Mary Hardin-Baylor Football
The University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders take on the North Central College Cardinals in the D-3 football playoffs on Saturday.
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The game (3:30 p.m. ET start time) won’t be on TV, but anyone in the US can watch Mary Hardin-Baylor vs North Central live on ESPN+ right here:
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Once signed up for ESPN+, you can watch Mary Hardin-Baylor vs North Central live on the ESPN app or ESPN.com.
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Mary Hardin-Baylor vs North Central Preview
The D-III semifinal match-up between the University of Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders and the North Central College Cardinals should be a real barn-burner, particularly since the Cardinals are out for a bit of revenge after they lost to the Crusaders in the 2021 D-III national championship game by a score of 57-24.
It was actually the Crusaders’ fourth national title game in five years; they notched three championships in that time period, so North Central head coach Brad Spencer knows they are going to have their work cut out for them, and he said in his press conference this week that his team is ready to “get a little bit of payback” for last year’ loss.
“Fortunately, we get a game where we get to have maybe a little bit of a chip on our shoulder against a team that, I guess they didn’t end our season, but they ended our season in a way last year, so it gives us a chance to get a little bit of payback,” said Spencer. “I know these guys have been thinking about last December for a long time and they’ll be ready to go. We’re excited to be playing, thankful to be playing. I’m proud of these guys, I couldn’t be more proud of our staff, couldn’t be more proud of these guys. Just thankful and blessed that I’m in the position right now to be the head coach here.
Meanwhile, the Crusaders’ head coach Larry Harmon is coming off being named the American Football Coaches Association Division III Region 3 Coach of the Year for 2022. He said in his pre-game press conference (via True to the Cru) that this semifinal definitely feels like a national championship game.
“I don’t think there’s any question that this is a title game,” said Harmon, adding, “Our guys have a tremendous amount of belief in each other. We have a bunch of great teammates on this team. When games get a little tight, there’s no complaining or pointing fingers. All there is is a calmness and belief in each other. … The love that our kids have for the game, for each other, for the coaching staff, for this university, they’re a very special group. I hope our fans and our administration and our coaches as well- I say it almost every day- you might not have another KJ Miller ever to coach so you better enjoy it right now. We’re living in very special times. These guys have a tremendous love for each other and just love to play the game. They love to compete.”
He also said that both teams are quite familiar with each other from last year’s match-up.
“They run a lot of the same formations, the same concepts on defense,” Harmon said. “They have a lot of the same kids. They lost a few players on offense as far as receivers, and also lost the tall cornerback who they put on Brandon [Jordan] last year. Obviously both teams are a little bit different than we were last year, but there’s a familiarity that will help both coaching staffs prepare for this.”
The Mary Hardin-Baylor vs North Central D-III semifinal game kicks off Saturday, December 10 at 3:30 p.m. Eastern time on ESPN Plus.