FB: American Southwest Conference

[Ralph Turner]

HSU is very good but there is a huge difference between a program that spends all off season/summer preparing for UMHB in a regular season game year after year and teams that have to turn it around in a week during the playoffs.

I mean HSU almost lost to a 2-7 McMurry....again HSU should have been in the playoffs but I think sometimes folks get carried away comparing these situations.

...and Auburn (6-6) took Alabama to 4 OTs, also a rivalry game, but you do make a good point.

UMHB has many things going for it.

1) Outstanding executive leadership that has affirmed the D3 Student-Athlete Model as a high priority in the school's mission and vision
2) Stability and excellence in the football program and support staff, including SID
3) Numerous academic offerings for the student-athletes that have economic value in society and the communities where the grads will live.
4) Ideal geographic location for the football population centers in Texas. They are less than 4 hours from Abilene, DFW, the numerous small towns in east Texas where there are lots of strong high school programs, Houston, San Antonio and the I-10 corridor
5) Strong alumni support.

[Cowboy2]

Thou shalt not make this argument, when in common comparison, a #3/4 Mount Union almost blew it to a similar type of  team team in Ohio Northern....but the analyst and the sports writers will show that's overcoming adversity.

Anyway I do agree that HSU plays UMHB well and knows what to expect.

I'd say after watching both games, Trinity played a closer 58 min (3-3/6-3 score)..... but HSU had a closer score at the end. Not really a closer game. Tale of two halves vs HSU.
Against Trinity, UMHB didn't have an Answer. Trinity didn't either. Good game to watch.

[CruFrenzy]

Trinity and Hardin Simmons would be a very close game, probably depends on who is the home team tbh. I think both programs are clearly top 10 teams, hopefully the Cru Dynasty will demand a bit more respect for our region...

[MonroviaCat]

Thou shalt not make this argument, when in common comparison, a #3/4 Mount Union almost blew it to a similar type of  team team in Ohio Northern....but the analyst and the sports writers will show that's overcoming adversity.

Anyway I do agree that HSU plays UMHB well and knows what to expect.

I'd say after watching both games, Trinity played a closer 58 min (3-3/6-3 score)..... but HSU had a closer score at the end. Not really a closer game. Tale of two halves vs HSU.
Against Trinity, UMHB didn't have an Answer. Trinity didn't either. Good game to watch.

Having watched Trinity vs MHB as an outsider I was impressed with the play of the Trinity DB's.  I think that's what kept the game close.  We've seen in the last 3-games what happens when DBs can't prevent the CRU WRs from making plays on the ball. 

[BLynn]

I did not expect a Monkey Stomp tonight.

With respect to the Final Ballot, you have to re-assess Trinity and HSU! Both deserve Top 10 consideration.

As someone with no horse in here either: HSU and Trinity should be Top 5 or 6

[Etchglow]

Since I had nothing to do today, I went and looked at all of the players at UMHB who were listed at seniors on the roster.  We know that Kyle King is coming back, but wanted to se who could even come back.


Eleven of them look to be out of eligibility:

Khevon Shephard
Caleb Johnson
Jacob Mueller
E'Monte Smith
Mikkah Hackett
Jayden Smith
Aaron Sims
Akeem Jackson
Jefferson Fritz
Brenton Martin
Keith Gipson

But, several still have a year available.  Not sure if they will or won't come back though.

Pete Smith
Sante Parker Jr
Gary Ruckman
Cameron Williams
Adam Dobbins
John Kazmierski
Lance Jones
Jeffery Sims Jr.
Alex Acuna
Brandon Jordan
D.J. Weaver
Kyle King
Ryan Redding
Anthony Avila
K.J. Miller

[UMHB03]

Since I had nothing to do today, I went and looked at all of the players at UMHB who were listed at seniors on the roster.  We know that Kyle King is coming back, but wanted to se who could even come back.


Eleven of them look to be out of eligibility:

Khevon Shephard
Caleb Johnson
Jacob Mueller
E'Monte Smith
Mikkah Hackett
Jayden Smith
Aaron Sims
Akeem Jackson
Jefferson Fritz
Brenton Martin
Keith Gipson

But, several still have a year available.  Not sure if they will or won't come back though.

Pete Smith
Sante Parker Jr
Gary Ruckman
Cameron Williams
Adam Dobbins
John Kazmierski
Lance Jones
Jeffery Sims Jr.
Alex Acuna
Brandon Jordan
D.J. Weaver
Kyle King
Ryan Redding
Anthony Avila
K.J. Miller

Wow! Lots of players could return that I thought we'd be losing- KJ, Jordan, King, Redding, Parker, Sims, Ruckman. If we can get all those guys back then 2022 won't be near the rebuilding season I was expecting, and UMHB would be a serious threat to win back-to-back Stagg Bowls.

[Cowboy2]

https://mobile.twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1472413641920106499

217,515 people attended the #UILState Championships this weekend.

[Etchglow]

https://mobile.twitter.com/BallySportsSW/status/1472413641920106499

217,515 people attended the #UILState Championships this weekend.

I think one of the 2a games had 13k. 6a division 1 was 43k or so? Who knows what the TV reach was.

[New Tradition]

As an NCC fan, I had zero issue with the late TD. We didn't like it, we should have defended it.

[Next Man Up]

Folks over on the OAC board blasting Coach for letting Ryan Redding throw a TD pass late in the game.

Look, if NCC could stop Plunk, surely they had enough to stop a career backup! For all the time, sweat, tears, and loyalty that kid has shown, he deserves the chance to do it. NCC could have stopped him. That was their chance.

I'm glad Coach gave him the chance, and he delivered!

Im glad Redding got to throw a couple. Dude has put in work, been an amazing team player, and proven me wrong on several occasions. You can bet that the players saw all the talk over the past few weeks and had something to prove. I think they proved that beyond a doubt last night.

As to Redding's td, North Central threw a 28 yard touchdown on 4th and 3 with 2 minutes remaining while up 20 in 2019 against Whitewater.  Maybe we were doing it for whitewater?

As a NCC fan, I also have absolutely no problem with Redding's TD throw late in the game. As stated above by Etchglow, "dude has put in the work." He deserved the chance to perform to his utmost. NCC could have stopped it.

But to suggest "Maybe we were doing it for Whitewater" is delusional at best. Especially when you consider that Whitewater had no problem with it. That's because the pass was not thrown to either show anyone up or run up the score. Instead, that pass enabled Broc Rutter to break the record for all-time passing yards in Division 3 history. Tell us YOU wouldn't have thrown that pass! True?
AND, remember, NCC was up by 20 at the time, but MHB was up by 26 at the time of Redding's TD pass. So, no problem with Redding's pass, but none with Rutter's either. 

[Etchglow]

Folks over on the OAC board blasting Coach for letting Ryan Redding throw a TD pass late in the game.

Look, if NCC could stop Plunk, surely they had enough to stop a career backup! For all the time, sweat, tears, and loyalty that kid has shown, he deserves the chance to do it. NCC could have stopped him. That was their chance.

I'm glad Coach gave him the chance, and he delivered!

Im glad Redding got to throw a couple. Dude has put in work, been an amazing team player, and proven me wrong on several occasions. You can bet that the players saw all the talk over the past few weeks and had something to prove. I think they proved that beyond a doubt last night.

As to Redding's td, North Central threw a 28 yard touchdown on 4th and 3 with 2 minutes remaining while up 20 in 2019 against Whitewater.  Maybe we were doing it for whitewater?

As a NCC fan, I also have absolutely no problem with Redding's TD throw late in the game. As stated above by Etchglow, "dude has put in the work." He deserved the chance to perform to his utmost. NCC could have stopped it.

But to suggest "Maybe we were doing it for Whitewater" is delusional at best. Especially when you consider that Whitewater had no problem with it. That's because the pass was not thrown to either show anyone up or run up the score. Instead, that pass enabled Broc Rutter to break the record for all-time passing yards in Division 3 history. Tell us YOU wouldn't have thrown that pass! True?
AND, remember, NCC was up by 20 at the time, but MHB was up by 26 at the time of Redding's TD pass. So, no problem with Redding's pass, but none with Rutter's either. 

Honestly, I have no problem either.  I think that was on the heels of a twitter argument or something.  North Central played a damn good game.  Yall have a bright future with Lehnen and Greenfield.  It'll be interesting to see who comes back next year for us. 

[Riley Zayas]

For anyone looking to relive the Stagg Bowl win through photos, we have you covered. Check out our field-level photo gallery:

https://truetothecru.com/2021/12/19/photo-gallery-umhb-football-defeats-north-central-in-d-iii-national-championship/

[Cowboy2]

Final standings

https://www.d3football.com/top25/2021/final

[Toby Taff]

https://youtu.be/uwL1fyh553s North Central's game highlights of the Stagg...very well put together. Not super Homery