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Crusaders of Mary Hardin-Baylor favored to capture
ASC Football Crown
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| Head coach Pete Fredenburg's Crusaders of the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor
are the pre-season choice to three-peat as American Southwest Conference football champions by a vote of the league's
nine head coaches and sports information directors as well as selected media members. The Crusaders are ranked
No. 3 in the USA Football News Division III pre-season poll. |
| UMHB, which went 10-3 overall (8-0 in ASC) and reached the quarterfinals
of the NCAA Division III playoffs last season, collected 24 of the possible 27 first-place votes - the highest
number of top-spot picks ever in the annual preseason poll. The Crusaders have won at least a share of the ASC
title in four of the last five seasons, going 40-3 over that time frame in conference games. |
| Josh Welch is a four-year
starter at quarterback while Jarvis Thrasher, who was inserted in the tailback slot for the fourth game, churned
out 1137 yards rushing. Jerrell Freeman, a 6-0, 195-pound senior pre-season All-American at linebacker, recorded
96 tackles, 16 of which were for losses, and picked off four interceptions. Mary Hardin-Baylor opens on the road
against Christopher Newport, the defending champion of the USA South Atlantic Conference on September 9 in Newport
News, VA. |
| Hardin-Simmons University
received two first-place votes and was picked to finish second. Head coach Jimmie Keeling's Cowboys, who won a
share of the ASC crown in 2003 and outright title in 2004, were a playoff team last season and finished with an
overall record of 8-2 after posting a 6-1 mark in the ASC. Offensively, the Cowboys return wide-receivers Mychal
Carrillo and Matt Fields, who combined to haul in 98 receptions along with Quintin Jones, a solid running back.
Keeling must re-load the defensive unit that returns only three starters. |
| Mississippi College, coming
off a 5-5 season was ranked third with Howard Payne University edging Texas Lutheran University for fourth place.
Sul Ross State University was projected for a sixth-place finish while East Texas Baptist, which picked up the
other first-place vote, landed in the seventh spot. Louisiana College and McMurry University are the long shots
for the campaign. |
| Six ASC squads - East Texas Baptist, Hardin-Simmons, Howard Payne, McMurry,
Sul Ross State and Texas Lutheran - start their seasons on September 1, while Louisiana College and Mary Hardin-Baylor
begin action on September 8. The 35th NCAA Division III Football Championship playoffs begin November 17 and end
in Roanoke, VA with the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on tap for December 15. |
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