When it was over, however, it was the Crusaders - though bruised and bloodied - who still had a hold of the championship belt.
Third-ranked UMHB battered its way for 358 rushing yards and a two-touchdown lead, then staved off a fourth-quarter rally by No. 11 HSU to chisel out a 20-18 victory Saturday afternoon at Tiger Field.
The largest crowd in UMHB history (7,522) got its fill of drama and saw the three-time defending American Southwest Conference champion Crusaders (4-0 overall, 3-0 ASC) put a stranglehold on their fourth straight league crown.
It was the Crusaders’ sixth consecutive victory over the Cowboys (4-1, 2-1) and was different only because the previous five had come by an average margin of 21 points.
“I feel lucky that we got out of this one with a win because we blew way too many scoring opportunities,” UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. “We committed penalties at bad times and did several things that you just can’t do to win a ballgame like this, so we feel very fortunate.”
Uninterested in the passing game and down to their third-string running back before the first half ended, the Crusaders staked themselves to a 20-6 fourth-quarter lead behind the option running of senior quarterback Josh Saenz.
The Cowboys charged back with a bit of trickery - a halfback pass for a touchdown - and a 92-yard scoring drive that ended with a failed two-point conversion try with 1:57 remaining.
That play capped another disheartening battle for HSU coach Jimmie Keeling, whose Cowboys have dropped eight of their last nine meetings with the Crusaders.
“If we learned anything today, it’s that we can play with anybody,” Keeling said. “But I don’t believe in moral victories. You either win them or you don’t, and we didn’t.”
With preseason All-American tailback Quincy Daniels (knee) out for the second straight game, UMHB lost new starter Matt Hurst to a “stinger” injury with 5 minutes left in the second quarter.
Saenz - in his first rivalry game as a starter - picked up the slack, tucking the ball on the option 22 times after Hurst went down to finish with 162 yards on 31 carries. He had scoring runs of 1 and 10 yards, and it was his 1-yard sneak on fourth-and-1 with 58 seconds remaining that sealed the deal.
“I have total confidence in all of our backs. I just kept (the ball) more because that’s what the defense was giving us,” said Saenz, who was 3-of-6 passing for 34 yards. “I was reading (strong safety Michael Tracy) and he was being indecisive, wondering what I was going to do with it.
“Most of the time, I would just give him a little juke-out and then take it. The cutback was there, so I took it.”
The Crusaders had the ball only three times in a fast-moving first half and held a 13-6 lead at the break.
It could have been much bigger. UMHB’s second drive stalled at the HSU 9-yard line following a false start penalty. Its third possession was marred by a holding flag that nullified a touchdown and another false start - this time on fourth-and-goal inside the HSU 1.
Both drives ended with Alan Munoz field goals.
“That hurt. I mean, the 1-yard line and you don’t put it in, that hurts,” Saenz said. “Part of that’s my fault and I’ll take the blame for it. Marching all the way down takes its toll, but that’s when you have to suck it up.”
The second half wasn’t any smoother. Twice UMHB drove inside the Cowboys’ 25 only to settle for a pair of field goal attempts. One sailed wide right and the other was blocked.
“If you keep shooting yourself in the foot, those things will come back to haunt you,” Fredenburg said. “That’s what I told them at halftime: ‘We have to go out there and take this thing away from them.’
“But we just didn’t do it. We went down and tried to kick field goals and couldn’t.”
Fredenburg’s visions of a haunting almost came true.
One play after Saenz darted inside the right pylon from 10 yards out for a 20-6 edge, Mychal Carrillo took a backward pass from Justin Feaster and saw teammate ZaVious Robbins well behind Crusaders Brett Parker and Bryson Tucker. The 68-yard TD hookup - followed by Matt Fields’ second missed point-after attempt - made it an eight-point game with 14:17 to go.
After two more UMHB possessions stalled in HSU territory, the Cowboys marched 92 yards in 11 plays, with Josh Stephens darting in from 3 yards out to set up the dramatic try for a two-point pass.
“We tried to crack on a guy to get Mychal open on our first option, but the defense did a great job and took that away,” Feaster, who was 17-of-28 passing for 203 yards, said of the conversion attempt. “I tried to move around and make something happen. Unfortunately, the defense covered everything up. Their defense just played great all day.”
UMHB outgained HSU 358 to 66 on the ground and 392 to 353 in total yards. The Crusaders also held possession for almost 40 minutes and won the turnover battle, getting an interception from Derrick Williams (Temple) and never giving the ball away.
“I think we actually needed a game like this,” said UMHB senior defensive end Mark Manning, who recorded the game’s only sack. “We’re battle-tested now, and it’s good to have a hard-fought game under your belt. I think this will help us further down the road.”
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
