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McMinnville, OR – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team could not overcome a second-half implosion and seven costly turnovers as the Cru fell to Linfield College 53-21 in an NCAA Division III National Championships Second Round game Saturday afternoon in McMinnville, Oregon. The loss ends the Cru's season at 10-2. Linfield improves to 11-0 on the season and the Wildcats will host St. Thomas in the Regional Quarterfinals next Saturday.
UMHB built a quick 14-3 lead early in the first quarter and held a 14-13 advantage at halftime before the wheels fell off in the third quarter. Linfield's Taylor Skore intercepted a Kyle Noack pass and returned it to the UMHB 10-yard line. Wildcat quarterback Aaron Boehme scored on an eight-yard run to give Linfield a 20-14 lead at the 12:10 mark of the third quarter. Eric Hedin scooped up a fumble and returned it 37-yards for another TD to give Linfield a 27-14 lead with the 9:58 mark, and the Wildcats forced a Cru punt on the next possession. Boehme hit Buddy Saxon with a six-yard TD pass to cap the ensuing drive to stretch the lead to 33-14. Christian Hanna would return a fumble 84-yards for a touchdown to give the Wildcats a 40-14 lead at the end of the third quarter. UMHB would cut it to 40-21 on LiDarral Bailey's 14-yard TD strike to Ervin Johnson at the 13:10 mark of the fourth quarter. Linfield would open up a 47-21 lead on Boehme's 70-yard TD strike to Trevor Patterson and Bryce Hayunga added the exclamation point with a 37-yard interception return for a score.
“You have to give credit to Linfield and the job they did in the second half,” Cru head coach
Pete Fredenburg said. “You can't expect to win a ball game when you turn the ball over seven times especially against a quality team like this and in a game of this magnitude.”
UMHB grabbed a 7-0 lead when Quincy Daniels scored on a 24-yard run just 1:24 into the game. Linfield drove to the UMHB five-yard line before the Cru defense stiffened and held the Wildcats to a 22-yard Maika Kunioka field goal. UMHB then added a five-yard Noack TD run on the next possession to open up a 14-3 lead with 3:32 left in the first quarter. A UMHB turnover would lead to a 33-yard Kunioka field goal to cut it to 14-6 with 8:16 left in the first half. The Cru would then turn the ball over on downs and Linfield marched 65 yards in eight plays before Saxon recovered a Patterson fumble in the end zone to cut it to 14-13 at the half.
The Cru defense held the Wildcats to just 58 rushing yards and 318 yards of total offense. UMHB rolled up 206 rushing yards and 325 total yards but could not overcome four interceptions and three fumbles.
Daniels ran for 112 yards on 22 carries and Bailey was 6-13 passing for 61 yards and a score. Noack ran for a score and went 5-11 passing for 58 yards. Pi'Dadro Davis caught five passes for 66 yards. Boehme finished 20-32 passing for 260 yards and three TD's and Patterson caught 11 balls for 207 yards and a TD. Aaron Williams ran for 42 yards on 19 carries. Bryson Tucker led the UMHB defense with 12 tackles and he added 2.0 tackles for loss. Jeremy Salinas added eight tackles for the Cru. Hedin had 12 total tackles, 4.5 tackles for loss and a fumble return for a touchdown to lead the Wildcats defense.
UMHB advanced to at least the second round of the NCAA Division III National Championships for the sixth straight season, joining Mount Union College on a very short list of teams to accomplish that feat. Saturday's loss also closed out the careers of 11 UMHB seniors: Desmond Mays, Kirsten Leverett, Kristen Leverett, Pi'Dadro Davis, Brett Parker, Jeremy Salinas, Bryson Tucker, Marco Coppola, Myke Gobert, Lee Munn and Benton Krause. UMHB is also now 0-2 all-time against Linfield, with today's loss and a 28-21 defeat in the 2004 Stagg Bowl game.
