6/9 Hardin-Simmons (4-0, 1-0 ASC) vs. 22/22 Mary Hardin-Baylor (2-2, 1-0 ASC)
Oct. 11 | 1 pm | Shelton Stadium | Abilene, Texas

Full Game Notes | Broadcast | Tickets
Jesse Burleson Show – https://youtu.be/5tvTCHqB9wI
Player Spotlight – Kaiden Roden - https://youtu.be/wVY58yJIzJo
 
The Opening Kickoff
Longtime rivals Hardin-Simmons and Mary Hardin-Baylor will meet for the fourth time in the last 11 games for the Cowboys, when they tee off for a 1p.m. kick on Saturday at Shelton Stadium. They met three times last year with the Cowboys winning the two regular-season games (44-21 in Belton and 27-19 in Abilene) and UMHB winning the postseason game, 17-13. Five of the last seven games between the two teams have been decided by one score or less. This is the first of two guaranteed meetings between the two teams this season. UMHB leads the all-time series between the two teams, 25-9 (on the field), and has won 12-of-17 meetings in Abilene. HSU has won 17 of its last 18 games in Shelton Stadium, the only loss was in the playoffs last season. The winner of the HSU-UMHB regular-season game (or games last season) has won at least a share of every American Southwest Conference title since 1998. This also marks the end of the Cowboys' four-game home stand. HSU has not played a game on the road since Sept. 6 at Chapman. 
 
On The Air
Hardin-Simmons' games will be broadcast for free on HSUAthletics.com. Al Pickett is in his 21st season in the Cowboys' play-by-play chair and 22nd overall on the broadcast team. Former Cowboy offensive lineman Ty Crain will handle the color commentary for the third straight year.
 
Up Next
The Cowboys will hit the road for the first time Sept. 6 when it travels to Marshall for the first meeting of the year with East Texas Baptist. The Tigers come into the week with a record of 4-1 and are coming off a 42-28 loss at home against Mary Hardin-Baylor last week. Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m.
 
In The Polls
Hardin-Simmons is now No. 9 in the D3football.com poll and No. 6 in the American Football Coaches Association ranking. HSU has been ranked for 107 straight weeks and in the top 10 for 69 of those weeks. Mary Hardin-Baylor comes into the game ranked No. 22 in the nation in both polls.
 
A Cowboy Win Would
? Be the 524th in school history.
? Be the fourth straight regular-season win over Mary Hardin-Baylor.
? Be the 12th win over a ranked team by Jesse Burleson.
? Be the 112th in the Jesse Burleson era.
About UMHB
The Crusaders come into the game with a record of 2-2 on the season. UMHB lost to UW-Whitewater and Division II Mars Hill University and they have wins over NAIA Bethel (Tenn.) and East Texas Baptist. The Crusaders are averaging 21.3 points per game and allowing 24.5 per contest they are gaining 355 yards per contest and allowing 376 per game. Illinois transfer Kirkland Michaux is the quarterback this season and he is 66-for-14 for 704 yards with three TDs and three interceptions. The two-headed running back tandem of Kamerin Ferguson (303 yards and two TDs) and Asa Osbourn (181 yards and three TDs) lead the running game. Trinity transfer B.J. Stewart has 29 receptions for 339 yards with three TDs and is averaging 38.6 yards per kick return. Luke Vidal has 17 catches for 267 yards. Izeal Jones leads the defense with 36 tackles.    
Last Time Out
The Cowboys had their best offensive output since 2019 when they had 708 yards of offense. HSU had 453 yards passing, which was the first 400-yard passing day since a game against Louisiana College in 2017. With the win over Howard Payne, the Cowboys improved to 12-3 in ASC openers under Jesse Burleson. The Cowboys got to show off some depth on Saturday, playing 10 different receivers, five different quarterbacks, and four running backs.
 
What Can Brown Do For You?
Senior quarterback Kyle Brown had his best day as a Cowboy with 351 passing yards and threw for four touchdowns and added another on the ground. He had touchdown passes of 90, 52, 38 and 11 yards in the contest. For the year, he now has 11 touchdowns and just one interception and is up to 34 touchdown passes in his career. He was named the ASC player of the week for his effort against Howard Payne. It was his second career 300-yard passing day. The last two weeks  he has gone 42-of-62 for 610 yards with eight TDs and no interceptions.
 
Going Deep
Brown found senior wide receiver Dozie Ifeadi for a 90-yard touchdown pass in the win and it tied the longest pass play in Cowboy football history. The previous time it was done was in 2001 when Dustin Proctor hit Hall of Famer Kirk Rogers for a score against East Texas Baptist. 
 
Defense Has Its Best Day of the Year
Hardin-Simmons' defense held Howard Payne to 249 total yards, the second time an opponent had less than 300 yards this season. It was also the second time an opponent had less than 100 yards passing, with HPU only having 78 yards. The defense got into the end zone in the first quarter when Mark Champion tipped a pass, and Kaiden Roden intercepted the ball and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. It was Roden's first interception of his career.
 
Give Me That
Taking the ball away has been a calling card for the defense with five takeaways through four games. HSU has forced at least one turnover in eight straight games. HSU a pair of defensive scores this season and ranks eighth nationally in defensive touchdowns.
 
Defense Starts Fast
The Cowboy defense has not allowed a touchdown on the first possession of the game or the second half this season. Only McMurry scored a field goal the other seven possessions have resulted into a turnover on downs, five punts and an interception. Last season, the Cowboys only allowed two scores in the same situations and that was after a long punt return set UMHB up at the three in the playoff game and ETBU scored the first drive of the last game of the regular season. On the first defensive series of the second half, HSU has forced a punt or turnover in 25 straight games dating back to the season-opener of the 2022 season when Albright kicked a field goal.
 
The Long and Short of It
The offense has eight double-digit play scoring drives this season and four of them came last week. HSU had 15 and 16-play scoring drives last week against HPU. In the fourth quarter, the Cowboys had their longest drive by plays of the season a 16-play, 75-yard drive that ended with a Keagan Ables touchdown run. HSU also has had 10 drives this season of four or less plays, including three last week against Howard Payne.   
 
Making Improvements On Third Down
The Cowboys went 11-of-15 on third-downs last week and have moved up to 19th nationally at 51.9 percent. In the previous two games, HSU was an uncharacteristic 6-of-22 on third down. HSU is 54-0 under Jesse Burleson when the offense converts at a 50 percent or better clip on third down. The defense had its best day on third-down as well, holding HPU to 3-of-12. HSU is 42-2 under Burleson when it holds the opponent to 25 percent or lower on third down.  
 
Welcome Back
Junior captain linebacker Kaiden Roden was feared to be lost for a while with a knee injury he suffered against McMurry. In reality he only missed the Louisiana Christian game and was back starting last week. He recorded his first career interception and returned it 30 yards for a touchdown. He finished the day with four tackles. 

Finding The End Zone
Wes Douglas had two receiving touchdowns, setting a new career high and Douglas has a team high five touchdowns. He has scored at least one touchdown in all four games this season.
 
Hay(s) In The Barn
Senior defensive end Hayden Hays had a career-high three and a half tackles for loss in the game, which led the team. On the day, the Cowboy defense had nine tackles for loss.
 
Sims Staying Patient
Senior wide receiver Kris Sims has being drawing a crowd to defend him so far this season, which opens up the other receivers. He did set a career-high with eight catches on Saturday against Howard Payne. He has 18 catches for 250 yards and two scores on the year.
 
Big Leg
Junior kicker Pedro Altamirano showed off his big leg on Saturday. He nailed a 47-yard field goal and added a 25-yarder to move to 4-of-5 on field goals for the season. He also made all nine extra points and is 22-of-23 on the year. He also had 10 touchbacks on 12 kickoffs and has a touchback on 22-of-32 kicks on the year. The 47-yarder was the longest at HSU since Scott Newberry hit a 50-yarder against Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2012. Punter Kaden Turner basically took the day off. He did not have an official punt, the only time he did punt he was roughed on the kick giving the Cowboys a first down.  
               
Division III Stat Rankings
The Cowboys have moved up in the national stat rankings in several categories. HSU is 12th in blocked kicks with three, eighth with defensive touchdowns, 19th in third-down conversions, seventh in fewest passes intercepted, 22nd in passing offense, 15th in passing yards per completion (16.1), ninth in scoring offense, 10th in passing efficiency and 16th in total offense.
 
Individually, Noah Garcia is 17th in all-purpose yards per game (165.5), Kyle Brown is 13th in yards per completion (15.8) and 18th in yards per attempt (9.2).
 
Young Bucks
Ty Thompson and Keagan Ables, both freshman quarterbacks, found the endzone. Thompson threw a 44-yard touchdown, his fifth total touchdown of the year, and Ables ran for a touchdown, his first career touchdown. For the season, the Cowboys have played 15 freshmen in a varsity game.
 
Stat Trends Under Burleson
HSU moved to 100-9 when leading at halftime last week and are now 89-12 when scoring first...HSU is 107-15 when scoring 20 or more points and 75-1 when scoring more than 40 points...The Cowboys are 67-4 when the opponent scores less than 20 points...HSU improved to 43-7 when passing for more than 300 yards...HSU is 35-2 when it does not commit a turnover and 71-5 when it wins the turnover battle. 
 

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