Mary Haridin-Baylor Athletics

Game Notes

Belton, Texas – The American Southwest Conference Championship will be on the line when the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team takes on East Texas Baptist in the regular season finale for both teams this Saturday. UMHB will host the Tigers for a 1:00 PM kickoff at Crusader Stadium in an ASC matchup.
 
The Cru comes into the game with an 8-1 overall record and a 3-1 mark in ASC play. UMHB can clinch a share of an 11^th straight conference championship with a win over the Tigers. But more importantly, the Cru needs a victory to keep its hopes for an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III National Championships alive. UMHB has advanced to the postseason 11 straight seasons, but with the ASC losing its automatic bid and the Cru falling to Hardin-Simmons 29-26 two weeks ago, the team has its back against the wall and every game has turned into a de facto playoff game for UMHB. A loss to ETBU in 2003 kept the Cru out of the postseason for the only time in the last 15 years and UMHB needs to be ready to play to keep that scenario from repeating this year.
 
"We have our hands full this week and we have to put a good game plan together and go out and play to win this football game," Cru Head Coach Pete Fredenburg said. "We can't look at any of that playoff stuff because if we don't win Saturday, it won't matter. They are running the ball really well, playing good defense and playing with so much confidence. We have to play physical football, rally to the ball and try to make them one-dimensional on offense."
 
East Texas Baptist comes into the game at 7-2 overall and 4-0 in the ASC. The Tigers have already clinched a share of the ASC Championship and can claim the first outright title in program history with a win over the Cru. ETBU is coming off a 27-21 win over Hardin-Simmons last Saturday.
 
UMHB will enter the contest ranked #10 in the country by the AFCA and #13 in the nation by D3football.com. ETBU is ranked 23^rd by D3football.com and is receiving votes in the AFCA Top 25 Poll. The Cru has won 46 straight regular season home contests and has never lost a regular season game at Crusader Stadium. UMHB also leads the all-time series with the Tigers 14-1 with ETBU's only win in the series coming in that 2003 meeting in Belton.
 
Saturday's game is also UMHB's Homecoming and the Cru football program will recognize its 16 seniors during a pre-game ceremony. For more information on parking, traffic flow and game day events, please visit the following link: http://www.umhb.edu/stadium/game-day-information/#directions-parking. There will be parking reserved for East Texas Baptist University fans in the parking lot at the corner of Martin Luther King, Jr. Drive and College Drive. Tigers fans are encouraged to enter the stadium through ticket window #3 at the southeast corner of Crusader Stadium.
 
Saturday's game will also be broadcast live on K101.7 FM and through the station's web site with the pre-game show starting at 12:30 PM. UMHB will provide live video streaming and live statistics for the game with links to both available by clicking here: http://portal.stretchinternet.com/umhb/. Tickets are still available and the ticket windows are scheduled to open at 11:00 PM on Saturday. Reserved tickets are $12. General admission tickets are $10 for adults and $6 for students. The stadium gates will open at 11:30 PM on Saturday. Tickets left at Will Call will be available for pickup at Ticket Window #2 on the home side.