Mary Hardin-Baylor: 2021 NCAA Division III Football National Champions

Mary Hardin-Baylor is the 2021 NCAA DIII football national champion. The Crusaders defeated North Central (IL) 50-24 to win the Stagg Bowl, completing a 15-0 season and winning their second national championship since 2018.

Mary Hardin-Baylor gave up a kickoff return for a touchdown to begin the game then took over. The Crusaders went up 9-7 minutes later and only trailed once more in the game: for about two minutes late in the first half before kicking a field goal to go into halftime with a 19-17 lead.

Quarterback Kyle King and linebacker Mikkah Hackett both had monster games to deliver their team the title. King threw for a program single-game record 436 yards, finishing 22-29 passing with 3 touchdowns.

Hackett was unreal on defense, totaling 10 tackles, 2 sacks, 2 interceptions, 1 forced fumble, and 1 fumble recovery. He nearly ran back his first interception for a touchdown. Hackett was named the Stagg Bowl's Most Outstanding Player.

Two Crusaders wide receivers had 9 catches each. Brenton Martin went for 170 yards and a touchdown, and K.J. Miller went for 149 yards and a touchdown. Running back Aphonso Thomas added a pair of touchdowns on the ground.

Another standout UMHB wideout, Brandon Jordan, caught a touchdown pass in the first half. That catch was Jordan's 17th touchdown reception of the season, setting a school record.

Mary Hardin-Baylor also won the national title in 2016. Since there was no 2020 tournament because of the COVID-19 pandemic, the Crusaders have now lifted the trophy in three of the last five seasons.

Mary Hardin-Baylor: 2018 NCAA Division III Football National Champions

SHENANDOAH, Texas -- After falling to Mount Union last season in the Division III championship game, Mary Hardin-Baylor not only wanted to get back to the title game -- it wanted to beat the Purple Raiders.

The Crusaders did that Friday night.

Jase Hammack threw for 147 yards and two touchdowns, Markeith Miller rushed for 90 yards and a score and Mary Hardin-Baylor won its second title in three years, beating Mount Union 24-16.

Hammack rebounded after losing a fumble in the first quarter that led to the Purple Raiders' lone touchdown by completing 11 of 19 passes and rallying the Crusaders (15-0) from a 10-0 deficit. T.J. Josey caught five passes for 78 yards and a touchdown for Mary Hardin-Baylor, which lost to the Raiders (14-1) 12-0 last season in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl.

"The goal since the beginning of fall camp was to get back here and have a shot at Mount Union just because of the way last year ended," Mary Hardin-Baylor coach Pete Fredenburg said. "I think it says an awful lot about these players and coaches that kept pushing and kept driving. It's incredible."

D'Angelo Fulford was 18-of-37 for 194 yards and rushed for 45 yards, and had a 1-yard touchdown run to put Mount Union up 10-0 -- the first time the Crusaders have trailed this season -- with 3½ minutes left in the first quarter. Josh Petruccelli added 57 rushing yards and Justin Hill caught five passes for 71 yards for the Raiders. Both teams finished with 303 yards.

"I thought we were fortunate to get some points on the board early," Mount Union coach Vince Kehres said. "We took advantage of the turnover there and extended a drive with the fake punt. They have a great defense. Nobody's scoring a lot of points on that defense. They executed pretty well down the stretch, and we couldn't quite finish a couple of plays."

Trailing 24-13, the Raiders cut the lead to eight on Cory Barnett's third field goal with 7 minutes left. After stopping Mary Hardin-Baylor a yard short on a fourth-and-2 at the Crusaders' 40, Mount Union's drive stalled at the Mary Hardin-Baylor 16 with consecutive incompletions with a minute left.

Following a three-and-out by Mary Hardin-Baylor, Mount Union had one last chance, but Fulford was sacked by Khevon Shepard and injured on third-and-10. Mount Union's lateral play on fourth down failed.

Hammack found Josey for a 36-yard touchdown pass, which Josey caught falling into the end zone with 1:27 remaining in the first quarter. Miller gave the Crusaders a 14-13 lead with a 2-yard touchdown run right before halftime.

"We always felt like that when you get into a game like this with so much significance, the key thing was to maintain the confidence level that we have, don't panic," Fredenburg said. "Everything is going to take care of itself. We felt like we could play with Mount Union. We felt like our team was a team of destiny."

After Anthony Avila's field goal in the third quarter, Hammack upped the lead to 24-13 midway through the fourth, finding K.J. Miller for a 16-yard touchdown pass.

Mary Hardin-Baylor: 2016 NCAA Division III Football Champions

SALEM, Va. -- Blake Jackson knew that, more than usual, Mary Hardin-Baylor's fortunes were going to be in his control with the NCAA Division III title at stake.

The dual-threat quarterback embraced it, running for 119 yards and a touchdown and leading the Crusaders to a 10-7 victory over Wisconsin-Oshkosh in the Amos Alonzo Stagg Bowl on Friday night for their first football national championship.

"I like the pressure. I like the challenge," the senior said. "Thank you to the coaches for believing in me."

Jackson carried 28 times for the Crusaders (15-0), and completed 16 of 27 passes for 171 yards with an interception. The Crusaders virtually ignored running back Markeith Miller, who arrived with nearly 1,500 yards rushing, but gained just 11 on nine carries.

"We had trouble running the ball," coach Pete Fredenburg, who started the Crusaders' program 19 years ago, said. "Blake took up the slack. We felt like he was going to have to be the catalyst for our offense."

Jackson's touchdown came on a 1-yard run with 3:16 left in the second quarter, and was the final score of the game.

"There was a ton of athletes out there tonight on both sides of the ball," Titans coach Pat Cerroni said. "Great athletes, but No. 7 (Jackson) was exceptional."

Dylan Hecker ran 2 yards to give the Titans (13-2) a 7-0 lead after just 6:22, but Oshkosh could never find that rhythm again. The Titans drove to the Crusaders 35 in the final minute, but Matt Cody intercepted Brett Kasper's fourth-and-10 pass from the 35 to clinch the victory.

"Don't drop it," Cody said he thought as the clinching play came spiraling toward him.

Kasper finished 20 for 33 for 185 yards with two interceptions. The Titans were held to 30 rushing yards on 29 attempts.

The Titans were playing in the championship game for the first time. Mary Hardin-Baylor lost in its only previous appearance in 2004.

THE TAKEAWAY

Mary Hardin-Baylor: Jackson and the offense get the credit for scoring points, but the Crusaders' defense held the Titans scoreless after the offense turned it over three times -- at midfield, at the Crusaders 27 and at the Titans 6 while looking for a cushion touchdown. The defense also stopped Oshkosh three times on fourth down -- twice inside the Crusaders 30 and then on the game's penultimate play.


Wis.-Oshkosh: The Titans run a modified 3-4 defense, with virtually no pass rush, and it backfired on them in the first quarter when the Crusaders used a 20-play, 66-yard drive to get their first points on a 22-yard field goal by John Mowery. On the drive, Jackson ran around behind the line unchallenged, at times finding receivers downfield and other times running through gaps for yardage. The Crusaders converted their first five third downs on the drive before settling for the field goal.

BIG KICK

John Mowery's 22-yard field goal was the difference, and he seemed like a liability to the Crusaders coming in.

He's made just 8 of 15 field goal tries on the season, with a long of 42, but was true when a 20-play drive stalled at the Titans 5.

Mowery later missed a 19-yard try, while Oshkosh, whose kicker Eli Wettstein was 16 for 22 on the season with a long of 50, was left on the sidelines for the Titans' final play. A field goal try would have been a career-best 52-yarder.

MISCELLANY

Jaedon Johnson's interception for Mary Hardin-Baylor was their 33rd of the season. Cody's was their 34th. ... Hecker's touchdown run was his 17th of the season, but he finished with just 29 yards on 13 carries. ... Miller's first touch for the Crusaders came on their 22nd play from scrimmage, and he was stopped without a gain. ... In a game that tied for the second-lowest scoring in Stagg Bowl history, the Crusaders finished 11 for 18 on third down and the Titans were 8 for 17.