Can Mary Hardin-Baylor buck up after a humbling performance last week dealt the Crusaders their first loss?
Is East Texas Baptist’s victory last week enough to erase the memories of last year’s 72-7 thrashing at the hands of the Crusaders?
And how will each team respond with so much on the line?
Those riddles will be solved at 1 p.m. today when No. 9 UMHB (6-1, 5-0 American Southwest Conference) and ETBU (4-3, 4-2) clash at Ornelas Stadium.
For the Crusaders, bouncing back from last week’s 40-28 loss at NAIA Southern Oregon with a victory would leave them needing to win just one of their final two regular-season games to clinch the ASC’s automatic berth in the NCAA Division III playoffs and at least a share of their fourth straight conference title.
The Tigers, coming off a crucial road victory at Mississippi College, could keep their postseason hopes alive with a win today.
“Some losses make you stronger. Whether or not last week did that for us is yet to be determined,” UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. “The reality is that we have to move on because we have the biggest ballgame of the season on Saturday, and we have to respond to it.”
The Crusaders - who rushed for less than 100 yards last week, only the fourth time that’s happened in the program’s history - is expected to start its sixth tailback of the season today.
After a series of injuries and an ongoing search for a consistent starter, freshman Josh Landrum - who has averaged 5.4 yards on 25 carries - is listed at the top of today’s depth chart.
“We really have to establish a consistent running back,” Fredenburg said. “That has to be paramount in our plan.”
The Tigers have had no problem finding a ball carrier to fuel their rushing attack, which ranks behind only the Crusaders’ ground game in the ASC.
Sophomore Jair Stover ranks third in the conference in rushing with an average of 98 yards per game, and he’s given ETBU some balance to an offense that also features the 1,167 passing yards of sophomore quarterback Stephen Oehlschlaeger.
“Knowing the rivalry that exists between our two schools and our teams, it will be a hard-fought game like it always is,” said Fredenburg, whose only playoff absence in the last six years was due to a loss to ETBU in 2003. “We were fortunate to win last year, but they have beaten us before. We know we have a big job ahead of us and we’re anxious to get going.”
NOTES: UMHB junior weakside linebacker Jeremy Salinas suffered a broken arm last week and will not play today. Junior Temple product John Hamilton is his probable replacement. . . . Today’s matchup is the Crusaders’ third road game in four weeks.
edrennan@temple-telegram.com
