So when they square off at noon Saturday at Tiger Field in the first round of the NCAA Division III playoffs, the sixth-ranked Crusaders (9-1) will look to stay on track while the No. 15-ranked Tigers (9-1) try to change their course.
“If you look at the pattern of our series with Trinity, you can see the evolution of our program,” UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said Monday during his weekly press conference. “We got killed the first time, then we got a little better the next time, then we got a little better again, and then we started winning.”
It their inaugural game in 1998, the Crusaders were welcomed to the football world with a 37-14 loss to the Tigers. But from that point on, it wouldn’t be as easy for Trinity.
The Tigers, who were already a perennial postseason power, won 28-13 the following year. And by 2001, the Crusaders had built themselves into a playoff team.
Trinity won the 2001 postseason meeting 30-6 and the ’02 playoff tilt 48-38 with a Tigers team that advanced to the national title game.
“That team they had in 2002 was incredible,” Fredenburg said. “They had several really talented athletes.”
The programs have gone in different directions since.
Trinity hasn’t won a postseason game since the 2002 semifinals, going 0-3 in the playoffs during the last four seasons.
On the other side, UMHB has posted a 7-3 playoff mark in that span. The Crusaders’ run includes first-round victories over the Tigers in ’04 and ’05 and a trip to the 2004 national championship game.
“As our program strengthens, we pull from other people’s recruiting efforts,” Fredenburg said. “I don’t know that it’s had a negative impact on Trinity, because often times they reach a different kid than we reach. But we are pleased with the progression of our program.”
Moments after the ’05 meeting, Trinity coach Steve Mohr wasn’t at all pleased with the path the series had taken.
“We’ve got our teeth kicked in by these guys two years in a row,” Mohr said that day. “I’m really beside myself right now, because we have to find something to be able to beat these guys.”
So Fredenburg knows the Tigers would like nothing more than to return things to the way they were prior to 2003.
“I know that Steve Mohr is a competitor,” Fredenburg said. “And they are certainly not satisfied with getting beat by us in the playoffs every year.”
Injury update
Senior strong safety Elliot Barcak and junior defensive end Mark Manning - both of whom were held out of last week’s regular-season finale for precautionary reasons - are expected to start Saturday.
Junior middle linebacker Eric Henri, however, is listed as “probable.” Henri injured an ankle during the first quarter last week and did not return.
“It’s not broken,” Fredenburg said of Henri’s ankle. “He was too sore to run (Sunday), and he received treatment (Monday). It’s just going to be a matter of how much pain he can stand.”
Unplugged
Saturday’s game will not be broadcast on KTEM-AM 1400 - which has carried UMHB games the past several seasons - and will not be picked up by any of KTEM’s four sister stations in the Cumulus Media Inc. family.
“UMHB won’t be on the air,” Central Texas Cumulus general manager Bourdon Wooten said Monday. “It’s an unfortunate scheduling conflict. With the format of most of our other stations, it doesn’t make sense to broadcast a football game. The one FM station where it might fit, we have something else scheduled.”
The game can still be heard via the Internet at UMHB’s website, and the school was exploring other radio options as of Monday evening.
Ticket plans
Advance tickets for Saturday’s game will be available at Mayborn Campus Center. Season-ticket holders can purchase tickets from 3-6 p.m. Wednesday and 7:30-10 a.m. Thursday. Advance sales for the general public will be 3-6 p.m. Thursday and 7:30 a.m.-1 p.m. Friday.
Tickets will be $8 for adults and $4 for students in advance and at the gate, and prices are the same for reserved seating and general admission.
Passes for students, faculty and staff will not be accepted. UMHB faculty and staff members must pick up their tickets in person Wednesday or Thursday.
