NCAA Division III fourth-ranked UMHB will host NAIA No. 22 Southern Nazarene (Okla.) at Tiger Field at 6 p.m. today, 24 hours earlier than the originally scheduled kickoff.
The impending Saturday arrival of remnants from Hurricane Ike forced the teams to accelerate their work weeks or risk not playing the game at all. The latter was never a consideration for the Crusaders, who begin American Southwest Conference next week at home against Texas Lutheran.
“Not playing at all never came up,” said UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg, whose teams are 80-14 in the last eight years. “We talked about maybe moving to a different site, but that never really panned out. Then we talked about maybe moving it to earlier in the day on Saturday, but it (Ike) was already supposed to hit here by noon that day. So we decided to play Friday night.
“I think our guys are excited just to get a chance to play. Our players realize that it’s better to play early in better weather than play later in a hurricane.”
UMHB has won six of its last seven season openers but could have its hands full against Southern Nazarene (2-0), which already has two wins under its belt.
“It will be a huge challenge,” said Fredenburg, whose Crusaders went 12-2 and reached the national semifinals last year. “First of all, as an NAIA team they give scholarships, so that means they have the ability to get more guys who have size.
“Then with two games under their belt, they’ve already seen where they need to improve and have had time to work on those areas.”
Rather than any deficiency in his team, Fredenburg is most concerned by the Crimson Storm’s schedule and results.
“I’m a little nervous,” he said. “I have great confidence in our players and coaches, so I know we will have a good plan and our guys will play hard.
“But I’m really bothered by the conditioning aspect of it because they have been through two games. I’m a little unsettled. This is probably one of the biggest challenges our program has ever had in an opening game.”
In its first two games, SNU averaged 388 yards and 23 points with a balanced attack. Senior quarterback Larry Dockery (6-1, 190 pounds) has thrown for 428 yards and three touchdowns. Lanky junior wideout Jared Elmore (6-3, 187) averages 113 receiving yards per game, and junior running backs Branden Smith (5-11, 221) and Jacob Smith (5-9, 200) average 98 and 78 yards, respectively.
“From what we’ve been able to learn about them, (Dockery) is their strength,” Fredenburg said. “And he can throw it well.”
The Crimson Storm will try to operate against a UMHB defense that ranked near the top in D-III last year and averaged more than four sacks per game.
Linebacker Eric Henri and free safety Derrick Williams (Temple) - a pair of senior preseason All-Americans - anchor the unit that will feature a limited number of new faces.
The most noticeable change will be at weakside linebacker, where junior Jeremy Salinas takes over for departed national defensive player of the year Jerrell Freeman.
“It can be tough on a guy because everybody’s going to make comparisons,” Fredenburg said of Salinas. “But he’s a heck of a football player, and I think he’s going to take the opportunity to show some things that he’s capable of doing.
“He’s not Jerrell Freeman, but he’s certainly a good player.”
UMHB’s biggest concern could be on offense, where only two players who started in last year’s semifinal will start tonight.
The Crusaders have preseason All-Americans in senior guard Josh Littlejohn (6-4, 285) and junior running back Quincy Daniels (5-9, 195) of Belton - a 1,500-yard rusher as a sophomore - but many guys will be getting their first substantial varsity experience.
That goes for sophomore quarterback Kyle Noack, who will start while senior Josh Saenz serves a one-game suspension for breaking team rules.
Noack appeared in only one varsity game as a freshman and didn’t attempt a pass. However, he’s only slightly less experienced than Saenz, who has yet to make a start after serving as the backup last season.
“We have opened up our offense a little more with a little bit of the spread,” Fredenburg said. “No matter who our quarterback is, we just need him to get the ball to the right guys and then make a play when things break down.”
NOTES: Today’s matchup will be UMHB’s first game on a Friday. . . . Crusaders receiver Ervin Johnson, a 6-6 transfer who played basketball at Temple College, has a sprained knee and is listed as questionable. . . . UMHB is 9-0 in night games since the start of 2004.
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
