Photo by Joe Fusco, d3photography.com

By Riley Zayas
Managing Editor, True to the Cru

BELTON, Texas — UMHB’s last trip to the Stagg Bowl came in 2018, when the Crusaders won the championship game second time in program history. It marked the third straight appearance for head coach Pete Fredenburg’s program in the D-III national title game, and now, in 2021, UMHB is headed back to the Stagg Bowl in Canton, Ohio.

It has been a two-year process in the making. Since a 2019 quarterfinal loss to UW-Whitewater, the Cru has been focused on a return trip to the national championship.

• More 2021 playoff features
• Cru offense finds cruising altitude (feature, Dec. 7)
• 'We just have two good quarterbacks' (feature, Dec. 2)
• A game-saving catch (Brandon Jordan feature, Sept. 28)

“We’re so excited to be back,” Fredenburg said at Monday’s news conference. “The last time, in 2019, that we played Whitewater, they beat us here, so we really went through some things that we had to tweak. We were able to overcome those, and I think that our football team really played outstanding on Saturday.”

The Crusaders got past the Warhawks 24-7 in Whitewater in the semifinal round, holding UW-Whitewater running back Alex Peete, who entered the game averaging 107 rushing yards per game, to just 43 on the ground.

A part of Saturday’s success can be credited to the defensive front, who held Peete at bay. But there was very little time spent relishing the marquee victory. It was onto North Central and the Stagg Bowl, even before dawn on Monday.

“At 6:30 this morning, we had three defensive linemen come out here to watch film,” Fredenburg said at a news conference Monday. “That says a lot.”

The level of commitment to not only making it to Canton, but to winning to Canton, is a trait seen throughout the program. Since 2019, that has been the goal at the end of the road, and as the Crusaders have grown closer to achieving that, Fredenburg has seen similarities to the 2018 national title team, which featured a number of the players currently on the roster.

“I think that this team has grown in stature and development that is very comparable to the 2018 team, that had tremendous confidence, and confidence in each other,” Fredenburg noted. “That is always a growing process.

“I think it goes without saying that it doesn’t happen without great senior leadership and guys that are willing to give of themselves for their teammates. Obviously that’s a big part of success.”

Two of the players that have seen the evolution of both the 2018 and 2021 teams are senior receiver/returner Aaron Sims, and defensive end Khevon Shepard.

“Both teams came in, worked hard, and got the job done,” Sims said when asked about the similarities between the 2018 team and this year’s squad. “You have to protect the code. You’ve got to keep it going. Everybody knows you have to make it to the top.”

“I think both teams were similar,” Shepard added. “There were a lot of playmakers in ‘18. I feel like we have the same amount of playmakers [this year] and a strong defense, just like in ‘18. I think it’s lining up good for us right now.”

UMHB is on pace for 20 wins during this calendar year, as the mantra of #20WinsIn21 was created prior to the fall, after the Cru had gone 5-0 in the abbreviated spring season. Saturday’s victory at Whitewater marked win No. 19, but at this point, the focus is not as much on what has been accomplished, but overcoming the final challenge of 2021.

“That’s been the goal since the spring,” Keith Gipson said of the #20WinsIn21 slogan. “Winning those five games in the spring, then this year trying to win all 15. We preached that goal all the time. Our motto on defense is to believe that there’s nobody that has a better physical mentality than us. Nobody is going to outplay us. We’re going to be the best team on the field.”

The idea of winning 20 games in a calendar year is something never accomplished before, and likely never again, but more than adding to the win total, a development came from the spring. A development that has served as one of the primary building blocks in UMHB’s pursuit of returning to the Stagg Bowl.

“The spring in the fall and the fall in the spring was weird, but looking back, it was very beneficial for our guys,” Fredenburg said. “We had several guys that were on-time to graduate and put some things off and were able to come back for another year. Having the Covid and all of that year was so horrible, but we worked it so it was very beneficial for our football team.”

On Tuesday afternoon, close to 300 people showed up at the fieldhouse to send off UMHB as the Crusaders began the trip to Canton. As the program has developed through the years, adding numerous ASC titles, and deep postseason runs to go along with it, the community has gradually begun to take notice. And support from the program’s alumni has only increased as time has gone on.

“It’s been fabulous,” Fredenburg said of the support from the University and the city of Belton.  “We’ve enjoyed a great deal of success from the alumni association, and our ex-players. They love this program, support this program, and support the university very strongly. The local community and Mary Hardin-Baylor has enjoyed a lot of growth and a lot of success, the whole university. Obviously we understand athletics is kind of the front window that people see at a university and I think our players represent our university in a very real strong fashion.”

Jack Phelps has served on the UMHB Board of Trustees for a number of years, having attended his first game in 2004, oddly enough the year the Crusaders made their first run to the Stagg Bowl. And he has seen first-hand the growth of the fanbase as UMHB’s success has increased.

“The games I always used to dread were the late November and early December playoff games because the students are gone,” Phelps said recently. “But now, when I look out and listen, the crowd noise is bigger than it's ever been, and it's not only students.”

“Being a part of this program from the beginning and to see where it is now has been a true blessing,” Jeff Shinn, the quarterback on UMHB’s inaugural team and a former offensive coordinator for the Cru, added. “This program was built on a solid foundation of accountability and relationships. All of the wins over the years are just a byproduct of that solid foundation built by Pete and so many other Cru legends.”

Even throughout this remarkable year, the focus within the program has been less on the number of victories and more about achieving victory in the next contest. As UMHB departed for Canton, the understanding was clear: It only takes one more week to accomplish what the team set out to do the day after the 2019 loss to UW-Whitewater.

“I think the experience was great,” Shepard said of his Stagg Bowl experience in 2018. “It gave us a mindset of how much work we had to put in to go back.”

And it seems nobody is more excited for the opportunity than Fredenburg himself.

“It’s so rewarding to watch young people grow and develop and mature,” Fredenburg said. “Having the opportunity to go to the Stagg Bowl and play against North Central inspires me. I love what I’m doing and I think that coaching is a calling.

“I don’t know why God chose me to be a coach, but I can look backwards and see how so many people impacted my life and focused me in this direction. It’s been great.”