Fifth-ranked UMHB gashed Trinity with its powerful ground attack and stonewalled the 13th-ranked Tigers’ attempts to run the ball as the Crusaders pulled away for a 52-23 victory Saturday afternoon in an NCAA Division III first-round playoff game at Tiger Field.
By rushing for 457 yards and holding Trinity (9-2) to minus-45 yards on the ground, UMHB (10-1) advanced to the postseason’s second round for the fourth consecutive year.
And as an added bonus, the Crusaders will host their second-round game next week against the unranked North Carolina Wesleyan Battling Bishops (9-2), who upset No. 4 Washington & Jefferson (Pa.) 35-34 in overtime.
“Playing a great team like Trinity and prevailing is a real thrill for us,” UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. “It’s also really exciting that we’re going to get to host the next round.
“There are just 16 teams still going, and we’re one of them. We really don’t care who we play or where we play. We’re just tickled to be playing.”
The Crusaders put the game away in the second half with 292 yards rushing in the final two quarters, repeatedly putting the ball in the hands of relentless tailbacks Jarvis Thrasher and Quincy Daniels.
Thrasher, a senior out of Temple, picked up 134 of his 205 yards in the second half. And Daniels, a sophomore from Belton, gained 106 of his 153 after halftime.
“Jarvis really picked up our football team in the second half,” Fredenburg said. “He made a few runs that were really indicative of an outstanding running back.”
Thrasher finally broke the Tigers’ back early in the fourth quarter when he took a quick option pitch going left at his 48-yard line, tight-roped the sideline and literally dragged two defenders the final 4 yards on his way into the end zone.
It was Thrasher’s third touchdown, pushing UMHB’s lead to 45-23 with 11:54 to go and sealing Trinity’s fate.
“I knew I had to step up and be a leader in the second half,” Thrasher said. “The offensive line stepped up. They took care of me and I took care of them. We handled business.”
UMHB’s effectiveness on the ground was a must in the second half after it suffered what could be a critical blow late in the first quarter.
Wide receiver Patrick Oliver - a 6-7 senior who has accounted for one-third of the Crusaders’ receptions, receiving yards and touchdown catches - suffered an injury to his left knee while blocking on a kickoff return with 8 seconds left in the opening period.
“Patrick strained his (anterior cruciate ligament) and will have further evaluation and treatment, but it doesn’t look great,” Fredenburg said.
“It was a little different (not having him), because you’re used to having him in the game to make plays for you,” said senior quarterback Josh Welch, who was 3-of-7 for 35 yards and two touchdowns. “But I have confidence in our other guys that I’ve been working with all season.”
Trinity led 10-7 when Oliver went down but struggled to sustain drives.
Quarterback Blake Barmore threw for 458 yards and three scores on 34-of-61 passing. But he was sacked eight times, and the Tigers’ inability to get anything out of their running game took its toll.
“If you can’t run it a little bit and you have to rely on throwing it every down, then they’re just going to pin their ears back and put pressure on you,” said Trinity coach Steve Mohr, whose team was bounced in the first round by UMHB for the third time in four years. “And it’s been that way the last three times we’ve played them
“It’s awfully difficult to stop them once they get going. Those running backs started running downhill and it felt like an avalanche.”
Added Tigers receiver Riley Curry, who had eight catches for 95 yards: “We came out playing well, and we felt pretty good all week coming in. Then we didn’t stop them and we didn’t score.”
After Barmore’s 19-yard TD pass to Curry cut the gap to 21-16 three minutes into the second half, it was all UMHB - which became the first team to score 50 or more points against Trinity since Central (Iowa) did it in 1986.
A 25-yard Joel Munoz field goal and Daniels’ 33-yard TD run stretched it to 31-16 before junior free safety Derrick Williams (Temple) further deflated the Tigers.
Trinity had made its living with intermediate crossing routes over the middle, and Williams’ read and interception late in the third led to a 26-yard Thrasher TD run and a 38-16 advantage.
“We made a halftime adjustment on the crossing routes. When we did, the quarterback just threw it right in my arms,” Williams said. “I tried to go score, but that doesn’t seem to happen when I intercept it.”
Barmore appeared flustered the rest of the way. Senior All-America linebacker Jerrell Freeman had two sacks, as did sophomore linebacker Lee Munn, and sophomore middle linebacker Jeremy Salinas - starting in place of injured junior Eric Henri - had a team-high 10 tackles.
“I have all the confidence in the world in Salinas and all of our guys,” said Freeman, who made eight stops. “We miss Eric, but we build our defense off of trust. We know we can trust whoever is in the game for us.”
NOTES: The UMHB-Wesleyan winner will advance to the national quarterfinals to face the winner between No. 9 Muhlenberg (Pa.) and No. 6 Wesley (Del.). . . . Henri was in uniform and available if needed. His status for next week is undetermined. . . . Thrasher, who took outright possession of the American Southwest Conference record for career rushing touchdowns (41), needs one more TD to grab the ASC single-season record.
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
