BALTIMORE, Md. – The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team fought hard but came up short against Johns Hopkins University Saturday in Baltimore. The Cru earned an at-large bid to the NCAA Division III Football Championships, advancing all the way to the NCAA Quarterfinals. The quarterfinal finish is the sixth in program history.
 
UMHB stalled the Blue Jays on their opening possession, forcing a fourth-and-15 after a nine-yard sack from Preston Johnson. UMHB answered, driving down to the JHU 20 but was forced to punt.  
 
James Rinello connected with Will Leger for a 76-yard completion on the first play of the drive but Durand Hill chased Leger down, tackling him at the four-yard line. UMHB's defense held, forcing a fourth-and-six and limiting the Blue Jays to just a field goal on that series. Johns Hopkins constructed another scoring drive to open the second quarter, moving the ball 71 yards on five plays and capping the series with a 14-yard touchdown pass to Cole Crotty. The Blue Jays added another touchdown with 7:16 left in the second to extend the lead to 17.
 
The Cru drove late in the quarter, constructing a nine-play, 90-yard drive that ended with a five-yard touchdown completion to T.J. Rone with just 30 seconds left in the first half.
 
UMHB opened the third quarter with a strong series but a pair of sacks forced the Cru to punt on fourth-and-19. Johns Hopkins drove down to the Cru 16-yard line but Te'Ron Brown forced a fumble, recovered by Durand Hill to end the threat. UMHB punted on the next possession but Marcus Taylor ended the next threat with an interception at the JHU 27-yard line. The Cru kicked a field goal on the next series to make it a one-possession game with 3:15 to go in the third.
 
The Cru defense held the Blue Jays on the first series of the fourth quarter and forced a three-and-out on the next drive. UMHB got the ball on their 12 with 6:18 to go and drove down the field, making it all the way to the 12 before defensive pressure stalled the drive and gave the ball back to the Blue Jays with 1:57 to play. Johns Hopkins earned the needed first-down after three plays to seal the 17-10 win.
 
UMHB totaled 257 yards of offense, anchored by Jake Wright with 21 completions for 228 yards. T.J. Rone led the Cru with six receptions while A.J. Williams had a team-high 75 yards receiving. Asa Osbourn tallied 15 carries in the contest while Rone had the Cru's touchdown reception.
 
Durand Hill led the Cru with 10 tackles while Mason Cavness added nine. Te'Ron Brown tallied two sacks for six yards lost with PJ Johnson and James Wright each adding a sack.
 
UMHB went 3-1 in the 2024 playoffs with all four games played on the road.