It worked for all of 15 minutes.
Mary Hardin-Baylor made the necessary defensive adjustments and found enough offensive pieces to make MC’s extra preparation a moot point en route to a 26-14 victory Saturday afternoon at Tiger Field.
The third-ranked Crusaders (6-0 overall, 5-0 American Southwest Conference) trailed for the first time this season but ultimately extended their ASC winning streak to 26 games.
“Our guys have to walk off the field and feel pretty good about themselves, and right now they probably don’t,” UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. “The reality is that whatever we needed to do to get ready to beat Mississippi College, we did that. Now we need to get ready to beat Southern Oregon.”
The Crusaders yielded a season-high 183 rushing yards, and bruising Choctaws junior Desmond Mays became the first player to rush for 100 yards against UMHB since the 2005 season opener.
But 84 of Mays’ 154 rushing yards - and 118 of MC’s 183 - came in the first quarter when UMHB had yet to adjust to the Choctaws’ pistol formation, with quarterback Tommy Reyer in a shallow shotgun and Mays directly behind.
“A lot of what they were doing were things that we didn’t see on film and it took us a while to settle down,” Fredenburg said. “Our whole defensive plan was predicated on where Mays was, and then they were running from the pistol with Mays hiding behind the quarterback.”
Added UMHB senior middle linebacker Eric Henri: “We were used to them being in different sets. Then they came out in pistol, and we hadn’t worked on that. But we got together on the sideline and the coaches coached us up on the chalkboard, and we got everything fixed.”
With the 6-foot, 220-pound Mays rumbling through the Crusaders, MC (2-4, 2-2) drove inside the UMHB 30-yard line on its first three possessions but had only Reyer’s 4-yard touchdown pass to Renard Ellis and a 7-0 lead to show for it.
Henri recovered James Willis’ fumble at the UMHB 13 to kill the Choctaws’ first march, and MC turned it over on downs at the Crusaders 27 two minutes later to end its next threat.
“What really hurt was the first drive, when we fumbled the ball in the scoring zone,” MC coach Norman Joseph said. “That was a big one when you’re playing a great ballclub.
“They’re not No. 3 in the nation for nothing. They didn’t luck into that position. They earned it.”
UMHB defensive end Mark Manning pressured Reyer out of the back of the end zone for a safety early in the second quarter and the Crusaders offense got on track a few minutes later.
After Roger Sanchez, Billy Abreu and Nathan Meyer debuted as UMHB’s primary ball carriers in last week’s win over Louisiana College, none of the three had a carry on Saturday. Abreu (clavicle) was out with an injury, and Sanchez and Meyer didn’t have their numbers called.
Instead, senior fullback Tommy Vadell shared time at tailback with freshman Josh Landrum, who was called up from the junior varsity on Tuesday.
Vadell - more of a plodder than a game-breaker - pounded his way to 45 yards on 18 carries, and the slight-statured, fleet-footed Landrum spun and twirled his way to 76 yards on 10 tries.
“We wanted Vadell to get a lot of work, and we wanted to get a look at Landrum,” said Fredenburg, who added that Sanchez and Meyer were available. “Landrum is a talented youngster. He’s not very big, but he can make you miss.”
UMHB took the lead for good two minutes before halftime when receiver Brian Scott took a reverse pitch and raced 30 yards around left end for a 9-7 edge.
A minute later, Cameron Yoe product Scott - who hauled in three catches for 103 yards against single coverage - grabbed a 34-yard pass from Josh Saenz to set up Alan Munoz’s 47-yard field goal and a 12-7 halftime lead.
Having absorbed MC’s best shot in the first quarter, the Crusaders put the Choctaws away in the third with Vadell’s 1-yard scoring plunge and Saenz’s 6-yard touchdown toss to tight end Marcos Garcia.
Saenz was 9-of-16 passing for 161 yards and his TD throw was set up by Landrum’s spinning 29-yard run up the middle to the MC 7.
“I was really excited about the game but not too nervous,” said Landrum, a 5-8, 175-pound former standout at Chilton. “I knew everybody else would execute and do what they needed to do. I’m just a person to fill in a spot right now.”
The Choctaws added a 1-yard TD run by Mays in the fourth quarter but never regained their rhythm once the Crusaders made their adjustments.
Next up for UMHB is a non-conference game next Saturday against NAIA opponent Southern Oregon in Ashland, Ore.
“We have to have our heads up with every victory,” said Crusaders senior free safety Derrick Williams (Temple), who made 10 tackles. “We’ll go critique ourselves really hard come film-time, then be ready to go next week.”
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
