Five plays to Salem: How UMHB advanced

Dec 13, 2016

T.J. Josey skies for a Blake Jackson pass in the end zone which he does not come up with.
By Joe Fusco, d3photography.com

By Keith McMillan
D3sports.com

It is often said, at least by football coaches who traffic in gridiron proverbs, that five plays decide close games. Players, of course, don't know in advance which five it will be, so they have to play all 70 to 90 snaps as hard as possible.

With the benefit of hindsight following Mary Hardin-Baylor's 14-12 victory against Mount Union that sent the Crusaders to the Stagg Bowl for the first time in 12 years, we can pinpoint five plays that were the difference between the Cru heading to Salem and staying home. Just as Adam Turer did for UW-Oshkosh, I interviewed players and coaches after the game, narrowed it down to five key plays, and rewatched them. Here are the most-important plays that helped UMHB punch its ticket to the championship:

UMHB at the MU 33, third and 14, 3:58 second quarter

(To watch this as you read, skip to 1:01:10 of the ESPN replay) The Cru is eight plays into its most successful drive of the first half, but facing a situation in which gaining a few yards probably sets up a field-goal attempt that ties the game at 3. The first half is a struggle for both offenses, as the teams are content to punt back and forth for field position. Kicker John Mowery misses a 47-yard field goal try on the Crusaders' third possession of the game, in the first quarter, at the end of a nine-play drive. On the ninth play of this drive, the Cru lines up with four wide receivers, three to the left, against Mount Union's 4-2-5 defense. Two safeties are 13 yards off the ball, standing at the 20-yard line. Tight end Carson Embry, lined up in the left slot, motions to the right wing to give Cru quarterback Blake Jackson an extra protector as he takes the snap and begins a half rollout to the left.

Without the coaches' view of the footage, we can't see what Jackson sees, but it's apparent that any short route designed to get a first down or set up a shorter field-goal attempt isn't open. Jackson's ability to improvise helps make the Cru offense dynamic, and here, after setting his feet briefly on the half rollout, he reverses from left to right as Mount Union defensive lineman Mike Vidal bears down on him. Purple Raiders linebacker Charlie Dear spots Jackson scrambling and sprints from the far side of the play to where Jackson would be if he set up to pass. Jackson sees wide receiver T.J. Josey in the end zone, and pulls up to throw as Vidal and Dear hit him -- Dear at full speed from about 15 yards away. Jackson's throw is a floater, and as Josey streaks sideways across the end zone, he mistimes his jump, meaning he can only get his left hand on the ball as he descends from the high point of his leap. Wykeyhe Walker realizes this as he scrambles toward the play; Walker can tell that he's not going to be able to get to the pass initially, but that Mount Union safety Brian Groves might not be able to reach it either.

"What I [saw] was T.J., he jumped up, and the defender was with him," Walker said, "so I kind of figured if he didn’t catch it, he was going to at least tip it, and I was just going to try to be the first one to the ball."

Josey tips it with his left hand, Walker streaks in behind the play at the perfect time and catches it as Purple Raiders defensive back Louis Berry can't because his momentum is carrying him away from the play.

Wykeyhe Walker, barely in the frame as Josey tips the ball at the top of this page, has streaked into position to get the tip.
Photo by Joe Fusco, d3photography.com

Jackson reflected on the play after the game, poking fun at Walker's leaping ability. (For the record, Walker claims he can dunk a basketball.)

"I saw T.J.," Jackson said, laughing at the situation. "And I was like, ‘alright, I know T.J., he can jump.’ Probably only person on the team that can dunk, Wykeyhe …

But no, I saw T.J., and he was open, so I was like ‘I’ve got to give him a chance.’ I threw it up, and I really didn’t even get to see the play; I got hit right after I threw it. I heard the crowd start yelling and I saw everybody start running down there, and I started counting my blessings.

I thought I [threw a touchdown pass to T.J.]. I saw Wykeyhe and I said, ‘what is going on?’ Then I saw the replay and I was like, ‘Oh, okay, that’s what happened.’

The play erased the zero from the scoreboard, and loosened the Cru up for what was clearly going to be a grind the rest of the way.

Duane Thompson provided a spark in the backfield, setting up a play which led to UMHB's second touchdown.
Photo by Joe Fusco, d3photography.com

UMHB at the MU 11, third and 4, 3:10 third quarter

(At the 1:51:10 mark.) The Crusaders are driving, with a 7-6 lead, and reserve running back Duane Thompson has just come into the game and given the team a spark on a long drive, both with a 25-yard catch and several carries. But again UMHB is facing a situation where it either converts or attempts a field goal. Its first two second-half possessions were undermined by a Dear interception of Jackson, and a bad snap that caused a 14-yard loss.

This time, Jackson takes the snap and looks for Embry -- who had purposely fallen down after the snap, then popped up to run a drag -- crossing the formation from right to left, but it's well covered and he improvises again. He sets up to throw, but pulls the ball down and scrambles right as Thompson blocks Dear. Jackson avoids a tackler flying past near the first-down marker, and gets to the 2-yard line. Two plays later, he sneaks in for what would be UMHB's final points of the game, and a 14-6 lead. The defense would have to carry it home from here.

"You know, that play," said Jackson, "[offensive coordinator] coach Stephen [Lee], what he always harps on is when we’re in the red zone, take care of the football. Because you can get points from a field goal. … One thing that was going through my head on that play is that we wanted the crosser to come open. When it didn’t, I just had to improvise, and go back to that [right] side of the field and make a play, and that’s pretty much just what I did."

Mount Union at the UMHB 41, first and 10, 10:43 fourth quarter

(At the 2:10:40 mark.) The Purple Raiders haven't had much success offensively in the game, but when they have moved the ball, it's been with B.J. Mitchell running it. Both players and coaches from UMHB praised the 5-6, 175-pound back's strength and balance after the game; He finished with 137 rushing yards on 31 carries, a 4.4-yard average.

"They play some coverages that make it tough to throw the football," Mount Union coach Vince Kehres said afterward, "and they rely on their front four to stop the run. Against almost everybody in the country, they can do that. I thought our offensive line play was pretty good, to give us some running lanes in there. B.J. had a great game. We felt like he needed to and he did. Really took some pressure off our passing game. But inevitably we’ve got to make some plays in the air and we fell a little short there."

This sequence exemplifies what Kehres was talking about.

Mitchell runs for 9 yards to start the possession, and gets two more for a quick first down. Mount Union is trailing 14-6 but is in Crusaders territory. As difficult as points have been to come by, it's a one-possession game. But running the ball keeps the clock moving, and UMHB over the course of the game is coming downhill more quickly as it begins to recognize what plays to Mitchell look like.

So on a first and 10, Mount Union offensive coordinator Geoff Dartt calls for a pass out of the pistol formation. The ball is on the right hash, near the Purple Raiders' sideline, and two receivers and a tight end lined up as a wing are aligned to the right side. Tim Kennedy comes in motion, and Mount Union quarterback Dom Davis executes a zone-read fake.

UMHB rushes four and drops seven into coverage. Davis doesn't see anything open initially, takes a few hop steps, then rolls right and fires toward the right sideline. Immediately, his body language shows us he knows he's made a mistake.

Lane Herrington, the tight end who was lined up as a wing, had sneaked out of the backfield to the sideline about 8 yards down the field. When Davis scrambled, Herrington did what's called the scramble drill – he broke up the sideline. Davis threw to where Herrington had been. The tight end wasn't there, but UMHB's Keith Reineke, listed as a linebacker but playing more like a safety in underneath coverage, was. The ball came right to him.

Coach Pete Fredenburg after the game talked about how UMHB uses five defensive backs in its base formation, and often drops one or both linebackers into coverage as well. That leaves them vulnerable to run plays, but well protected deep down the field, and against intermediate routes. It's a big reason why Davis was 9-for-23 passing, for 63 yards and three interceptions in the biggest game of the season. This pass wasn't a good one, and those numbers aren't good. But more than Davis playing poorly, it was UMHB's strategy against the pass, and the ability to limit yards after catch and get enough pressure by rushing just four, that made it possible.

Dom Davis rolls out but can't find anyone to even try to force a pass to on the conversion attempt.
Photo by Joe Fusco, d3photography.com

Mount Union attempts a two-point conversion, 4:24 fourth quarter

Davis wasn't all bad, however. His 8-yard zone-read keep caps a 14-play, 66-yard scoring drive. It is 14-12, and much more than the game hangs in the balance.

UMHB had lost semifinal games in 2007, 2008, 2012 and 2013, all to either Mount Union or UW-Whitewater. They'd ascended to the nation's elite, but were no better than the third-best program in Division III. Given the two Stagg Bowl appearances by St. Thomas, in 2012 and 2015, they probably no longer held that claim. But in 2016, the Crusaders are the nation's No. 1-ranked team, playing a semifinal game in its opulent home stadium, protecting a lead. Mount Union, in the words of Kehres, got to the semifinals with a "a very young, inexperienced team." If the Crusaders couldn't leapfrog Mount Union now, they might never be able to.

One play was going to make the difference. And in Fredenburg's estimation,the two-point conversion attempt would be a familiar play, which meant no need for an exotic defensive call.

"We really felt like they didn’t change," Fredenburg said. "That a lot of people would change their offense or change their formations. Mount Union doesn’t. And what we practiced all week was what we practiced to defend. So in the discussion with Larry [Harmon, the defensive coordinator, we said], 'let’s just run our defense.' So that’s what we did."

(At the 2:23:35 mark.) Again, it's the pistol with three receivers to the right, the tightest to the formation being Herrington as a wing. So Fredenburg appears correct; the UMHB defensive players are seeing a formation they've seen all game. Tight to the formation on the left side is wide receiver Braeden Friss, covered by top UMHB cornerback Reggie Wilson. Friss runs a slant, and Wilson doesn't go with him, maintaining outside leverage, either playing zone or appearing to react to an inside-zone run fake in the backfield. This keeps Wilson in position, whether inadvertently or otherwise, for when Herrington sneaks out of the right side of the backfield into the left flat. Herrington actually runs into Wilson on his route, and UMHB safety Jaedon Johnson is on top of the play as well, and Davis has to throw it into the ground.

Mount Union at its own 47, third and 8, 1:55 fourth quarter

Protecting the 14-12 lead, the Crusaders' offense lost 7 yards and killed less than two minutes of clock, meaning UMHB's defense was going to have to finish it off.

"On the sideline, we were just making sure, ‘Hey guys, get your mind ready, because we’re going to go back out there and we’re going to need another stop.’ " Reineke said.

Mount Union is actually in pretty good position to win the game when it begins a drive following a 37-yard Baylor Mullins punt at its own 45 with 2:32 left. Twenty-five yards would get them a 47-yard game-winning field-goal attempt. The Purple Raiders have two timeouts.

Mount Union had used the classic halfback screen to Mitchell for a 15-yard gain earlier in the game. It's a great call at this point in the game because it's generally a completion, and it gets the ball in the hands of the Purple Raiders' best playmaker. Even if Mitchell doesn't get the required 8 yards, Mount Union already knows it's going for it on fourth down.

(At the 2:31:00 mark.) The ball never makes it into the hands of the Purple Raiders' best playmaker. Defensive end Ajay Fanene takes a wide nine-technique alignment, well outside the left shoulder of 6-4, 284-pound senior tackle Brooks Jenkins.

"It's funny, because I was on the sideline next to Coach Fred the first two downs," Fanene said. "I went in on a passing situation, third down, and Coach Fred said, 'Watch the screen,' and I was like, 'Alright.' I took my steps and I [saw] that [the tackle] wasn't really trying to block me, he was just trying to take me up the field. So I stopped, and [Davis] threw the ball and I just happened to be at the right spot to make the play."

Fanene leapt to make an interception, and the rest -- Mullins's fake-punt pass with 45 seconds left included -- will go down in UMHB lore, especially if it wins Friday night's Stagg Bowl.

"We knew we had to get a stop," Fanene said. "The offense put it to the defense to win the game for us, and we came out with it. It felt good."

So will the trip to Salem.

D3football

d3football.com