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| Korey Zavala has a nose for the quarterback, whether it's against Wayland Baptist or Mary Hardin-Baylor. Hardin-Simmons athletics photo |
Korey Zavala has waited his entire career to play in the postseason and the senior defensive lineman at Hardin-Simmons can’t say enough about what it means to finally have the opportunity to be in the playoffs.
“It’s an awesome feeling. This is what myself and the other seniors in our class have been working hard for since day one,” Zavala said.
Zavala has put in his share of hard work to play an instrumental role in the success of the Cowboys, who wrapped up the regular season with a 9-1 record and share of the American Southwest Conference championship.
Ranking second in tackles (69) and sacks (6.5), Zavala is part of a ferocious defense that hasn’t given up more than 27 points in a game all year.
Four times, the Cowboys have held their opponent to single digits. They gave up 26 to Saturday’s playoff opponent, Mary Hardin-Baylor, in a game on Halloween, which was the fewest points UMHB scored all season, by more than two touchdowns. The Cowboys won that showdown by a 29-26 score.
“We play together so well as a defense,” Zavala said. “There are no selfish players. We feel good about the way things have gone up to this point.”
What is interesting about Zavala is that he didn’t come to Hardin-Simmons as a defensive player, although he did play both ways in high school.
“I recruited him as an offensive lineman and was going to have him play left tackle,” Cowboys head coach Jesse Burleson said. “But as I watched him run in practice, I was impressed with his speed. I knew he had great athletic ability and decided to move him to defense.”
It turned out to be a wise decision, a decision Zavala had no problem going along with.
“I played on both sides of the ball in high school but I always favored defense more,” Zavala said. “I was happy with it the moment I switched.”
Zavala played nine games as a freshman and made 21 tackles. A year later, he earned second-team All-ASC honors after leading the team in tackles for a loss with 14. Last season, he tallied 45 tackles en route to being named a second-team all-conference selection.
“Korey is a dynamic football player and has a great football IQ,” Burleson said. “The thing about him is that his motor never stops. All great defensive players have it.”
The Cowboys are facing the Crusaders in the postseason for the fourth time, the last meeting coming in 2008. It’s also the last time Hardin-Simmons made it to the playoffs.
But while they are familiar with each other -- this will be the 22nd meeting between the schools -- Burleson said last month’s win over Mary Hardin-Baylor matters little now.
“It’s a brand-new season and the scoreboard will read 0-0 when the game starts,” Burleson said. “I’m not really emphasizing the familiarity at all and we won’t change much in terms of preparation. If it’s not broke, there is no reason to fix it.”
Ultimately, for the Cowboys, it’s all about being at their best against the Crusaders, who are also 9-1 and have a share of the ASC title in their possession as well. The Crusaders are making their 12th consecutive playoff appearance.
“We have to continue to improve and be the best team we have been all year,” Burleson said. “We have to be great on offense, defense and special teams. All three are important to success especially against a great team.”
Zavala can’t wait to get on the field. The game will be extra special because his younger brother, Kyle, is a freshman offensive lineman for the Cowboys.
“We got to play one year together in high school and I talked to him a lot about coming here to play,” Zavala said. “It’s neat having him on the team with me.”
And no matter how things play out, Zavala is thankful his senior season will last at least one more week.
“It’s been awesome playing here and we want to go as far as we can go,” Zavala said. “We’re focused and we’re going to work hard and give it all we got.”
Warriors win outright conference title
Hendrix needed to take care of business Saturday and get a little help to get into the NCAA playoffs. It all ended up working for the Warriors, who defeated Sewanee 19-0 to win the outright Southern Athletic Association title and earn the NCAA playoff berth.
The Warriors open the postseason against Huntingdon.
Hendrix and Berry went into the day tied for first in the league with 6-1 records but the Vikings lost 30-23 to Centre as their season came to a close. Had Berry won, it would have won the championship as it defeated Hendrix 27-24 on Oct. 17.
The shutout is the first for the Warriors since 1959 and Dayton Winn paced Hendrix with 108 yards and two touchdowns and has rolled up a school-record 1,640 yards and 18 touchdowns.
John Donald led the way on defense as he racked up eight tackles and pushed his total to 48 for the season, the sixth-best total on the team.
Hendrix has won its last four games since losing to Berry. The Warriors are 8-2 overall, setting a new school record for wins in a season.
Bulldogs finish on top
Texas Lutheran clinched the outright Southern Collegiate Athletic Conference title for the third consecutive year Saturday with a 58-3 win over Southwestern.
The Bulldogs are 8-2 overall and finish league play with a 3-0 record. They own a 9-0 lifetime record against SCAC opponents.
Although Texas Lutheran didn’t make the playoffs, it can at least take pride in going out on a strong note. The Bulldogs rolled up 601 yards of offense with Marquis Barrolle and A.J. Saucedo each rushing for three touchdowns. Barrolle finishes the year with 710 yards and seven touchdowns while Saucedo rolled up 720 yards and eight touchdowns.
Crusaders continue ASC dominance
Mary Hardin-Baylor won a share of its 11th consecutive American Southwest Conference championship Saturday with a 67-20 win over East Texas Baptist. The Crusaders have won 13 of the last 14 championships.
Mary Hardin-Baylor has to share its latest title with East Texas Baptist and Hardin-Simmons. Interestingly enough, the three teams also shared the title in 2003, which was the only previous three-way tie in ASC football history.
The game against the Tigers was close early as the Crusaders led 7-6 before scoring 60 consecutive points to run away with the win. Denerian Thomas caught five passes for 100 yards and two touchdowns to help pace the offense, which rolled up 644 yards.
Mary Hardin-Baylor is 9-1 overall and 4-1 in the conference. It has won its last two games.
Noteworthy
Washington and Chicago squared off in the battle for the Founders Cup and the Bears prevailed with a 37-23 win over the Maroons. The Bears also won a share of the University Athletic Association championship. Cody Ratermann, one of 16 seniors for the Bears, rushed for a career-best 170 yards and also scored a touchdown.
Washington and Chicago played for 34th time and the Bears lead the all-time series 22-12. J.J. Tomlin threw three touchdown passes and set single-season records for touchdowns (29), completions (289) and passing yards (3,363). Alex Hallwachs drilled three field goals and is the school’s all-time leader with 45. He ranks 11th in NCAA history.
Contact Me
This is the last Around the Region column for the season on D3football.com, but I’ll continue to follow throughout the playoffs. I’m also writing Around the South for D3hoops.com, so feel free to reach out to me on either sport at brian.lester@d3sports.com. You can also follow on Twitter @BLester1993.