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| Mary Hardin-Baylor has seen its playoff runs end short of Salem for the past 11 seasons. Photo by Joe Fusco, d3photography.com |
By Adam Turer
D3sports.com
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| Photo by Joe Fusco, d3photography.com |
It’s difficult to pinpoint exactly when this Stagg Bowl run began for Mary Hardin-Baylor.
For Pete Fredenburg, the only head coach in program history, the journey to Salem began when he started the program in 1998. The desire to bring home a championship was heightened after the Crusaders reached the Stagg Bowl in 2004, but fell to Linfield. Since then, there has been some heartbreak, with near misses in the semifinals in 2007, 2008, 2012, and 2013.
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For the current players on the Crusaders roster, this journey began in January when they rallied together in the weight room. The motivation for this run can be traced back directly to Dec. 5, 2015. That was the day that Mary Hardin-Baylor jumped out to a 21-0 lead at Linfield in a quarterfinal contest. The Wildcats rallied back for a 38-35 win, improving their record against UMHB to 4-0. The Crusaders entered this season with an 0-9 all-time record against West region powers Linfield and UW-Whitewater. They had a chip on their shoulder and plenty to prove.
The turning point arrived in Week 3, when the Crusaders defeated Linfield, 66-27, at home.
“I feel like we gained confidence as a team knowing that we can actually win big games and beat bigger teams,” said junior defensive tackle Haston Adams. “We knew beating Linfield wouldn’t be the highlight of our season and that we had to go on to beat bigger teams.”
“I felt like that turned around the whole season for us because we knew we could compete with anybody and beat anybody at that point,” added senior defensive end Teidrick Smith.
A hard-fought regular season win over Hardin-Simmons clinched another ASC title. When the Cru earned a second-round rematch with Linfield, they entered with confidence knowing that they could beat any team in the country. They proved it again last week by knocking off the defending Stagg Bowl champions.
“We felt like when we beat Linfield in September, it really motivated us to continue to grow and develop and be a team of destiny,” said Fredenburg. “Obviously, beating Mount Union on Saturday was a huge boost for our program and our football team.”
There was little time to celebrate. With a short week to prepare for the championship game, the Crusaders went right to work. Fredenburg learned from his past experience in Salem in 2004. He knew that this time around, he wanted his team to practice at home early on Tuesday before flying out on Tuesday afternoon. The Crusaders arrived in Salem early on Tuesday evening.
“The first thing that I wanted to talk to our players about was that we haven’t accomplished our goal. To get to the Stagg Bowl is a huge step, but the reality is that we want to win the national championship,” said Fredenburg. “In order to do that, you have to go into this week preparing to do that. You can’t just be content that we made it. The message we sent to our players is that this is a work in progress. We really need to focus in on the job at hand.”
That job is not going to be an easy one, as UW-Oshkosh presents unique challenges on both sides of the ball. The Titans offense throws a variety of formations, shifts, and motions that Mary Hardin-Baylor’s defense has never seen.
“We were very excited, until we started watching Oshkosh — they run a jillion different formations and our coaches have their work cut out for them,” said Fredenburg. “You’ve just got to line up correctly. With all the many variable formations that they present, you’ve just got to make sure that the guys are able to do whatever they see on the field and be able to adjust to formations.”
The game plan starts in the trenches, as it often has this year for the Cru. The defensive line, led by Smith and Adams, is the key to one of the nation’s top defenses. Mary Hardin-Baylor has compiled 43 sacks and 137 tackles for loss this season.
“They’re a physical team and we’re going to go out there and match the intensity that they bring. My teammates are pretty hungry,” said Smith. “Just lining up and knowing what they’re trying to do to us every single play. Being focused and being aware of what blocking schemes they’re going to be in. I think we have a pretty good plan for all of that. We’re going to keep it pretty simple and play hard-nosed football for all four quarters. I think it’s going to be fun.”
This defensive line is a special unit, led by Smith, the three-time ASC Defensive Player of the Year. Complementing Smith are junior defensive tackles Adams and Brazos Fuller and junior defensive end Ajay Fanene. That trio combined for 25 tackles for loss during the regular season.
“Number one, we’ve really got good players, that’s the big thing. We’ve been blessed to have those,” said Fredenburg. “We try to get them in position to help the football team be successful. I think our defensive line is outstanding. We probably have as good of a defensive line as we’ve ever had.”
The linemen know that if they can control the line of scrimmage against the tricky Titans attack, there are plenty of playmakers behind them who can make game-changing plays. The Cru led the nation with 32 interceptions this season.
“It’s a lot of different stuff, but I feel like if we just play our game and be physical up front like we’ve been all season, we’ll dominate up front and get to the quarterback and cause havoc in the backfield,” said Adams. “It feels good knowing that if we cause havoc up front, the rest of our team can come through and make plays. We trust in them to make big plays.”
Now, the Crusaders are one win away from realizing the dream that began in 1998, the one they came so close to realizing in 2004. The expectations were high heading into this season and have only grown with each victorious week.
“We’ve been practicing all year, getting ready since January. It feels good to finally get to this point,” said Adams. “It would mean a lot because this group of seniors is very deserving. They’ve worked hard and been through a lot. We’ve been through a lot as a team — losing to Linfield last year after being up 21-0 in the first quarter. It feels good to actually be on a big stage playing in a big game.”
Friday night could be the moment that this program has been building toward for 18 years, and that this current crop of Crusaders has been working toward for the past 11 months. They will appreciate and enjoy the moment and the experiences in Salem leading up to the game on Friday, but they know they have more business to take care of in order to make this dream season complete.
“We have worked very hard and knocked on the door several times but have not been able to get it done,” said Fredenburg. “To finally get another chance to represent our university in the Stagg Bowl, we’re tremendously excited for the opportunity.”