Football vs Mary Hardin-Baylor; Preview/Broadcast Information

11/11/2016 9:24:00 AM

By: LC Sports Information

Follow the Wildcats with any of the links below.

Live video provided by Mary Hardin-Baylor. HERE

Rich Dupree and Brad Welborn live on 104.3 The Bridge or online via the TuneIn App or website, HERE

Live stats of the game can be accessed, HERE

Gameday Quick Facts

Media Game Notes

Louisiana College Wildcats vs #2 Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders
Crusader Stadium (Belton, TX)
Start Time: 1 p.m. CST
UMHB Record: 9-0 (5-0)
LC Record: 4-5 (1-4)

All-Time Series: Cru lead 16-0
Last Meeting:  Coming off back-to-back wins in recent weeks in American Southwest Conference play, the Louisiana College Wildcats turned their focus to No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor, as a win over the Crusaders could save the Wildcats season and put them right back in the thick of the ASC championship and NCAA playoff race.
    But the Wildcats would not be able to crush the giant that has haunted them for so long now, as the Crusaders shut down the Cats offense and racked up 566 yards of total offense on their way to a 54-6 win over LC on Saturday afternoon at Wildcat Field in Pineville.
    The Wildcat defense came out strong early on, as they completely disrupted the flow of UMHB's potent running attack in the 1^st quarter, allowing -4 rushing yards on the Cru's first 11 carries.
    That resulted in the vistors having to settle for two field goals on their first three possessions despite starting all three drives with tremendous field position.
    But the Crusaders would show off their ability to take advantage of LC's mistakes with 2:46 remaining in the first quarter when UMHB's Matt Cody picked off Easton Melancon and returned the ball 31 yards to the LC 19 yard line, which was followed one play later by a 19 yard touchdown pass from Zach Anderson to DeNerian Thomas to put the Cru ahead 13-0.
    UMHB would add two more touchdowns before halftime, as Anderson broke loose for a 36 yard touchdown run with 9:31 left in the second quarter and followed that with a 13 yard touchdown pass on UMHB's next possession to take a commanding 27-0 lead heading into the locker room.
    The Crusaders would not look back from there, as they scored three times in the third quarter and one final time in the fourth quarter to run away with a 54-6 win over the Wildcats.
    The Wildcats did have several bright spots offensively in the second half from several of their reserves, namely freshman running back Brett Sylve, who had a highlight reel caliber 55 yard touchdown run on the first play of the fourth quarter that accounted for LC's only score of the afternoon.
    Melancon, who had thrown for a combined 802 yards passing in his first two career games against UMHB, was held in check all day before an injury sidelined him in the third quarter for the rest of the day.
    The junior quarterback was held to a career-low 92 yards passing on 12-for-23 aim while ASC rushing leader Aurren Cooksey was held to just 33 yards rushing on 16 attempts.

The Louisiana College Wildcats will close out the 2016 regular season with their fourth ranked opponent of the season, #2 Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Cru come into the contest with a perfect 9-0 record, having already clinched another conference championship. Even with a loss on Saturday the Cru hold the head to head tiebreaker over Hardin-Simmons, whom they defeated earlier this season 20-15 in Belton.

The Wildcats are coming off of a game at McMurry where, for the first time this season, the offense struggled to move the ball effectively. ASC leading rusher Aurren Cooksey was held to 65 yards on 13 carries with 39 of those yards coming on one touchdown run. Even with the lack of ball movement the Wildcats had the ball and the lead with under two minutes to go but were unable to convert on a third and medium to try and put the game away against the War Hawks.

After facing a talented McMurry defense last week that held the Wildcats in check, the task does not get any easier as the Crusader defensive unit is by far the best in the conference. They lead the ASC with the lowest total defense per game, allowing less than 300 yards per game, and the lowest point per game average at 14.3 points allowed per game. They are led by a defensive front four that consistently dominate the line of scrimmage. All-American defensive end Teidrick Smith has lived in the opponents backfield all season long, amassing a total of 14.0 tackles for loss including 7.5 sacks this season. The Wildcat offensive line will have their hands full containing a relentless pass rush while trying to open holes for Cooksey to run through. With the changes to the offensive protection from previous seasons, the Wildcats should have more success offensively this year and be able to move the ball.

As good as the UMHB defense is the offense has put up numbers that are just as impressive. They average a conference best 55.6 points per game with over 500 total yards of offense, and the ASC's best rushing attack. UMHB averages 253 rushing yards per game and is the only team with over 2,000 yards on the ground in the conference. They are also the only team with three players ranked in the top 10 in rushing yards in the conference. The Wildcats defensive front will have their hands full against a trio of talented runners, including quarterback Blake Jackson, as well as a big and athletic offensive line. Agasint McMurry the Wildcats had trouble getting off of blocks and allowed the War Hawks space to get to the outside which led to a successful ground game. The front will have to do a better job of taking up space allowing linebackers Mike Collins and Ryan DeMattie room to make plays at and around the line of scrimmage.

The Wildcats 2016 regular season finale against Mary Hardin-Baylor can be heard on 104.3 The Bridge beginning at 12:30 pm with Rich Dupree and Al Quartemont. Kickoff is scheudled for 1pm and lcwildcats.net will have live video and stat links courtesy of Mary Hardin-Baylor.

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