Hawks set to Compete in First Round of NCAA Tournament
Montgomery, Alabama – The Huntingdon Hawks will travel to Belton, Texas to take on Mary-Hardin Baylor in the first round of the NCAA Division III Playoffs on November 19th at 12:00pm CST.
Head Coach Mike Turk on the opportunity and privelage to make it to the NCAA Playoffs:
"We are really proud to be representing the USA South in the playoff field again this year. Our team has accomplished a lot so far this year, and we are looking forward to playing the defending national champs in the first round. Mary Hardin Baylor is a first class program in every way, and our guys are looking forward to the challenge."
Mary-Hardin Baylor was the NCAA Division III National Champion last year, 2021. They defeated North Central 57-24.
This will be the Hawks 7th overall trip to the NCAA play-offs. Huntingdon has matched with the Cru twice in 2015 and 2019. UMHB holds a 2-0 record against the Hawks.
The Hawks are coming off a 9-1 overall record and 7-0 conference record after defeating LaGrange this past weekend and securing the USA South Championship for the 4th time in a row and 7th time in the last eight years.
Mary-Hardin Baylor has a record of 9-1 overall and 8-0 in their conference, the American Southwest Conference. This is their 18th conference title.
Currently, the Hawks average 40.6 points a game while UMHB averages 44.6 a game.
Senior Captain, Karl Dorn on making it to the Playoffs and facing the defending national champions:
"This year's team is special. We have been extremely blessed this year with our success. We have talked about as a team since the offseason that if we play and live to honor God and use the abilities that He blessed us with then God will take care of the rest. That has been proven true with the favor that has been shown on this team. There is no other team I would rather face in the first round then the defending national champs both as a competitor and knowing that Gods hand is on this team. We have a team full of guys that feel the same way and that is why we have been and will continue to be successful."
The winner of this matchup will face the winner between Trinity (TX) and Hardin--Simmons in the 2nd round of playoffs.
For the full division III playoff bracket visit, https://www.ncaa.com/brackets/football/d3/2022?utm_campaign=trending
General public ticket sales begin Thursday, November 17th and run through game day. Ticket sales will be open November 17th – 18th from 10:00 a.m. – noon and 1:30 p.m. to 5:30 p.m. Tickets are available at Crusader Stadium Gate 1, by phone or online at www.cruathletics.com/fbtickets. NCAA ticket prices are $12 reserve, $10 general admission and $5 students.