down we're still sorting out where the penalty happened and where mary hardin baylor will have it for their one shot to launch the football deep it's been a difficult week for pete fredenberg the head coach the enforcement illegal block in the back 10 yards from the end of the run we'll have one on time down but going back to fredenberg his daughter corey had a successful kidney transplant on wednesday he was with the family in san antonio for that procedure we're happy to report that corey is recovering comfortably she's had eight surgeries over the past three years so he was balancing family with trying to prepare his team for football as long time d coordinator larry harmon helped out when the coach was in san antonio with his daughter and family and certainly our thoughts with corey and the fredenberg family well we take our football pretty seriously but they're more important things in life than just football he certainly has had all those in his life this week chase hammock loosening up that right arm he's about to test it as he takes the field from the 40-yard line they'll stack three receivers right one left they settle underneath on the drag trying to get some space for sims looking for any type of crevice and he is brought down at the 35 and here comes another flag so let's hold the boats wait and see what this penalty is all about back at the 40-yard line this would be disastrous if it's on uw-whitewater illegal block in the back offense number 10. that penalty is declined that is the end of the first half it's not and it's regroup time for bolus and the warhawks first time all season long that wisconsin whitewater was kept off the board but there's plenty of firepower to get back in this football game and they're going to have to do it on the road if they have aspirations of getting back to the stag bowl a dominant defense a high-flying offense 17 unanswered crusaders with the lead at the break [Music] mary hardin baylor trying to get back to the stag bowl for the third straight year wisconsin whitewater trying to get back for the first time since 2014 their sixth national championship that particular year they have some work to do down 17 at the break sean kinney again alongside coach algrow great to have you with us and now i've worked with you a number of years you always talk special teams and third down defense well mary harden baylor's two for two in those categories well they certainly are they got the punt return but they also got a lot of good field position another exchange of punts or kickoffs okay and then on third down they've been dominant in that area they're getting this whitewater offense off the field where they can't score any points the formula is really working for them they're in control not only on the scoreboard right now but they're in control on the field the third down woes have continued for the second straight week for wisconsin whitewater 414 last week just two of seven in the first half and this defensive line led by longoria and company creating the early turnover the recovery by hickey and then this defense just swarming the entire first half the four-man pass rush of the crusaders man mandates that the quarterback get the ball out of his hands and throw it quickly he's been holding the ball too long the warhawk defense was up for the challenge in the first 15 minutes they were tough but then all of a sudden here comes mary harden baylor and it was the change to that wildcat quarterback and daenery and thomas that opened it up a little bit very slick move by coach fredenberg using all the talent on his team here's speed for one touchdown by the quarterback thomas and speed for another touchdown by sims they're clearly the faster team on the field and they're taking advantage of that 93 yards on the return by sims 17 unanswered for the crusaders they lead on a windy day in texas the winner in the friday night stag bowl [Music] welcome back to the semi-finals of the ncaa division iii championship start of the third quarter mary hardin baylor pitching the shutout first time the warhawks have been shut out in a half a football they trail 17 nothing look who is waiting the raiders of mount union they picked up a 28-20 win over johns hopkins earlier today mount union with 13 national championships that leads the pack uw whitewater with six they have some work to do here in belton first half numbers and again the story line was that crusader defense held in holding uw well below their season average just 88 yards of offense they've struggled on third downs they have the one takeaway that resulted in the avila field goal third down conversions also critical for mary hardin baylor in that first half it will be crusader football as we start quarter number three again at stake of birth in friday night's stag bowl in nearby shenandoah on the return sims takes it out past the 30 up to the 32-yard line so good starting position for this offense that seemed to hit its stride in the second quarter yes another low kick would be it a punt or a kickoff with very little hang time doesn't give the uw whitewater coverage guys much time to get down the field as a result nice return good field position to start a drive very effective first half throwing for jace hammack in his first playoff game nine of ten for 98 yards was sacked only once crusaders from the 32 is going to hand it off to miller and there is nowhere to go bottled up at the line of scrimmage a handful of defenders dalton heckel in the center along with tommy matsuka the back up corner second down a couple of new things in this game for the crusaders one obviously the use of thomas at quarterback but also they're going quite a bit to this four wide receiver grouping on the field with a double stack to each side very wide which stretches the white water defenders out creates only a five-man box with a middle linebacker the middle backer is leshinsky on the second down play looking to go deep nothing there hammy chased he's down sacked again by hinchler second time that the senior has been able to crack through well when you play against uw whitewater and hinchler's out at that defensive end position if you're a quarterback you know early in the week that regardless of what it looks like downfield don't stay in one place throw the ball even if it's out of bounds or take off he didn't either on that play now it's third and eleven and henchler you know he's ready to go again on this play he was an all-american last year with 14 and a half sacks he has two sacks in this semi-final game third down and 11. hammy gonna play fake looking over the middle nothing there now throws on the run incomplete jacob herbs put the heat on and that's the type of start the warhawks were hoping for as they try to fire up the faithful who have made the long journey south well you're right sean that got them the ball back very quickly only 95 seconds run off to start this third quarter they're going to need possessions in this half and they're going to have to try to do some quick scoring against the defense that denies that very thing high shallow kick fair catch signal for by ringleberg and an offense that sputtered quite frankly in the first half we'll find out what adjustments they've made as they try to figure out this quick and speedy defense from mary hardin baylor well here's the elements that we have working here in the second half passing the ball particularly deep passing is not uw whitewater's main suit so they're going to have to kind of play the game with their left hand rather than their main hand a four-man rush which has been formula in this game and deep zone coverage designed to prevent big plays is what they're going against with that passing game on first down they give it to ronnie ponik over the right side trying to follow the guard and tackle baron and gannon he falls ahead for four nothing tricky about that one they do have a little bit of a size advantage out on the edge panic once again blasted it up inside swung it out to the outside the pace is picking up significantly 72 rushing yards today for whitewater down the sideline kumaro makes the catch stays on his feet and steps out at the 38-yard line yeah nice design base obviously talked about at halftime against this two deep coverage they released the receiver up the sideline and ran an inside receiver in the flat the corner jumped at the inside receiver in a two deep he's got a sink with the outside guy that created a nice hole first down this is ponic getting to the outside following a kumaro block and he'll pick up close to 10 yards escorted out by a wave of yellow and three impressive plays by wisconsin whitewater out of the gates even though pete has about a hundred more carries this season than ponic it's clear the decision was made at halftime to start this half with panic at the tailback position three receivers left kumarow at the bottom of the screen they're going to run behind his block and this is pawnik and a good open field tackle is made well it wasn't much of a block and that's because the corner really used his hands and got separation shucked kumarow to the inside really did his job on a perimeter run but sabian cannon the reserve junior defensive back with the stop second down and five pocket around wilbur collapses so he takes off shoots right up the gut and it's first down wisconsin whitewater and here come the warhawks well certainly the tempo picking up the pace of play has helped the warhawks but also kumuro i mean the quarterback making quicker decisions not holding the ball in the pocket and making himself a target for this pass rush warhawks have now brought their fullback perez in that usually means a little bit more power [Music] running panic stays in the game on the delay penetration pawnee keeps his balance falls ahead surges up near the five yard line he'll be marked down at the six boy what a determined runner panic is he's going to challenge the tacklers to get him on the ground okay it's obviously a war between him and anybody who attempts to tackle him [Music] jt parrish has been one of the main receiving targets this year he's been quiet he split to the top of the screen alongside richards kumaro to the right they stay with power football up the middle lowering the pad leverage is panic and he'll be denied setting up a third downing goal at 59 205. he's a little power pack he's got a low center of gravity he's got a lot of lower body strength he keeps every run going for the maximum amount of yardage do they stuff it one more time or do they try the play action pass here if you're uw whitewater very common play in this circumstance and a good one for this team is the quarterback zone read play defense is probably going to protect that goal line if they all cave inside that'll allow the quarterback wilbur to pull the ball and get outside it's a too tight in look they're going to throw the ball heir to it back of the end zone caught touchdown uw whitewater bryce belfai with the catch his first touchdown of the year what a really nice play call okay the play action against a packed in offensive front pulled the defense in just as if that zone read would wilbur lofted the ball out there that was smart he didn't try to rifle it he laid it out there let the receiver get comfortable with the ball and clearly that breathed a lot of life into cole wilbur's game and he's the guy who's going to have to bring the war hawks back [Applause] a little more than three minutes off the clock the warhawks go 66 yards in eight plays and the point after by gashanitsa is good first touchdown reception of the year by belfai it was a steady dose of the ground game a little bit of a punch from the junior ronnie ponik the quarterback wilbur able to get involved with his legs and then the soft touch to the tight end a little momentum by wisconsin whitewater [Music] cole wilbur is a long way from home he grew up just about 10 minutes away from the ocean out in california dana hills and an interesting story kevin bolas was describing how he came across wilbur bolas after winning the national championship back in 2014. they had found out that lipo was leaving two weeks earlier so bolus scheduled a staff meeting the day after the national championship game he gathered the returning staff which was pretty much graduate assistance and he told the guys if you get any emails from outside a 200 mile radius of white water disregard them one of the grad assistants brought him an email that cole wilbur had sent a californian who wanted to be a part of the winning tradition at whitewater so he called danny jones who ironically was a california kid who quarterbacked whitewater their first national championship in 2007. all he asked danny to do was go talk to cole wilbur and make sure he knew what he was getting into in playing in the snow and the stark contrast to the weather that wilbur had enjoyed out in california jones reported back saying this guy wants to be a warhawk and here we are three years later and he has pushed his team into the semifinal and a chance to guide them back into that stag bowl [Music] so now let's see how this defense can respond they had a quick three and out on the opening series as jace hammock gets set to go to work for mary hardin baylor from the 25 yard line two receivers twin set right and they will run that jet sweep and a big hit is put on that's the inside linebacker lesinsky and al it looks like they're playing with a different gear early in this third quarter well both these teams have the heart of the champion developed over a number of years of great success certainly reinforced this year and europe put a champion away in less than 60 minutes leshinsky the heart and soul of the defense from the linebacker position punishing hits second down and 10 from the 25 they go back to the ground there is nowhere to go a sea of white and purple again it's leschinsky third and nine and the tide starting to change a little bit as we wind this saturday afternoon down in texas one thing that has certainly shown up the running game of mary hardin baylor is a very simplistic one they're only really two or three plays that they use most of them attack in between the guards okay it's a tight area in there not a lot of space and the warhawks are jamming that area up right now anderson and herbs the two linebackers show blitz they drop off now anderson comes on a delay nowhere for hammock to go and he throws it away but there is a flag in the secondary and let's see if this is a defensive hold k.j miller the wide receiver pleading his case miller is contending that he was held by the defender on him fast interference defense number 21. we're going past 15 yards from the previous spot automatic first down it's a safety john waker trying to slow down the speed of kj miller wanker plays the slot corner often called the nickel corner or the star by certain teams he comes in on third down that's a tough assignment for whoever they line up on miller and or sims when those guys are in the slots he's trying to minimize the speed now that was the pass that was thrown nowhere near miller so where there may have been contact there really was no opportunity for him to catch the ball however after holding defense ten years from the previous spot automatic first down so take a look at the slot position and you see number 21 waker just go up and grab and bring down the receiver right that's what i thought the foul was once he did that it looked like it was a holding foul not a pass interference foul so the penalty keeps the drive alive for mary hardin baylor they fake the jet sweep little hitch pattern caught josie comes back to the ball covered by famous hasty exactly the same pattern that was completed in the first quarter along the same sideline a little play fake inside josie pushes the corner off stops with a hard plant turns back to the quarterback and the ball was nicely delivered on timing hammock didn't wait to see whether he is open he just threw it out there pretty high accolades yesterday from coach pete fredenberg when describing tj jose called him one of the better athletes that have been around belton and they've had some good ones come through here throughout the years second down looking for that same play this time it's a double move and not biting was hasty and he got both hands on the ball unable to bring in the interception tight coverage and not biting on that double move really good i disciplined by hasty he didn't bite on the early fate it wasn't the greatest a fake receiver really didn't get his pads turned as if he was running the previous downs hitch but in any case hasty got back there almost came up with a critical interception maybe the best name in college football famous fam us trying to be famous for this defense big matchup over here on the right henshire against carter third down hammock looking left pressure comes over the middle and it's dropped by trandle a sure interception went right through the arms but mary harden baylor will be forced to punt the warhawks ran a game over on hencher's side he slanted inside drew the tackle in they looped the defensive tackle on the guard out to the outside he had the pressure and forced hammock to run right now hammock ran right and threw back into the middle which sean there's an old chinese proverb that says quarterback who run right and throw left sit on bench rush coming charging in making the barreling catch on the skid was josh ringelberg and uw whitewater will have the football in pretty good shape crusaders by 10 midway through the third quarter [Music] 17-7 mary hardin baylor on top on a chilly saturday in belton texas but wisconsin whitewater with some momentum on that last drive they were able to find the end zone for the first time it was a steady dose of ronnie ponik along with the quarterback wilbur's ability to scramble all setting up the goal line situation and the easy touchdown toss to the tight end the little change of momentum by going with a fast pace has also been beneficial at something that was certainly discussed on the crusader sideline with the defense while the offense was out on the field on first down it's a quick throw out to the flat desk makes the catch they've used kumaro a lot he has really done a nice job blocking as a wide receiver not just on these screens but also on the outside runs for both pete and ponic their wide receivers are considerably bigger than the corners who are out there and they're taking advantage of that blocking mismatch on those little smoke screens for the wide receiver and just pushing the corners back second down they keep the foot on the gas with panic he gets to the outside as matt lost the football and it looks like it's the crusaders who jump on it and they do second take away the afternoon by mary hardin baylor beautiful to watch if you love good defense and opportunistic play as mary hardin attacks the football and prides it loose for another takeaway by the same token disheartening for the uw whitewater supporters as they watch the ball being tugged away once again by a defense that every running back should be alerted to the dangers of them going after the ball [Music] ball looks like it's clearly out as they take another look upstairs raylen hickey was the first one to deliver the boom and then it was trey villarreal who recovered that football at the bottom of the pile all right there's really uh this should be a very short review which it is because there's nothing to see there terrific defensive play second turnover of the game by uw whitewater golden position here for the crusaders and there goes miller into the secondary 17 yards he rips off up to the 28th he showed his classic running style on that a little slide to the right a little hop step to let the line make their blocks and then first through straight up the field no nonsense straight for the goal line [Applause] [Music] 17-yard run his longest of the day quick screen out to kj miller makes the catch he's pushed out of bounds by trainl gain of four yards second down and six mary hardin baylor trying to get this train back on the tracks after it was whitewater with the momentum through the first half of this third period yeah that was all play was all about the decision making of hammock he saw anderson come off the slot as a rusher he whipped the ball out there for a very positive six yards second down and a long five big hole over the right side for miller just pushing forward trying to follow his tackle colton hall anderson drives him down setting up a third down in short oh lesinsky is his shoulder pad linebacker he stepped up in there with that right pad jammed it into hall the blocker pulling around inside but after that good first down completion they've got it now third down and two advantageous for the crusaders these are the downs where harry hinchler has been the guy defensively number 54 and they dropped the snap still loose and hammack is forced to eat it back at the 27 and this makes it a little bit more difficult for the field goal kicker of ela well besides the yardage lost yes sean those flags down at that end zone blowing from left to right straight across the field are going to have some effect on this kick it's been a swirling wind all day in texas and the way it is blowing as i'll mention it's right in the face of the kicker of ela and that might be why pete fredenberg is keeping the offense out on the field might be forced to use a timeout and they will so they will call a time out and make a decision on what to do decision time for the texas hall of famer pete fredrenberg [Music] mary hardin baylor has been impeccable here at home 30 and five in the playoffs they've won 12 straight however one of their more recent playoff losses to the team standing in their way today all the way from whitewater back in 2013 in the semis fourth down and nine they're going to keep the offense on the field tight end russell lines up as the h back right hammock is going to throw pressure comes hit as he released and it's intercepted by lesinsky and he has a wall of blockers hinchler provides the block leschinski to the ten stiff arms out of bounds and the takeaway for the warhawk d tremendous pass rush once again the warhawks win a twist game mary harden baylor has not handled those twist games well at all in this half pressure on the quarterback ill-advised down in that area of the field to throw it like that under pressure wisconsin white water there's no penalty for that violation [Applause] the pass rush pressure has been significant in this half as the warhawks have applied it and that really changes the balance of this game bollongani was the one who put the heat on the quarterback he delivered the boom and the wobbler taken in by lesinsky who returns it 60-plus yards excellent field position for cole wilbur and the offense if we check leshinsky's bio it's most likely to show he played a lot of running back in high school best starting position of the day wilbur is going to throw settles toward the near side a rare touch for the fullback julio perez the junior from watertown with a minimal gain in a lot of ways that was wilbur's best decision of the game he had a wide receiver out to his right who made a double move a slant then corner route sometimes called the slugo well covered in the two deep zone by the crusaders so he pulled it down and went to his underneath check down playing with much more poise and confidence than he did in the first half [Music] harrison richards split left kumaro to the right pete is the running back and he gets the hole right up the center behind the lone senior on the offensive line nate truan sets up a third and two [Music] well we've seen that the offensive line had a little meeting at halftime because they're doing a much better job in the middle of that offensive formation third down they'll try it to the left side isaiah johnson like he has all day blowing up the play in the backfield he was lined up over the right offensive guard and you're the only word to use is the one you picked sean he blew up the guard and he blew up the plate johnson's a guy who almost gave up on football he had some transcript issues was going to join the military and then at the last second mary hardin baylor swooped in [Applause] to try to make this a one possession game a little more than a chip shot 24 yards good snap placement down kick on the way no good hit the upright [Applause] [Music] in a tight matchup like this those kind of those are the kind of plays that have a profound effect on the final outcome not saying that it's been decided but hey that was a that was a play for points that was going to change the scoreboard in whitewater's favor and as a result the scoreboard looks the same way it just had a weird trajectory off the right foot you could tell from the get-go but the snap was like a bullet it was placed down cleanly that was all on the kicker mary hardin baylor survives the interception miller on first down [Applause] kim and ol gorman the two tackles lined up on the guards have been dominant here now in the third quarter against these inside runs daeneryon thomas for the first time in the second half in a quarterback this was successful in the second quarter for the crusaders it's a quarterback read all the way as he tries to drive forward but leschinsky another stop a gain of two for thomas setting up a third down lesinsky is having a terrific half he's all over the place we just saw him back in coverage with a terrific return of a pass he's been downhill as a linebacker another really good play by him he's got a real good eye for the ball he's always been a good tackler over 60 stops this year was second [Applause] in the west in the wisconsin intercollegiate athletic association a year ago had over 90 stops third down on the handoff it is miller and i don't think he got there he'll be a yard shy stood up and driven back and a three and out for mary hardin baylor warhawks took advantage of what they learned in the first half in that particular case thomas stayed in at quarterback on third down therefore the warhawks did not go to a third down package they kept their base defense in there and played run all the way in cough on the pump for the fifth time has had a pretty good day approaching close to 40 yards a kick and it's a fake punt as they dump it underneath first down yardage and the bag of tricks in the lone star state derrick sides the senior comes up with the special teams play on the fake punt what a gutsy roll of the die well not only was it a fake punt it was brilliantly created i've never seen a fake punt like that that was run with what we call a submarine route behind the line of scrimmage and what guts it took by coach pete frederberg to call that in that circumstance but those are the kind of calls that put teams in championship games besides the senior from graham high school his fourth reception of the year they stick with thomas at quarterback and he knifes through a little bit of a hole up to the 46 a gain of six yards oh sean that ignited the mary harden baylor's sideline that's the kind of play that obviously retains possession helps with field position but energizes everybody who's wearing a purple and gold jersey today how many times as a coach do you bounce back and forth before giving the green light on a call like that that deep in your end zone well when you're really playing to win and you know it's going to take a play like that look sometimes players got to make plays but sometimes the coaches got to make a play he had confidence in that that's a gutsy call but that's how you win 90 percent of your games santa claus a little nervous i would be too 15 minutes of football to determine who marches in to the stag bowl [Music] mary hardin baylor out in front of wisconsin whitewater by 10 as we get set to start the fourth quarter the reason special teams play two huge special teams events for mary hardin baylor well one put points on the board that makes it really huge and the next one puts them in position to do so and what a gutsy call by coach frederberg sizing up the situation the other team just had kind of a deflating play when they missed the field goal he needed to do something to get his team some momentum i bet if we looked at derek's side's numbers we'd find out he's another one of these fast players and now daniel thomas stays on the field for this kind of hybrid offense that has been successful for the crusaders so we start this fourth quarter with thomas from an rpo and he will sprint and pay the price he is licked hard by jacob herbs second team all-conference performer and here we go again we've been down this row before another third down as thomas is shaken up and he goes down on to his back he was hobbled a little bit earlier in the football game and this time he stays down he took a pretty good hit there toward the end by number 47 jacob herbs see him come in he goes high while garrett purdy the cornerback went low well he uses that shoulder just as defensive players are instructed these days he understood the clean hit area which is from the shoulders down to the knees with players and he unloaded he's an explosive player 5-8 225 there's a lot of power a lot of explosion in that body his season has been one of big hits and he really laid one on thomas in that particular play and that eliminates what has been a very effective change of pace weapon for the crusaders especially on a down and distance that's coming up for mary hardin baylor third down and a yard so they bring back the more traditional quarterback and jace hammock they spread out this warhawk defense miller is the lone running back and a time-out taken by mary harden baylor i'm out very hard we'll take a break with them early stages fourth quarter crusaders by 10. daeneryon thomas on the sideline from mary hardin baylor he's been instrumental today in his limited reps offering a change of pace option at quarterback but now with thomas out of there it's going to be old jace hammock the backup is ryan redding see him starting to get loose just in case third down less than a yard miller is the running back hard cadence delivered by a hammock but this disciplined whitewater defense not budging it's a quick throw on a screen surprise call and the warhawks are there for the stop anderson who's been flying over the football field with the tackle shown in that case the crusaders kind of outsmarted themselves with that rpo play in those kind of crucial situations a good axiom to live by i think players first then plays and the player to get the ball on that play was markeith miller a powerful tailback inside live with the results of that when it goes to your best player well i love these uw whitewater linebackers anderson leschinski herbs boy they bring it kick on the way this one will spiral over the head of the two return men and unable to get down there before it reached the end zone for the touchback so uw whitewater down 10 still lots of football left for head coach kevin bolas in his fourth season as he tries to steer a second half comeback a long way from home and unfortunately through the for the crusaders that bold move by the crusaders to run the fake punt and retain possession really didn't pay off for them any more than another nine yards from the 20-yard line it will be a handoff over the right side but there is longoria and d jackson alex pete hasn't seen a lot of carries in the second half it's been predominantly ronnie ponik who's been given the ball oh well d jackson's been watching anderson and luchinski from the sideline play middle linebacker and he said hey i can stick it up in there too and he really did and there he is once again in the middle of everything trying to get that ground game going over the center nate true and we haven't talked a lot about him the senior has received a lot of interest from nfl teams 30 of the 32 teams have paid a visit they love his size big number 70. he's 6-4 and he's very fast for his sons well the middle of that crusader defense has neutralized him to a large degree on that inside running game [Applause] today on third down wilbur steps up pressured by johnson throws on the run kumarow at the sticks holds it in first down excellent recognition by the receiver knowing exactly where he needed to go not only relative to the sticks sean but he parked himself right next to the sideline where he the sideline protected the ball he gave the quarterback a real nice pocket and that ball was lasered in there right on target they keep the foot on the gas with this quick tempo and getting drugged down by the jersey was alex pete that's isaiah johnson stuck that big bear claw out there and grab some grab some jersey that's three out of four runs right up the middle with johnson being dominant that's not the way to get back in this game at this point in time second down and ten wilber looking right all the way he's going to take off and run 35 and wisely steps out of out of bounds avoids the big hit by gibson against this soft zone defense there's receivers coming in underneath the linebackers he's just got to find one of them and throw the ball to him these scrambles well they paid off one okay you can it's a little side dish for an offense but if you want to really make money passing the ball you've got to do it out of the pocket where all receivers stay viable on every pattern they spread it out with four receivers a rush of four and the throw is intercepted picked off by gibson the fourth takeaway by the crusader defense perfect example of this two deep zone that the crusaders play all the defenders have their eyes on the quarterback the ball is tipped up in the air everybody sees it they make a break on the ball now they're in great position to put this thing away fourth interception of the season by keith gibson one of the more mature hard-working players on this roster actually started his career at mississippi valley state he's the father of two young daughters wanted to be closer to them in colleen and here he is coming away with a key interception and now get ready for a steady dose of markeith miller we got to really appreciate miller and his patience and his trust in his offensive lineman that while it may not be there they're going to fight they're going to struggle they're going to create something for him he gives them a chance to do that now it's second down and fourth ball not quite touching the 30. this is miller change of direction slicing his way over that left guard falls ahead for first down yardage up to the 27. train all the free safety another tackle along with anderson but a first down from mary hardin baylor all right they're gonna spend a lot of time looking at the sideline to get this play they're in no hurry to run anything quickly there's still 22 seconds left they don't even have the play in yet hammock is doing a nice job of waiting to an opportune moment to snap the ball hammack will wait for that play clock to get down to two and there is miller into the secondary dragging defender still not going down finally wrestled at the 10. pickup of 16 yards as he goes over the 100 yard mark today well these last three or four runs right up the middle not fooling anybody really show the benefits of having the confidence in the team that if you just keep pounding it and pounding it and pounding it eventually it'll break down the defense and you'll get yardage when you need it at the end of the game 23 rushes over 100 yards for the three-time 1000 yard rusher markeith miller on first down his third straight touch wide open space on the backside [Applause] [Music] [Applause] touchdown signature mark heath miller running [Applause] his 28th rushing touchdown of the season [Music] the quiet leader of the team produces and it was all set up by the interception from keith gibson the tip drill gibson gets the pick mary harden baylor like championship teams do able to make the warhawks pay they stretch the lead to 17. [Music] one ticket has already been punched for shenandoah texas friday night in the suburb of houston mount union with a 28-20 win over johns hopkins earlier in the other semi-final mary hardin baylor inching a little bit closer as they lead late in this fourth quarter we welcome you back to crusader stadium on a chilly day in texas but these fans all bundled up loving it mary hardin baylor with a 10 nothing advantage points off turnovers as they get seven from miller [Music] back up 17 still lots of football to be played a little more than nine minutes to go and if uw whitewater missed opportunities in this second half well they've had their chance to get back in it by the same token so far mary harden balor has made the heads up plays to continue to make a difference when two teams are as evenly matched as these two are it's the little things the punt return the forced fumbles [Music] play of the offensive line in the fourth quarter that separate teams they've found all the things that create separation between two evenly matched teams this defense has now generated 44 turnovers this season when they won a national championship back in 2016 it was a secondary that had 34 interceptions alone they have 30 this year a little dump off and it is sniffed out beautifully defended by you guessed it gibson the guy who had the pick a few moments ago well he saw it all the way really great diagnosis by the corner over on that side playing the short flat he saw it he beat the blocker who came out his interception was a result of the ball being tipped away by d jackson who's playing an outstanding game run and pass from now on most of his plays as with all of the crusaders will be in the passing game on defense second down and 11 for wilbur and that senior poise is going to get tested now pressure comes reverse pivot spins right jackson on pursuit he'll throw and it's caught jt parrish with his first catch of the afternoon and it should be good enough for a first down yeah that was a called scramble washington redskins many years ago when joe gibbs was the coach ran that dash pass it was a principal part of their offense that was a call play and well executed 11-yard completion here's a timing pattern a little bit too hot to handle for desks gibson in the vicinity it's gibson's ease on the right he's on the left he's wherever the ball is these days wilbur is going to tuck it and run and he will go down a protective slide to the 41-yard line jalen martin who we talked about graduated yesterday went through commencement exercises with the stop here on third down both shepherd and cross the two speed rushers are out there on the edge this one up in the air and a gutsy catches made by kumaro he knew he was going to pay the price raylan hickey delivered the boom but kumarow with the concentration well in this too deep zone if the outside receiver to the sideline gets free release and up the sideline the safety can't get there fast enough they've got to get some more jam on these sideline receivers looked a lot like his brother who was the division three player of the year now starting with the green bay packers on that last catch parish with a minimal gain on first down his brother jake was the 2014 player of the year talking about derry kumarow all started with their oldest sister very tight-knit competitive family up in whitewater second down they will hand the ball off to panic and he will move the chains barreling ahead to the 29. another tackle for jackson crusaders continuously getting fresh pass rushers in the game two or three of them coming in on every down monty smith one of the fresh pass rushers checking in along with gallegos first and ten again that same play pivots right he's going to throw on the run over the middle and a catch is made it's a gain of 12. third reception on this drive by jt parish well on that play parish runs straight down the field as if he's going deep then he breaks it off and turns to the inside to face the quarterback give him a nice stationary target wilbur directing this drive quick moving drive and a hole over the right side for pete first and goal 14 more hickey the stop and he is still down on the turf in an injury timeout well it's gone well for whitewater so far but they need to cash in with a touchdown right now [Music] an injury timeout for the mary hardin baylor defense that's jaylen martin they're attending to time out in the action it's one of the crusaders defensive leaders jalen martin he received a medical hardship waiver two years ago in 2016. he was forced to watch his team win a national championship on television he wants to be on the field this year in 2018. we'll keep an eye on him he's a key cog for this defense from his weak side linebacker position first down and goal wisconsin whitewater at the five with the carry as panic and he'll be about a yard shy clock becoming precious you'll see uw whitewater keep this tempo up give it to panic again he hits that hole behind his pads his legs are driving like pistons he moves the pocket back he's good for another yard here on second down perez is the lead full back he will try to follow big number 35 and he lunges into the end zone for six touchdown uw whitewater what the crusaders have to be good getting organized right now is their hands team okay that is the kickoff return team they put out there when expecting an onside kick with only 547 left and a 10 point deficit uw whitewater needs two possessions they've got to try to get the ball back quickly some late scrambling for the point after a tip and these timeouts are going to be precious for whitewater so they don't want to use one on the point after snap down and the kick is up and it is good for gashanitsa and it becomes a ten point game with 5 47 to go in the fourth quarter and undoubtedly an onside kick coming up for uw sean whitewater you just mentioned timeouts this situation here proves the value of saving those precious timeouts if whitewater had all three of their timeouts they would have the option here with as good as their defense has been playing they would have the option to kick it off try to hold them and call timeout they have no other option now other than to on sidekick espn's ncaa coverage continues on friday with the d3 championship the stag bowl and for the first time in its 46-year history the stag bowl will be played west of the mississippi in shenandoah texas north suburbs of houston wood forest bank stadium opened up in 2008 nearly 10 000 seat capacity it's just the fifth home to host the division three championship more than three hours away uw whitewater hoping to make a second repeat trip into the lone star state but they have some work to do and it begins with this onside kick bouncing ball and it's scooped up cleanly by the crusaders and that is jefferson fritz we haven't set his name a lot today fritz who set a school and conference record with 10 interceptions this year showing those glue-like hands on the onside kick at no time was it more valuable to his team than this the ball took a perfect hop right up at him it looked like a second baseman having the ball bounce up to him easy throw to first crusaders are out on the field now only one time out for the warhawks it's time to run the ball and run the clock from the 46-yard line this will be jayce hammock and it will be miller who has topped 100 yards today so now what's that schedule look like if you're uw whitewater as far as time-outs go you have all three left you use them right away they're going to use one right now yeah that means they've got none left here so if you do the math if you're on the sideline okay yeah that one one says one the scoreboard clock had them down to their last one so with one they can still use them here right away because you can stop the clock on offense obviously with spikes or incomplete passes you cannot stop the clock on defense other than with a timeout [Music] these two teams go 2-3 as far as the winningest programs since 2010 mary hardin baylor over 100 wins wisconsin whitewater right behind them with 98. let's not forget this warhawk program won three consecutive national championships and 09 10 and 11. at this point each team is now facing two opponents they're facing the offense or defense on the other side of the ball but they're also facing the clock and how they work to defeat that clock will have a big factor in who wins the game second down and ten and they're going to throw the football how about this call sims makes the catch and cannot shake free he was a shoelace away from maybe taking that to the house matt anderson caught enough of it and whitewater will use their second timeout that leaves them with one remaining it's been another busy day for markeith miller one of the guys we highlighted at the start the three-time 1000 yard rusher this offense just built for his style his patience his cut back ability and his north-south type of running he not only carries the ball for his team he carries the flag for the crusaders especially in the offensive side of the ball when you've got toughness and grit like that it rubs off on all other 10 players over 1600 rushing yards coming in to this football game well over 100 yards today so we saw mary harden baylor and they have not been gun shy today we saw the fake punt deep in their own in earlier they throw the football in a running situation on second down if if you're uw whitewater you can't cheat too much here they've kept you off balance enough you have to respect the pass well that rpo really behind the line of scrimmage is considered by a lot of teams it's just a long handoff so pretty high expectancy of a completion not so much the case here they need a little bit more yardage but this would be a good down to use a screen catch it keep the clock running maybe make the first down hammock will hand it off to miller runs into a pile stays on his feet look at markeith miller that is a championship run right there from the senior put me on your back i'll get you to shenandoah his running said it all there's no words that could describe it better than that player's performance what a tough what a tough guy he is what a gritty runner he is [Music] a workhorse today 26 carries for 125 and the touchdown run earlier in this quarter first down from the 34. miller five more yards herbs and anderson and on the stop for all the power that he has he's got quite a knack he just kind of slithers and slips kind of finds a little spot in there then ducks into it but his lateral quickness as much as his power is what he he's used today for a lot of yardage he doesn't have blazing straight ahead speed but he's got that excellent quickness that little jump cut and then he can make the quick burst [Applause] [Music] [Applause] tammy go on second down this is miller sidesteps a couple of defenders gets a yard whitewater still with one timeout remaining third down another thing that's part of his toolbox of really effective assets sean is his ball security he's got that ball most of the time in his right arm based on how the ball is handed off but he's got it pressed tight to his chest he's got it really muscled up in there extremely difficult to get the ball away from which clearly has not happened at all today a damp and chilly saturday in belton texas has not slowed down this ground game miller looking for one more little crevice look at him doing all those dance moves and he gets to the outside and the smarts of the senior to stay in bounds and keep the clock moving as they move the chains he said it now he adds football intelligence strategic awareness to all the other assets that he's shown what a football game markeith miller has played for his team today heads-up play by the senior from garland texas he was a division three all-american a couple of years ago during that championship run [Applause] they're about to get back into the stag bowl for the third straight time miller trying to add an exclamation point bingo touchdown crusaders [Applause] [Music] how fitting that mark heath miller puts this exclamation point on mary harden baylor win and trip to the finals all day long he's made the game planning easy for larry harris there's one thing that stands out if you're going to have a chance against this team you better tackle this kid he has been a school record setter a conference record setter throughout his years and now in his final go-around it's his power running that's about to deliver mary harden baylor back to the stagger [Music] well it certainly looks like we are heading down a path of a rematch of last year's national championship in salem virginia mount union defeated mary hardin baylor by a score of 12 to nothing to capture the raiders 13th national championship it looks like it's part two in a new venue in shenandoah here in 2018. mary hardin baylor behind the running of markeith miller his two touchdown runs in the fourth quarter and the crusaders with a comfortable 17 point lead little more than two and a half minutes to go as we welcome you back inside crusader stadium it's been a fun football game we knew it would be with these two teams and their resumes on the return taking it out past the 30 up to the 32 yard line let's push the rewind button to the title game in 2016. wisconsin oshkosh mary hardin baylor down by a touchdown early quarterback blake jackson put the crusaders on top by three right before half time his lunge gave them the lead then jaden johnson picked off a pass near the goal line at the end of the first half to give the crusaders the momentum and it was senior matt cody's late interception in the game to preserve the win and a 10-7 victory in stag bowl 44. wilbur goes into a skid that's a situation where you want to get out of bounds and stop the clock it continues approaching two minutes just says markeith miller wisely stayed in bounds on the mary hardin baylor possession quarterback wanted to get out of bounds on that play wilbur looks left pumps nothing there pressure up the middle avoids trouble johnson's still in the neighborhood he'll whip wheel deal down field jump ball intercepted and it's the take away machine jefferson fritz a program record 11th interception on the season and one big party about to take place in belton tonight well these crusaders they earned it today they did all the right things on offense and defense they ran the ball with power and authority they had an outstanding special teams game the coaching staff made some brilliant decisions during the course of the game and of course the takeaways were paramount and given a big advantage to the crew congratulations to coach frederberg on another trip to the finals and i know what i'm going to do next friday night sean i'm looking forward to watching this one [Music] what a feeling this must be for pete fredenberg uw whitewater has been their one nemesis through the years i mean you look at their resume they have been able to beat a lot of the top teams but the one blank were the warhawks they were oh and five all time against uw whitewater the most recent losses happening at this stage in the semi finals back to 2013 the last time they met in the semis a one-point loss but they have turned the tide turned the tables here in 2018 and they are ready to go back to the stag bowl for the third consecutive year second down give up near the 35 yard line on the opposite side al if you're kevin bolas in this wisconsin whitewater program they're not going anywhere they're going to be loaded with a ton of talent next year and you know this is a team that came out ready to go in the second half they just had a couple of breaks go against them the turnovers plagued them and then they lost the special teams battle too much to overcome on the road well as with every team or so many teams the question mark moving forward will not be at 21 other positions but each team will have to replace a senior quarterback who's won an awful lot of games for their team but for the crew that's next year right now they're just trying to win one more game final play of the game as it's miller pushing ahead and for the third straight year mary hardin baylor heads to the stag bowl and shenandoah [Music] oh two great coaches coming together mutual respect both describe this game as fun they were looking forward to it traditional powerhouses at the division iii level certainly did not disappoint but in the end a defense that led the nation with 41 takeaways adds four more to that tally and they prevail for the first time over wisconsin whitewater well one thing that has changed since they both said that it's a lot more fun for coach pete fredenberg and not so much fun for coach bullis right now mount union mary hardin baylor a rematch of last year's championship friday night in a new venue in shenandoah texas about three hours away from where we're situated catch all the action on espnu it's been a turbulent week for coach fredenberg with his daughter earlier in the week going through a successful kidney transplant all went well there and certainly today all went well on the football field here in their home stadium just so much fun to watch these players and coaches celebrate the victory no matter how many you win sean the next one is always fantastic coach fredenberg now got his 221st win and i'm sure this feels just as good as the very first one and he'll probably be bringing that game ball to his daughter corey as a real present what a story today once again your final mary hardin baylor 31 wisconsin whitewater 14. espn's ncaa coverage continues on friday with the division three championship on espnu at 7 p.m and all events airing on the espn networks are streaming live and archived on the espn app for al grow and the rest of our fantastic espn crew i'm sean kenny thanking everybody for watching the ncaa division three semi-finals this has been a presentation of espn the worldwide leader in sports good night from texas [Music] you

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Keywords: #C.R.UFootballAlumni ⚔️

Id: dm6mIyFWB1I

Length: 141min 59sec (8519 seconds)

Published: Mon Aug 03 2020