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Salem, Virginia – It took a full 60 minutes to finally put the game away, but the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor football team closed out a 19-year journey by winning the first National Championship in program history with a 10-7 victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh in Stagg Bowl XLIV.
The Cru led 10-7 at halftime and then rode the back of a dominating defense through a scoreless second half. UMHB limited the Titan to just 76 yards of offense in the second half, but could not put UWO away until senior linebacker Matt Cody intercepted a Brett Kasper pass on fourth-and-ten at the Cru 22-yard line with 35 seconds left in the game. The Titans had driven 45 yards after a missed UMHB field and were almost into range to attempt a game-tying field goal before Cody clinched the win. The Cru miss came on a 19-yard attempt after an 11-play, 76-yard drive. UMHB's other second half possessions resulted in two fumbles and three punts, but the Cru defense was up to the task of stopping the Oshkosh offense.
The Titans scored first when Dylan Hecker capped UWO's nine-play, 64-yard drive with a two-yard scoring run with 9:38 left in the first quarter. UMHB answered with a methodical, 20-play, 66-yard drive and John Mowery connected on a 22-yard field to cut it to 7-3 with 1:11 remaining in the first period. The Cru defense forced two turnovers on downs and the offense responded with an 11-play, 75-yard drive as Blake Jackson scored on a one-yard with 3:16 to go in the half. The Titans would threaten again but Jaedon Johnson picked off Kasper at the goal line with 1:02 remaining to keep it a 10-7 at halftime.
UMHB finished with 332 yards of total offense with 161 of those on the ground and 171 through the air. The Cru committed three turnovers and were penalized eight times for 73 yards. But UMHB also converted 11 of 18 third downs and held the ball for 32:53. The Cru defense limited the Titans to 30 yards rushing and 215 yards of total offense while picking off two passes. Oshkosh was 8-17 on third down and 0-3 on fourth down.
Jackson led UMHB with 119 rushing yards on 28 carries and he was 16-27 through the air for 171 yards on the way to Most Outstanding Player Honors. Bryce Wilkerson caught five passes for 35 yards and Wykeyhe Walker caught four passes for 55 yards. Cody had a team-high 10 tackles to go with his game-sealing interception. Keith Reineke added nine tackles and Teidrick Smith had one sack to finish one away from tying the NCAA Division III career record.
For the Titans, 1,000-yard rusher Hecker was limited to 29 yards on 13 carries. Kasper was 20-33 passing for 185 yards, but was sacked three times and picked off twice. Cole Yoder and Jake Thein had eight tackles apiece to lead the Oshkosh defense. The Titans finished the year at 13-2 and were making their first appearance in the Stagg Bowl.
UMHB closed out the season with a perfect 15-0 record to set new school and American Southwest Conference records for single-season victories. The Cru was in the national title game for the second time in school history and has made 15 postseason appearances in 19 years. UMHB will lose 13 seniors from this team, a group that went 50-4 in four seasons with the Cru.
