It took Mary Hardin-Baylor all of 3½ minutes, however, to turn that vision into a mirage.

Third-ranked UMHB reasserted itself on a touchdown march to start the second half, then sucked the life out of LC by forcing a fumble and scoring on the very next play en route to a methodical 54-20 victory at overcast Tiger Field on Saturday afternoon.

Just as swiftly as the Wildcats (2-3 overall, 1-2 American Southwest Conference) had played their way back into the game with a 127-yard second-quarter performance, the Crusaders (5-0, 4-0) slammed the door on their 33rd consecutive conference win.

Leading 20-7 on the scoreboard but trailing in total yards after LC had found first-half creases for its offense to manipulate, UMHB took the opening kickoff of the second half and marched 62 yards - all on the ground - to go up 26-7 on Quincy Daniels' 3-yard plunge.

Then came the daggers - a fumble by Wildcats freshman running back Chase Rhoney and a 26-yard TD run by Pi'Dadro Davis off a reverse pitch from quarterback LiDarral Bailey on the ensuing play from scrimmage.

Turn out the lights. The fat lady has sung.

"We had a freshman in the game and shouldn't have. He made a freshman mistake and put the ball on the ground," LC coach Dennis Dunn said. "That was a huge turning point. Their two scores take you out of what you want to do. Against a great team like Mary Hardin-Baylor, you have to win the critical battles and we didn't."

The rest of the game was patented Crusaders.

They ran the ball 55 times - almost strictly between the tackles - for 263 yards, were an efficient 7-of-10 passing for 148 more and recorded six quarterback sacks as part of a defensive effort that yielded 63 rushing yards on 35 attempts.

"They were running us down on the perimeter, but I think we made enough yards there. Plus, we just had some opportunities to do some other things," UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg said. "And I think our defense played well. We knew Louisiana College was going to have a chance to make some plays. They did for a while, but I think our guys did what they had to do to get us a win."

Bailey, a freshman who saw considerable time as a backup in the previous four games, made his first career start. He ran for 84 yards and a touchdown, and he passed for a 47 and a score.

"We felt like we really wanted to give him a chance to start just to make sure he could handle it," Fredenburg said. "And he did a nice job."

Bailey played for the first 42 minutes before a pair of fourth-quarter scoring drives directed by junior Kyle Noack and a 43-yard TD pass from third-stringer Charles Hitchens to Brian Scott (Cameron Yoe).

"It was just kind of different, coming out and setting the tone," Bailey said. "It's not like the score is already up there. I had to come out and set the tone. I tried to be a leader and do that."

Daniels (Belton) rushed for 89 hard-fought yards and two scores as the Crusaders dominated the action for all but the second quarter.

LC found just enough room to run during the second quarter to alleviate some of UMHB's pass rush, and the Wildcats tandem of QB Ben McLaughlin and receiver Jordan Rideaux did the rest.

Despite LC turning it over twice on downs in UMHB territory, McLaughlin and Rideaux hooked up eight times for 96 yards and a TD in the second period before the Crusaders adjusted to limit the duo to three second-half connections.

"If you closed your eyes when you went to tackle (Rideaux), you were going to miss him," safety Bryson Tucker said. "He wasn't hard to bring down once you grabbed him; it was just getting a hold of him that was difficult."

Added Ben Beckworth, whose eight tackles were second only to fellow linebacker Jeremy Salinas' nine: "We made some adjustments with our line and linebackers to a couple of formations that they came out in. We weren't frustrated at halftime because we had confidence in our coaches' gameplan."

With an unblemished record and its 33rd straight conference win in the bag, UMHB can turn its focus toward a showdown at Mississippi College (3-1, 3-0) next week, when the Crusaders have a chance to tie the ASC record for consecutive victories and move one step closer to their fifth straight league title.

"The big thing is just to win the conference," Fredenburg said. "To do that we need to beat Mississippi College, which is going to be a big chore."

edrennan@temple-telegram.com