Written by Jackson Keenan, Editor in Chief
After a week one win, the Crusader football was flourishing. However, a loss changed everything as the Cru found themselves at a crossroads with conference play quickly approaching.
The Cru came into their second game riding high after a 30-23 victory against Bethel University, in which the Cru played well against the Tigers.
鈥淵ou can find a mistake in any phase [of the game],鈥� head coach Larry Harmon said after the game. 鈥淏ut they just kept grinding. They didn鈥檛 get down on themselves. They just kept looking to the next play. That鈥檚 what great teams do.鈥�
The Cru beat the Tigers with a combination of a strong defensive approach and a few big plays on the offensive side. The defense only allowed the Tigers to score 16 points offensively and even aided when senior defensive tackle Te鈥橰on Brown picked up a fumble and took it to the back of the end zone. The Crusaders also had a big third quarter offensively with senior running back Kamerin Ferguson scoring on a 70-yard rush and senior wide receiver BJ Stewert scoring on a 70-yard pass attempt.
With that win, the Cru was looking forward to the highly anticipated match against No. 16-ranked Wisconsin-Whitewater in a game that had big game energy.
鈥淚 felt the rivalry energy as soon as we got into Whitewater last year. These guys definitely want to beat us, and we definitely want to beat them. I feel like us being two ranked teams is probably going to be a really good game,鈥� Ferguson said.
However, the game did not go as University of Mary Hardin-Baylor fans expected, as the Cru was beaten on both sides of the ball, losing 26-6.
鈥淲e lost the trench war on both sides of the ball the whole day,鈥� Harmon said. 鈥淲e were dominated up front on both sides of football, and then we had a compound by us just hurting ourselves in critical situations, jumping offsides. We beat ourselves.鈥�
While the defensive and offensive lines held up well against Bethel, the Whitewater Warhawks exposed the Cru on both sides of the ball. Offensively, the Cru could not get its rushing attack started, gaining only 60 yards on the ground. The passing game also struggled, with graduate transfer quarterback Kirkland Michaux throwing 16-for-26 for 156 yards, one interception and one touchdown.
Defensively, the Cru could not stop the Warhawks鈥� rushing attack, as they rushed for 255 total yards on 51 attempts, averaging about 5 yards per carry. This rushing attack killed the Crusader defense in the third quarter, especially with the Warhawks scoring twice and having the ball for more than 12 of the 15 minutes in the quarter, doing most of their damage on the ground.
While the passing game wasn鈥檛 as strong as the ground game for the Warhawks, they still threw for three touchdowns and averaged around 12.5 yards per completion.
It was clear to many, including the coaching staff, that the Crusaders did not step up to combat the game plan the Warhawks prepared as Whitewater cruised to victory against the Cru.
鈥淭hey had a great game plan. They really brought it to us. We weren't up to the challenge. We've got to figure out why and make it work, get it fixed for next week, or it's going to be another L,鈥� Harmon said.
While early in the season, a loss like this for the Crusaders makes it significantly harder for the team to earn an at-large bid, especially with the lack of other Division III nonconference opponents. Due to this, the Cru will most likely have to win the conference in order to earn a bid to the NCAA tournament.
鈥淲e've got to win the conference. Last year winning this game gave us a little buffer, so we know what we've got to do. Right now, you'd like to think we've still got a team that can go do that, but not the way we played today,鈥� Harmon said.
The Crusaders鈥� next game will be against Division II Mars Hill College. Up-to-date game recaps can be found at NewsCru.org.
