Hardin-Simmons (9-1) at Trinity (9-1)
Nov. 18, 2023 | Noon | Trinity Multi-Purpose Stadium | San Antonio, Texas
Broadcast | Game NotesÂ
The Teams
Hardin-Simmons comes into the game as an automatic qualifier as the champion of the American Southwest Conference. The Cowboys are 9-1 on the year and making their 12th trip to the NCAA playoffs. Trinity comes into the game as the conference champion of the Southern Athletic Association. The Tigers are 9-1 on the year.
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The Coaches
Jesse Burleson is in his 13th season as the head coach for the Cowboys and has posted a 97-32 record at HSU. He has led the Cowboys to the NCAA playoffs on six different occasions, including this year. Jerheme Urban is 70-26 in his tenth season at Trinity. The Tigers have been to the NCAA playoffs three times under Urban.
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In The Polls
The Cowboys are ranked No. 15 in the D3football.com poll and the American Football Coaches Association poll. Trinity is ranked sixth by D3football and fourth by the AFCA. The Cowboys have been ranked for 91 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 56 of those weeks.
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ASC Champions
Hardin-Simmons won its first outright American Southwest Conference title since 2004. It snapped an 18-year streak by Mary Hardin-Baylor of winning at least a share of the conference title. HSU has now won nine American Southwest Conference titles since joining the league in 1997.
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Tickets
All visiting spectators must sit in the east side bleachers (behind the HSU bench). Ticket booths will be set up behind the east side stands opening by 10 a.m. A wristband will be given to those who purchase a ticket allowing them access to a seat. Tickets are $8 dollars for adults and $4 for seniors and students. Visiting tailgate areas are reserved next to the baseball field in a triangle-shaped grass area between outdoor pool and baseball field as well as space between baseball field (behind scoreboard) and Lot P. Please do not bring alcohol into the stadium. Parking is generally limited on campus, especially around the athletics facilities. Fans are encouraged to park in Lots east and North of the Bell Athletics Center (S, O, P). Prassel Garage on the South end of Stadium is also an option.
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Broadcasts
The broadcast for Saturday's game can be found at www.trinity.edu/live.
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Last Time Out
The Cowboys came out and jumped to a 28-0 lead and led 35-7 at halftime to claim the outright American Southwest Conference title with a 42-27 win over East Texas Baptist in Marshall. The Cowboys rolled up 530 yards of offense in the contest and the defense forced three turnovers and had five sacks.
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Next Up
The winner of Saturday's game will advance to play the winner of North Central and Belhaven game. North Central is the No. 1 ranked team and defending national champion. Belhaven used to be a conference opponent for the Cowboys. The loser of Saturday's game will be eliminated.
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Common Foe
HSU is making its 12th trip to the NCAA Division III playoffs and this will be the fourth time that HSU and Trinity have faced off. Trinity won 40-33 in 1999 in San Antonio in the NCAA quarterfinals, HSU won 33-30 in 2000 in Abilene in the NCAA quarterfinals and Trinity won last season 14-7 in San Antonio in the first round. The teams have played seven times in the Division III era and the Cowboys are 5-2.
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A Cowboy Win Would
? Be the 510th win in school history.
? Give Jesse Burleson win No. 98 as the Cowboys' head coach.
? Be their first Division III playoff win since a 2000 win over Trinity in the NCAA quarterfinals.
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Model of Consistency
Hardin-Simmons has been a model of consistency. HSU has had a winning record in 33 of the last 34 years and they have won at least eight games every year since 2015 (minus the COVID shortened season). Only five teams in the nation have a longer streak than the Cowboys' eight straight eight or more win seasons.
Mount Union         33
Johns Hopkins       14
Wheaton (Ill.)Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 9
Saint John's            9
Delaware Valley    9
HSUÂ Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â Â 8
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Clutch in the Close Ones
The Cowboys have played four one-score games this season and the Cowboys have come out on top in all four games. It is the most one score games for HSU in a season since 2000. That year the Cowboys went to the national semifinals. The close games have built confidence on the team that they will find a way to win.Â
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Balanced Attack
HSU always strives for a balanced attack and this year is no exception. HSU averaged 213.6 yards per game on the ground and 212.8 yards per game in the air. The Cowboys will try to pound away in the running game. HSU averages 41.2 running plays per game and averages 5.2 yards per rush. They are averaging 12.4 yards per catch on the year.
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Kick It To Me Please
The Cowboys have turned special teams into a weapon. Dameon Gomes leads the nation and has set the school record with 480 punt return yards. He has a pair of touchdowns (and would have had a third last week if not for an early celebration) and averages 26.7 yards per return. K.J. Peoples is averaging 21.8 yards per return and he has a pair of kickoff returns for scores.Â
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Sack Attack
HSU has done a great job of getting to the quarterback the last three games, recording 16 sacks in those three games. Cade Michna leads the way with 5.5 sacks and 14 different Cowboys have been on at least half a sack.
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Offensive Notes
? Jeff Whitehead is in his 13th season as the offensive coordinator for the Cowboys and his teams are always among the national leaders in total offense and scoring offense.
? His teams have averaged over 400 yards every year and over 500 yards a game on four different occasions. The Cowboys have averaged over 35 points a game in all but one season under Whitehead.
? HSU is averaging 35.1 points and 426.4 yards per game on an offense that returned just three starters, had its starting center go down in the third game of the year, had its quarterback miss three games and graduated its top six receivers from a year ago. ? In the last four games, the offense is averaging 45 points and 448 yards per game. Â
? HSU led the ASC in scoring offense and ranked second in total offense.
? The Cowboys led the ASC with 213.6 yards rushing per game. It was 62.2 yards per game more than any other team in the conference.
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Defensive Notes
? Zach Wilkerson is in his 10th season as the Cowboys' defensive coordinator and he has had better units by the numbers but this may well be his best coaching job. He has had to shuffle and reshuffle to get the pieces to fit after an unusual amount of injuries to his best players.
? All-region defensive end Jordan Hammonds was injured in the preseason stepping off a curb. He hasn't played a down this season. Three-year starter and All-ASC safety Davonte Nephew went down with a torn hamstring in the UW-La Crosse game, All-American linebacker and four-year starter and captain Matt Mitchell missed four games with an appendectomy. Cade Michna who has had the best season of anyone missed basically four games with an ankle injury. Â
? The defense is hitting its stride and the first unit has been suffocating the last four weeks. HSU led 35-7 last week at East Texas Baptist before subbing out, jumped to a 52-10 lead on Austin College before shutting it down, allowed just 14 points against Mary Hardin-Baylor and led 48-0 in the third quarter against Sul Ross State.
? Two-time all-region corner Brock Bunjoch has moved from corner to safety after Nephew's injury.
? The Cowboys led the ASC is scoring defense allowing just 19.9 points per game. The Cowboys were second in the conference in total defense.
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Special Teams Notes
? The Cowboys' special forces units have been a true weapon this season. All of the Cowboy coaches are involved with special teams but J.J. Elkins and Garret Martin head them up.Â
? Senior punter Cody Harral is a weapon and is very good at pinning teams deep, can flip the field if he needs to boom one and his punts are usually high resulting in good coverage. The Cowboys lead the nation in net punting at 39.2 yards per punt.
? The Cowboys rank fifth nationally in punt returns at 22.2 per return. Dameon Gomes leads the nation at 26.7 per return and has returned two. He will not play on Saturday, serving a one-game suspension for an ejection last week.
? K.J. Peoples has returned a pair of kickoffs for touchdowns this season.
? Andy Prazak, a senior, has taken over the placekicking duties and has gone 23-for-23 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals since taking over the job.
? Senior Braden Hargrove has four blocked kicks on the season to lead the nation. He is the school's single season and career (5) blocked kick leader.
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About Trinity
The Tigers have had another good season claiming the Southern Athletic Association title. They went 9-1 and like the Cowboys scheduled up in the preconference slate. They lost to St. John's in overtime to start the season and then beat Mary Hardin-Baylor. They have not allowed more than seven points in their last five games. They rank 11th nationally averaging 46.4 points per game and rank 17th allowing only 12.7 points per game. The Tigers are an experienced bunch with 18 senior starters and nine of those are fifth-year players. Senior quarterback Tucker Horn runs the show. He completed 72.1 percent of his passes on the season and has thrown for 28 touchdowns and has not thrown an interception. Trinity has thrown just one interception and turned the ball over only five times on the year. The Tigers split the carries at running back with Legend Grigsby leading the way with 386 yards and eight touchdowns. Ryan Merrifield is the top target for the Tigers with 51 catches for 901 yards and he has 12 touchdowns. Four other Tigers have at least 22 catches on the year. The defense is solid as a unit. Linebacker Caleb Harmel leads the way with 57 tackles, including 11.5 for losses. Carson Byrd has five sacks to lead the team. Harmel leads the team with three interceptions. Tyler Huettel is 8-for-12 on the year on field goals and has two over 50 yards. He is also 56-of-57 on PATs. Eli Gehman averages 42.9 yards per punt and the Tigers are second nationally to the Cowboys in net punting. Lamont Nickleberry leads the team with a 29.5 yard average on kickoff returns.
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QuarterbackÂ
Gaylon Glynn, A. J. Hawkins, Braden St. Ama
HSU will travel three quarterbacks this week. Gaylon Glynn is the starter and is in his second season as the starter and fifth year in the program. A.J. Hawkins has been Glynn's backup and started two games when Glynn was out with an injury. Braden St. Ama has not thrown a pass this season. He serves as the holder on placement kicks for the Cowboys.
? Glynn is a two-year captain and the unquestioned leader on offense.
? He is 16-3 in his career as a starter.
? He was injured on the first series against Endicott and missed the next two games. He has continued to improve his mobility each week since being back.
? He had 297 passing yards and was the ASC player of the week for last week's performance that came in just over a half of action.
? For his career, he is 301-of-468 for 4,167 yards and 34 TDs with just 11 interceptions. He has also rushed for 760 yards and five TDs in his career.
? He has moved into the top 10 in several career categories. He is 20 pass attempts from being No. 8 in career pass attempts, he is 10th with 301 career completions, 10th in passing yards with 4,167 and seventh in completion percentage at 64.3.
? He needs 73 yards on Saturday to move to 5,000 career yards of total offense, becoming just the eight HSU player to top that mark.
? Hawkins is more of a runner than a thrower.
? He comes in on some short yardage packages for the Cowboys.
? He is 51-of-77 on the year for 331 yards and three touchdowns. He has rushed for 219 yards and two touchdowns.
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Offensive Line
Mason Butchee, Blake Gillespie, Brian Hargrove, Johrdan Howard, Jadyn Lehde, Jaxon Lunsford, Hayden Philpot, James Sandifer, Khalil Spivey, Brandon Still, Garrett Tittle, Bode Walters
? The offensive line has allowed just 14 sacks on the year and have paved the way for 213.6 yards per game and 5.2 yards per carry.
? The Cowboys had to shuffle around the starting lineup early in the season. Once they settled in, they have continued to improve every week. There will be some more reshuffling this week.
? Valdez is the captain and in his sixth season with the Cowboys. He started the season at tackle but moved back to guard after the first game.
? Starting center Michael Callahan was injured for the season and Hayden Philpot has started the last seven games there.
? James Sandifer is the only Cowboy offensive lineman to start every game at the same spot this season.Â
? Bode Walters received his first career start last week against ETBU.
? Bryce Hernandez started the last nine games of the regular season at right tackle.
? The Cowboys consistently play two offensive lines in every game so all of the new faces have plenty of game reps throughout the season. Â
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Wide Receiver
DeKeidris Bedford, Corbyn Cornell, Tailon Garrett, Jahzair George, Dozie Ifeadi, K.J. Peoples, Jak Poe, Goddy Pyeatt
The Cowboys have a new receiving corps from a year ago.
K.J. Peoples was the leading returning receiver with five catches. Jahzair George had one catch other than that none of the receivers had any experience at HSU. Tailon Garrett and Peoples have been the top two targets but Goddy Pyeatt, George, Dameon Gomes and Dozie Ifeadi have all shown the big play ability.Â
? Garrett ranks fourth in the ASC with 56 catches.
? He has at least three catches in every game and has topped the century mark in the last two games (115 at Austin College and 135 at ETBU).
? He has eight catches over 40 yards this season.
? Peoples has 47 catches on the year.
? He has a pair of 100-yard games and had 98 on Saturday at ETBU. He had an 84-yard touchdown against ETBU.
? Poe and Bedford are special teams standouts for the Cowboys.
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Running Back
Noah Garcia, Myles Featherston, Colton Marshall, Kevin MartinÂ
The Cowboy running back room is deep and talented.
? Sophomore Noah Garcia leads the ASC in rushing at 760 yards and he has scored 10 touchdowns. He also averages 6.5 yards a carry.
? He is a threat in the open field and has 118 receiving yards and a touchdown.
? He has four 100-yard games this season and six in his career.
? He has scored a touchdown in the last six games he has played.
? Junior Colton Marshall has been one of the Cowboys' top backs for the last two years and he missed the playoffs with an injury last year.
? He leads the ASC in rushing touchdowns with 15 and gives the Cowboys a physical runner.
? He has 662 yards, which ranks second in the ASC.
? He had three touchdowns last week to push him to fourth all-time at HSU with 31 rushing touchdowns.
? He currently sits with 1600 career yards.
? Junior Myles Featherston had his best game of the year last week with 105 yards. He has 1,656 yards rushing is his career with 18 touchdowns.
? Kevin Martin has come on at the end of the season and has 109 yards on 12 carries with a touchdown.
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Tight EndsÂ
Brock Gibson, Hunter Hutto, Jeremiah Richard
? The Cowboys use their tight ends as mainly blocking weapons in their scheme but all three are athletic and must be accounted for in the passing game.
? Gibson has five catches for 64 yards on the year.
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Defensive Line
Nathaniel Finch, Colton Grimes, Braden Hargrove, Hayden Hays, Jim Hitchcock, Cayden Scott, Caden Stuckey, Jamion Shaw, Alex Trammel
? The Cowboys go between a three-man and four-man front in their scheme based on the opponent and situation.
? Colton Grimes leads the defensive linemen with 3.5 sacks from his tackle position.
? Braden Hargrove leads the way with seven tackles for loss and also has three sacks.
? The four starters all have 29 or more tackles on the year.
? HSU has 16 sacks over the last three games of the year. They only had six in the first seven games.
? The Cowboys have been hit by the injury bug at this position. All-region defensive end and captain Jordan Hammonds has missed the season after stepping off a curb walking back to the locker room after a preseason practice. Corbin Keidl, Cody Davis and Torii Pullen all veterans that played a lot of snaps last year have missed the majority of the season.
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Linebackers
Tray Ervin, Cason Hanna, Zacobie Haverly, Ty Heironimus, Javion Mays, Cade Michna, Matt Mitchell
? It has been a long and winding road at linebacker for the Cowboys this season. Matt Mitchell is a four-time captain and returning All-American. He went down with an appendectomy on the Wednesday before the Cowboys left for Endicott. Cade Michna, who had 31 tackles in the first two games of the year, went down with an ankle injury on the second defensive snap of that game. That forced two freshmen into the lineup. Mitchell and Michna both missed the better part of four games. It caused some adjustments but also built some depth.
? Michna leads the team in tackles with 54, tackles for loss with 8.5 and sacks with 5.5. He had 18 tackles in the opener and had 13 tackles, an interception and a sack in the win against UW-La Crosse.
? His numbers don't jump off the page like last year but Mitchell's impact on the defense is immeasurable. He gets everyone lined up and he can come on blitzes at any time our drop into the secondary into coverage. He is in his fifth season with the Cowboys and is a four-year starter and four-year captain. The defense is flying around and more confident with him in the middle.
? Transfer Javion Mays made the move over from safety to linebacker and he has been productive.
? Freshman Tray Irvin started a couple of games with Michna and Mitchell out and he earned ASC player of the week honors in one of those games. He has 20 tackles on the year.
? Cason Hanna had to play middle when Mitchell was out and then he had to sit a game with a targeting penalty. He now has moved to the outside and has played really well down the stretch. He had 46 tackles, 2.5 tackles for loss and an interception.
? At one point almost everyone on the two-deep coming into the fall was out of the lineup at linebacker. Blair Neighbors had moved into a starting role before hurting his knee and missing the rest of the year. Stellon Wright was hurt in the season opener and has missed the season, Bryson Culton was hurt in the preseason scrimmage.
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Secondary
Mike Akinbisola, Jay Black, Brock Bujnoch, Justin Bingham, DeMarcus Coleman, Mekhai Coleman, Julian DeBerry, Greg Hawkins, Jaymarcus Wilson
? The secondary has also been a work in progress. With the Cowboys having to play more three-man fronts this season it has added another safety to the mix.
? Brock Bujnoch a three-year starter at corner made the move to free safety in the middle of the season. He is not afraid to hit defenders and he also has great ball skills with two interceptions on the year and nine in his career.
? Jay Black and Mekhai Coleman have done a solid job on the outside at corner. Neither has intercepted a pass this season but they always seem to be in the right position.
? Senior DeMarcus Coleman has been great in the nickel role for the Cowboys. He has 33 tackles and leads the team, with three interceptions. He has played safety and corner. He also had a rushing touchdown last week against ETBU. He had huge fourth-quarter interceptions against UW-La Crosse and Howard Payne. Both in one-score games.Â
? Justin Bingham is in his first season as a starter and he has started all 10 games at weak safety. He has 36 tackles, four tackles for loss and two fumble recoveries.Â
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Specialists
Grayson Bearden, Cody Harral, Andy Prazak, Dylan Wiltcher
? Wiltcher is a four-year starter at deep snapper and he has been both fast and on-target on most of his snaps over the four years.
? Harral, a team captain, is in his fourth season as the Cowboy punter. He is a huge weapon and has put 14 of his 43 punts inside the 20. HSU leads the nation in net punting.
? Prazak, a senior, has taken over the placekicking duties and has gone 23-for-23 on PATs and 2-for-2 on field goals.
? Bearden has a big leg and started the season as the placekicker. He still handles the kickoffs for the Cowboys.
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