Louisiana College head coach Dennis Dunn had predicted all week that the winner of the LC - Mary Hardin-Baylor 1st round NCAA playoff game would go on to win the Division 3 football National Championship in Salem, Va.

Unfortunately for the Wildcats, when the dust settled on Saturday afternoon in Belton, Tx., that team was the #2 ranked Crusaders, who cruised to a 59-20 victory over LC at Tiger Field.

The Cru was able to get ahead 21-0 early in the 1st quarter and they never looked back, taking a 42-6 lead into halftime, and never allowing the Wildcats to get any closer than the 36 point deficit they faced at intermission.

UMHB Quarterback LiDarrel Bailey led a Crusader ground attack that accounted for 299 rushing yards. Bailey led the Cru with 124 of those yards on 12 carries (and 2 touchdowns), and also went 17-22 passing for 267 yards and 3 touchdowns. 

UMHB outgained LC 674 to 432. 

LC Running Back Ryan Montague was a bright spot for the Wildcat offense, racking up 171 all-purpose yards (111 rushing, 60 receiving) and two touchdowns, one a piece coming on the ground and through the air. 

Those 111 rushing yards put Montague at 1,110 for the season, making him only the second Running Back in school history to pass the century mark, joining Wayne Davis who accomplished the feat in 2003. 

Montague also tied Davis' school record for rushing touchdowns in a season with 13. 

Jamie Bunting, with his 310 passing yards, also became just the third Quarterback in school history to go over the 3,000 yard passing mark in a single season, joining Wesley Cooper and Ben McLaughlin. He finished the year with 3,090 passing yards and 24 touchdowns.

While the loss was certainly not the ending the upstart Wildcats were looking for, their 8 wins and legacy from this historical run to the playoffs are a building block for the future of the program, and it is indeed a future that many are excited about.