Stagg Bowl XLVI: No. 1 Mount Union vs No. 2 Mary Hardin-Baylor

When: Friday at 6 p.m. at Woodforest Bank Stadium in Shenandoah, Texas.

How to watch: The game will be televised on ESPNU.

Mary Hardin-Baylor will be the home team and their fans will sit on the visitor side or east side of the stadium. Tickets are available for $20, which includes free admission to the Fan Fest tailgate party before the game.

Stagg Bowl XLVI preview

ELITE PROGRAMS

The numbers are staggering. The ability to sustain success is insane. Elite may not be the right word to describe these football programs. Mary Hardin-Baylor and Mount Union are the only teams in NCAA DIII to have at least one playoff win in each of the last 14 years. 

Mount Union has had unparalleled success since 1993. The Purple Raiders have 29 Ohio Athletic Conference championships and are appearing in their 21st Stagg Bowl in program history. Mount Union has won an NCAA DIII record 13 national championships and own a 103-16 all-time record in the playoffs. The Purple Raiders are in their twenty seventh straight playoff appearance and currently own a 29-game winning streak.

Mary Hardin-Baylor’s football program began in 1998 and have only had two losing seasons in their program’s history, which were in the first two seasons playing football. In 21 total seasons, the Cru are making their 17th playoff appearance and fourth appearance in the Stagg Bowl, including their third straight. The Cru own a 40-15 record in the playoffs and won a national championship in 2016. UMHB has also won 16 American Southwest Conference titles in their 21 years. 

INCREDIBLE COACHES

Vince Kehres is in his sixth season as head coach of Mount Union. He has a record of 84-4 and owns two national championships in 2015 and 2017. He has led the Purple Raiders to six NCAA playoff appearances, five OAC titles and four appearances in the Stagg Bowl. He is a two-time OAC Coach of the Year. 

But Kehres is no stranger to the past success of Mount Union as he took over head coaching duties from his father and current athletic director Larry Kehres. Vince spent 13 seasons as an assistant coach on his father’s staff including eight as the Purple Raiders defensive coordinator. Vince Kehres has been a part of 12 of Mount Union’s 13 national championships as either a player (2) or a coach (10). 

Pete Fredenburg is in his twenty first season as head coach and is the only head football coach in Mary Hardin-Baylor’s program history. He has led the Cru to an amazing 234-39 record and the 2016 national championship. All the records for UMHB in the elite programs section have happened under the guidance of coach Fredenburg. 

Fredenburg has also been named ASC Coach of the Year 10 times and was named the NCAA DIII National Coach of the Year in 2016. Fredenburg has also won nine American Football Coaches’ Association Region III Coach of the Year awards.

WELCOME TO TEXAS

Stagg Bowl XLVI will be played in the state of Texas for the first time in history. The game will spend two years in Shenandoah, Texas, before spending two years at the Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The Stagg Bowl spent the last 25 years in Salem, Va., and was moved with much consternation from traditional Division III football fans. 

“Going down to Salem, Va. was a great experience for us many times," Vince Kehres said. "The people down there were great to us. A lot of good memories. It’s certainly exciting to go to a different place. It’s a place most of our players have not been to and so we’re embracing an opportunity to be in a new venue as well.”

Kehres discussed what he is wanting the fans in Texas to see when Mount Union comes to Shenandoah.

“Hopefully the fans of Texas will see a class organization that hopefully executes at a high level in all three phases of the game and is going to put on a good show,” Kehres said. 

UMHB coach Pete Fredenburg also expressed his excitement for the move to Shenandoah.

“This is a time in our program that we’re very excited to be representing the American Southwest Conference in the Stagg Bowl and we’re really excited about it being in Texas," Fredenburg said. "We are very excited to be a partner with the city of Shenandoah in hosting the Stagg Bowl.”

The Cru is also the host school for the Stagg Bowl which brings its own set of responsibilities and distractions for everyone involved. Fredenburg played down any concern that the school hosting the Stagg Bowl could provide a distraction this year.

“I don’t think it’s going to be a distraction for our team and our coaches because the (administration) has kept us insulated so that we can do what we need to do to take care of our business," Fredenburg said.

EPIC HISTORY OF GAMES

The Stagg Bowl will mark the third consecutive year that Mount Union and Mary Hardin-Baylor have met in the NCAA playoffs and the second straight year the two titans meet to determine the national champion. Each of the prior four meetings between the schools have resulted in epic and memorable games.

The first meeting between the two programs came in the national semifinals in 2004 at Mount Union. UMHB entered the fourth quarter trailing 35-21 before rallying to stun the hosts 38-35 and move on to their first appearance in the Stagg Bowl.

The second meeting provided similar heroics between the schools as the 2012 national semifinals game was also played in Mount Union. The Purple Raiders scored 34 points in the fourth quarter to come from behind and defeat the Cru 48-35 to move onto their ninth straight Stagg Bowl. 

The third meeting was just two years ago and marked the first meeting between the two programs in Belton, Texas. UMHB jumped out to an early lead and then held on for dear life as the Purple Raiders comeback fell just short and the Cru took a 14-12 victory on their way to their first national championship in school history.

The two teams met last year and was the first time the two programs have met in the Stagg Bowl. The game was a battle of great defenses and Mount Union’s defense earned the first shutout in the Stagg Bowl since 1982 as they defeated the Cru 12-0. Both coaches discussed last season’s game and what it can provide their team for this game. 

“We didn’t move the ball and do the things we needed to do to get the ball in the end zone," Fredenburg said. "I think that it helped our resolve and helped our team prepare for this game against a great Mount Union team again. I just think it’s going to be a great football game to watch.”

“I think both teams would look at their plans from a year ago and evaluate that," Kehres said. "You also have to think about how are they different and how are we different. There’s a little familiarity between the programs having played each other three years in a row now. I don’t know that that’s an advantage or disadvantage. I think that there’s probably more commonalities and similarities than there are differences right now. We do have a lot of the same personnel back that played in that game.”

ROAD TO STAGG BOWL

Mount Union has been dominating on their way to this year’s Stagg Bowl. The Purple Raiders defeated Denison 60-0 in the first round of the NCAA DIII playoffs. Mount Union took down Centre 51-35 in the second round before defeating Muhlenberg 38-10 in the quarterfinals. The Purple Raiders faced their biggest challenge of the playoffs last week in the semifinals as they defeated No. 16 Johns Hopkins 28-20 behind two interceptions returned for touchdowns.

Kehres downplayed the notion that his team has had an easy route to the championship game.

“I thought the teams we had to play to get there were excellent teams," Kehres said. "The upsets on our side of the bracket kind of showed the strength of our side of the bracket. It’s not something that I have any control over nor do any other coaches. I thought it was a strong bracket overall and we’re certainly happy to still be alive in the tournament and be on to a good national championship game.”

Kehres also discussed how his team has persevered through the playoffs.

“Every season is different and you have injuries that affect your plans and what you want to do and you have to be able to adjust and adapt to various factors and I think our team has been able to do that so far and persevere through this playoff run.”

Mount Union also faces another challenge as this is their finals week, while UMHB had their finals last week.

“It is finals week so as soon as our game ended on Saturday, I instructed the players to reach out to their professors and they were able to get their finals completed by Tuesday morning," Kehres said. "That was priority number one. We have to couple that with three good days of preparation before we get on a plane to fly down there (Texas). It’s a challenge certainly, but it’s not an unfamiliar challenge. Most of the players have gone through this before and hopefully that helps them get through this difficult couple of days.

Mary Hardin-Baylor on the other side have had one of the toughest routes to the Stagg Bowl. The Cru opened the first-round defeating conference rival No. 7 Hardin-Simmons 27-6. UMHB easily handled No. 11 Berry 75-9 in the second round. The Cru were then tested as they escaped No. 5 Saint John’s (Minn.) 21-18. UMHB took care of their nemesis last week as they won their first game in six attempts against No. 4 Wisconsin-Whitewater 31-14. 

Fredenburg has been impressed with how his team has handled the tough road.

“I think it’s a true testament to the resilience of our football team and the character and the chemistry this team has to fight through those battles and come out successful," Fredenburg said. "I think it’s going to do a lot just to help strengthen us and strengthen our resolve. I was very impressed with all four of the teams that we played and the way they tried to attack us.”

He also discussed his team’s health heading into the biggest game of the year.

“The healthy part is a big issue because going through games that we’ve been through with Hardin-Simmons, Berry, Saint John’s and Wisconsin Whitewater," Fredenburg said. "All four of them posed incredible challenges for us and we had to rise to the occasion to beat all of them four outstanding programs. It took its toll on our guys getting banged up and bruised up.”

THE STARS AND THE DEFENSE

Predictably, both Mount Union and Mary Hardin-Baylor enter the game practically even in every statistical category. Both teams rely on a solid ground game and a punishing defense while both offenses also have athletic guys at every skill position.

Mount Union enters the game averaging 7.2 yards per play and 0.811 points per play. The Purple Raiders are led by Josh Petruccelli and the sophomore running back enters the Stagg Bowl with 1,474 yards this season on 230 carries with 19 touchdowns and only one fumble lost. 

Fredenburg talked about the challenge of facing Petruccelli who will occasionally line up in the wildcat.

“The running back from Mount Union is just an outstanding runner and with that big tight end back there blocking for him it gives everybody a headache trying to stop that attack," Fredenburg said. "It’s similar in style to ours. They (Mount Union) are just a little bigger and more physical.”

The Purple Raiders defense has allowed only 3.6 yards per play and 0.162 points per play this season. Mount Union has also been very opportunistic on defense as the defense has scored 15 touchdowns this season with a +16-turnover margin.

“I think you have to coach getting turnovers," Kehres said. "They’re so impactful to a football game. We’ve adjusted to try and teach how to get turnovers more and I think it becomes a mindset of the players. It’s really been a big part of our season. This team is a very opportunistic defensive team and we hope that will continue for one more game.”

Mary Hardin-Baylor enters the game very similar in the main statistical categories as their offense averages seven yards per play and 0.859 points per play. The Cru are led on offense by Markeith Miller.

"“I thought last week Markeith Miller played his absolute best and we expect great things from him Friday," Fredenburg said.

The Cru will utilize two quarterbacks. Starter Jase Hammack is more traditional and DeNerian Thomas will enter to run the wildcat formation as a change of pace. Coach Fredenburg believes this opens up the field for his other skill players.

“I think the skill receivers we have and the great running back that we have is going to be a factor in the ballgame and obviously it puts a lot of pressure on anybody trying to defend the run and then deploy your people to cover the passes.”

Kehres’ team also runs the wildcat formation and believes Mount Union will handle the change of pace. 

“It’s something that we’ve seen in practice and we’ve seen other teams with wildcat packages," Kehres said. "It’s seems pretty common. Most teams have some type of package like that. It’s something we’re comfortable running and hopefully comfortable defending.”

The UMHB defense has also been very solid this season as they have allowed only 3.4 yards per play and 0.859 points per play. The Cru have also been very opportunistic on defense this year as they hold a +30-turnover margin on the season.

Fredenburg summed up one key to this year’s game that was also prevalent in last season’s meeting,

“There’s times you want to be a little bit conservative and get into more of a conservative package which allows you to put a little more emphasis on the physicality," Fredenburg said. "Mount Union did that to us last year which I thought enriched their abilities to move the football and I think us doing the same thing has given us the same kind of physical part of the game that we can really attack them.”

COMPUTER PREDICTION: UMHB 35, Mount Union 29