Pete Fredenburg celebrates the Cru's title with seniors Caleb Armstrong and Matthew McVey. Photo by Larry Radloff, d3photography.com

By Keith McMillan
D3sports.com

SALEM --  It was fitting that each hug in front of the buses outside the Mary Hardin-Baylor locker room after the Stagg Bowl was a two-armed, full wrap-up bear hug.

After all, the defense that led the Crusaders to their first national championship had spent the better part of 15 games doing that to its opponents. In the semifinal win against defending champion Mount Union, UMHB defended a two-point lead on the final drive. On Friday night at Salem Stadium, Matt Cody's interception with 35 seconds left preserved a three-point win.

• Stagg Bowl scoreboard | bracket
• Final podcast live from Salem
• Defense carried the day for Cru
• UMHB's title a long time coming
• Stagg Bowl XLIV photo gallery
• D3football.com All-America team
• Latest D-III football news releases

UMHB launched football in 1998 and was in the Stagg Bowl by 2004, though it ended in a disappointing 28-21 loss to Linfield.

"It was amazing that we experienced what we did here 12 years ago," Mary Hardin-Baylor coach Pete Fredenburg said. "I thought, well shoot, we'll be back here pretty quickly and we'll be over it.

But then came stunning second-round and quarterfinal losses to upstart Wesley in 2005 and 2006, and national semifinal defeats to UW-Whitewater in 2007 and 2008. Cru seasons ended at Linfield, then again Wesley twice more. Losses became more devastating from there; In the 2012 semifinals, a 28-14 fourth quarter lead at Mount Union ended with the Purple Raiders scoring the game-winning touchdown with five seconds left. In 2013, the Cru played at home, against UW-Whitewater and dropped a go-ahead touchdown pass in the end zone in the waning minutes. Fredenburg kicked a field goal that narrowed the Warhawks' lead to 16-15, but UMHB never got the ball back.

By then, it was fair to wonder if UMHB would ever break through. In 2014 and 2015, there were three-point playoff losses to Linfield. Elite seasons that ended in deep disappointment became the norm in Belton, Texas.

Yet it was the most recent one of those that set the foundation for the jubilation -- and hugs -- in 2016.

In the 2015 quarterfinals, UMHB took a 21-0 lead after 13 plays against Linfield. The Wildcats rallied, behind a backup quarterback, for a 38-35 win. The Crusaders were crushed, again. But then they internalized the defeat and used it to pave the way to Salem.

"I've shared with everybody that I can share with that this all started in January after really a devastating loss last year at McMinnville, Oregon," Mary Hardin-Baylor Coach Pete Fredenburg said. "These guys and our unity council took it upon themselves to put together a football team of people who were totally committed, and it's carried over to this."

Fredenburg talked of getting rid of players who didn't buy in. He built a defense around seniors and smart players, speedy athletes and sure tacklers. The Cru ascended to the No. 1 ranking. It went unbeaten in the regular season. But it all could have ended in disappointment again, especially when the defense was asked to protect a two-point lead and a three-point lead in its most important games of the season. One bad play, and another gut-wrenching disappointment awaited.

Instead, the Crusaders made the game-clinching plays.

In Belton, Bryce Wilkerson made imaginary snow angels on the field. In Salem, Blake Jackson -- the game's most outstanding player -- sprinted 60 yards to nowhere after Cody's interception. His teammates couldn't keep from streaming on to the field, so much that they drew a penalty.

There were years of angst pouring out. Finally, Mary Hardin-Baylor had broken through.

In a way, the breakthrough was for the vast majority of Division III who'd wanted to see anyone but Mount Union, UW-Whitewater and St. Thomas -- the only teams to play for a championship since UMHB last did -- in Salem. And even if UMHB still wore purple as a dominant color, their matchup against black-and-gold UW-Oshkosh was both entertaining and refreshing.

UMHB took the hard route. After rallying from a second-half deficit to beat Redlands in Round 1, it dispatched Linfield, 27-10, in Round 2. Wesley was eliminated on the other side of the bracket that day. On the day of UMHB's quarterfinal win against Wheaton, UW-Whitewater lost to John Carroll. Ajay Fanene's interception sealed the semifinal win against Mount Union and the return to the Stagg Bowl.

But UMHB had to overcome its penchant for tightening up in the big moments. Despite controlling most of the game against UW-Oshkosh, a late missed field goal left the score at 10-7 with 2:32 left. Brett Kasper began to move the Titans down the field, into field-goal range. This defeat would have been the most gut-wrenching of them all.

But playing it safe with one of the great D-III defenses of all time was a wise strategy. Baylor Mullins made a play. Teidrick Smith made a play. Haston Adams made a play. And when Cody made the final one, he was on the field just a few minutes later, dropping a "Bubba" in an on-field interview with Frank Rossi. A few minutes after that, he was poking fun at Jackson during the postgame press conference for his fumbles.

Mary Hardin-Baylor could enjoy its football, tension-free now. Whether they ever felt the angst, they now felt the joy.

"You said we're the first national championship team?" Cody asked a reporter in the postgame news conference. "Sounds good, don't it?"

"It means a lot for this program, for our fans, for our families," said Smith, the senior defensive end. "We worked hard for this for four years; me and Matt have been here four years. We set out to win championships when we were freshmen."

It took a little longer than Smith expected. At UMHB, they always do.

But as with many of the best things in life, it was worth the wait. You could see it in the hugs outside the locker room.