Mary Haridin-Baylor Athletics

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McMinnville, OR – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team will get its first chance to face Linfield College since the 2004 Staff Bowl when the Cru and Wildcats face off in an NCAA Division III National Championships Second Round Game Saturday in McMinnville, Oregon. UMHB is 10-1 and moved into the Second Round of the postseason for the sixth straight year after posting a thrilling 42-40 victory over Central College last Saturday in Pella, Iowa. Linfield is 10-0 and advanced with a 38-17 home win over California Lutheran University last Saturday. The two teams have only faced each other once before, in the Wildcats 28-21 victory in the 2004 national championship game. They are no players left on either roster from those teams, but the two teams know what is at stake when the teams hit the field this Saturday.

            “They are very good and very well-coached. The quarterback is a really good thrower and they are very precise as a team,” Cru head coach Pete Fredenburg said. “This is going to be a real chore for us. After playing Central, I think our players understand the level at which you have to play in the playoffs. You have to play hard and compete for 60 minutes because there is such a small margin for error in the postseason. We know that if we don't play very well that we will be turning in our equipment and putting the pads away next week.”

            There will be a free, live video stream of the game available at this link: http://www.stretchinternet.com/linschedule.html. UMHB will also offer a live audio stream of the game with Scott Garner handling play-by-play and former Cru offensive coordinator George Haffner handling the color commentary. You can access the audio link at: http://www2.umhb.edu/athletics/live/audio/. Links to both web casts will also be available through the UMHB athletic department web site at www.cruathletics.com. The Cru will be looking to advance to the Regional Finals of the NCAA postseason for the fourth straight year and the fifth time in the last six seasons.