ABILENE, Texas – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team fought hard at the end but came up short at No. 5 Hardin-Simmons University Saturday in Abilene. The win improved the Cowboys to 9-0 on the season while the Cru fell to 5-3.
 
UMHB opened the game strong, forcing a three-and-out on the Cowboys' first offensive possession. The Cru punted on its first offensive series before Durand Hill ended the Cowboys' next threat, intercepting a pass on the Cowboy 25-yard line to put the Cru back on offense. Penalties hurt the Cru on that possession, forcing a 37-yard field goal which Edwin Lopez made for a 3-0 UMHB lead.
 
Hardin-Simmons responded, driving all the way down to the Cru's 29-yard line where Dameon Gomes rushed for 26 yards and Kyle Brown punched in a three-yard rush for a 7-3 lead. UMHB's offense struggled on the next series and the Cowboys took advantage, driving all the way to the Cru five-yard line. UMHB's defense held on that series, forcing Hardin-Simmons to settle for a field goal. Dameon Gomes used a 42-yard return on the ensuing punt to put the Cowboys on the Cru seven-yard line where Braylon Henry rushed in to put HSU up by 14. Both teams came up empty on their next drives, giving UMHB the ball back with one minute to play. The Cru drove 11 yards but an interception from Keyon House set up another Cowboy field goal to put HSU on top 20-3 after the first half of action.
 
The Cowboys opened the second half with a touchdown, scoring off a seven-yard touchdown rush from Derrick Roberson. Hardin-Simmons drove 63 yards off 10 plays on the drive. The Cru moved the ball late in that quarter but an interception from Harrison Foster in the end zone ended the series for the Cru.
 
UMHB's offense came alive in the fourth quarter. The Cru drove 79-yards on 13 plays and capped that drive with a four-yard touchdown rush from Daunte Blake. Jake Wright found T.J. Rone in the end zone for the two-point conversion to pull the Cru within 16 points. The Cru defense forced a punt on the next possession and UMHB responded with an 87-yard scoring drive. Wright found Rone for 29 yards before hitting Jerry Cephus on a desperation pass. Cephus ran for extra yardage and got the Cru all the way down to the HSU two-yard line before Blake again punched it in for six more points. Wright followed with a rush for another two points to put the Cru down just 27-19 with 5:01 to play. 
 
Hardin-Simmons held onto the ball for the next three minutes, giving UMHB the ball back with 1:46 to go. Hardin-Simmons' defense held the Cru on that drive and used as much clock as possible on the next series, eventually exhausting the clock to give the Cowboys a 27-19 victory.
 
UMHB ended the contest with 238 yards of offense on 55 plays, rushing for 45 yards with 193 yards in the air. Jake Wright totaled 15 completions for 193 yards while T.J. Rone caught six passes for 83 yards.
 
Da'Marion Morris and Joey Johnson led the Cru with nine total tackles while Durand Hill added eight tackles and one interception. Hill, Dorien Hill and Robert Williams also added pass breakups while Mason Cavness and Hines-Moore each added a quarterback hurry.
 
Hardin-Simmons was guaranteed the American Southwest Conference title with the win. UMHB returns to action on Saturday, November 16^th in the 2024 regular-season finale. The Cru will take on Howard Payne at 1:00 p.m. in Belton. The game will also honor military and the 2024 senior class.