Division III playoffs, Wall-Mineola highlight Slovacek's I-35 Showdowns

Slovacek's logoTo honor the loyal football fans that travel great distances to support their favorite team, DCTF and our friends from Slovacek’s in West, Texas are proud to present The Slovacek’s I-35 Showdowns of the Week. Mary Hardin-Baylor (13-0) vs. Mount Union (12-1) 3:30 p.m. Saturday at Crusader Stadium in Belton Since the football program’s inception at Mary Hardin-Baylor in 1998, the Crusaders have been a nearly permanent fixture near the top of the Division III rankings. The list of accomplishments is long, but one major achievement has thus far eluded Pete Fredenburg’s team: winning a national title. To earn the chance to play for the title, they’ll have to get past an old nemesis. Mount Union, who defeated UMHB in the Division III semifinals in their last meeting in 2012, makes their first-ever trip to Belton for this weekend’s semifinal matchup. It’s been a “down year” for the defending national champions, at least relative to expectations. The Purple Raiders are 12-1 and two wins away from successfully defending their crown – but their loss to John Carroll in the regular season finale meant that they did not win or share their conference championship for the first time since 1991 – a span in which they’ve won an eye-popping 12 national titles. For The Cru, welcoming in a D-III giant will bring a dose of adversity that has been conspicuously absent in a season that has looked mostly easy through 13 contests. The UMHB offense has averaged 52 points and nearly 500 yards per game, and is led by the three-headed monster of quarterback Blake Jackson, tailback Markeith Miller and receiver T.J. Josey. On defense, UMHB has been just as dominant – allowing less than 15 points and 300 yards per game. They’ve racked up 42 sacks, 13 fumble recoveries and 29 interceptions. Teldrick Smith leads the way with 14 sacks and Baylor Mullins has picked off six opponent passes. The winner of Saturday’s match up heads to Salem, Virginia for the NCAA Division III Championship Game, where they’ll take on the winner of John Carroll and Wisconsin-Osh Kosh. Wall (11-3) vs. Mineola (12-2)7:30 p.m. Friday at Waco ISD Stadium in Waco Neither Wall nor Mineola are strangers to playing this deep into the playoffs, but their respective paths to Friday night’s 3A Division I semifinal have been without a few bumps. The Hawks dropped their season opener, a 46-20 road loss against Monahans, and later fell in close contests against Iowa Park and Midland Christian. Mineola, meanwhile, fell in an early 0-2 hole with losses to Van and Kaufman to open the year. For Joe Drennon’s Mineola squad that early adversity gave way to a 12-game streak of dominance that has rarely seen the Yellojackets in jeopardy of adding a third game to the loss column. They’ve scored 50 or more in seven of those contests, with an equal number of games in which they’ve held their opponent under 10. Last week’s final served as a microcosm of the season, as Pottsboro scored the game’s first three points before the Jeremiah Crawford and Chantz Perkins each scored three touchdowns as part of 46 unanswered points for the Yellow Jackets. Wall rolls in Waco on a six game win streak in which their offense has largely carried the load, scoring an average of 53 points per game during that stretch. Last week against defending state champion Brock, however, it was the Hawks ‘defense that held strong to win, 28-17. The winner of this game advances to the 3A Division I State Championship game next week at AT&T Stadium in Arlington, where they’ll face the winner of Friday night’s game between Malakoff and Yoakum, being played 90 miles to the south at Royal-Memorial Stadium in Austin.