Hardin-Simmons makes Division III football playoffs; takes on Trinity

The Cowboys will ride again.

After missing the NCAA Division III football playoffs in 2021 despite a 9-1 record, Hardin-Simmons on Sunday earned an at-large spot in the 32-team field.

Making its 11th postseason football appearance, the Cowboys will take on Trinity in the first round at noon Saturday in San Antonio.

The Tigers are 10-0 and ranked No. 6 in the latest D3football.com poll. HSU is No. 8.

American Southwest Conference champion Mary Hardin-Baylor made the field and takes on Huntington in the first round. Huntington lost its opener to Linfield but posted nine wins to end the regular season.

HSU or Trinity will battle the winner of that game in the second round.

"We obviously excited about the opportunity. The feeling is completely different from last year," HSU coach Jesse Burleson said after the announcement. His team had gathered to see the NCCA post the field for this year's playoff. "We were really excited to see our name pop up on the board.

"Honestly, if we're not one of the best 32 teams in the country, I'd be shocked. I'm really proud of what our guys did."

HSU was 9-1 this season, too, with the Cowboys' only loss against to ASC rival Mary Hardin-Baylor.

The teams share two common opponents - Sul Ross and Texas Lutheran. Those are conference foes for HSU while Trinity played those teams in non-conference games.

The scores were similiar.

HSU outscored Sul Ross 70-35 while Trinity won 55-7. The Cowboys topped Texas Lutheran 45-16 on Saturday while Trinity earlier won 52-14.

The teams met in 2018 in San Antonio, with HSU taking a 43-33 win its season opener. In 2019, Trinity came to Shelton Stadium but went home with a 16-10 loss.

HSU leads the series 23-6-4 and has won the past five games.

Ironically, the Cowboys' last playoff win came in the 2000 national quarterfinals against Trinity. Tigers coach Jerheme Urban played in that game.

The Cowboys last made the playoffs in 2018, the last of what was four-straight appearances - all first-round losses

There were no playoffs in 2020 due to COVID-19.

By winning nine games this season, Burleson has notched six nine-win seasons since becoming head coach in 2011.

Saturday's 45-16 win at Seguin was the 500th in the history of the program, which goes back 85 years.

Last year, HSU fell 34-28 to eventual national champion Mary Hardin-Baylor in Belton. This year, in a game played much earlier, the Cowboys lost 50-20 at Shelton Stadium, doomed by a rash of turnovers at the end of the first half. HSU led 20-16 late in the first half.

Burleson said he was pleased how his team responded after the loss in the third game of the season, rolling off seven straight wins.

"I am really proud of what our guys did, even though nothing was guaranteed," Burleson said. "They kept playing and getting better each and every week. And now we have an opportunity in a new season."

Bouncing back from the unexpectedly lopsided loss at home to the Crusaders, he said, "may be the thing I'm most proud of because ... it's difficult to do when you have such high expectations. I'm really proud of our guys because after that early season loss, they decided they were going to sprint, no matter what the distance was.

"We definitely did that. We were undefeated the rest of the way."

Gaining the playoffs gives the Cowboys a chance to show where the team stands at this point. Burleson said HSU is playing its best football right now.

"Yesterday was one of our better performances," he said of the win against Texas Lutheran. "A complete performance where we played really well in all three phases. Our guys understand that whenever we can operate like that with all three phases playing together, we can do amazing things.

"I think we're hitting our stride right now."

Burleson is anticipating the game against Trinity.

"We do have some history with them," he said. "They are a great program. We are looking forward to the opportunity."

Trinity made the playoffs last year for the first time since 2011, when they lost to McMurry 25-16 in a first-round game. The Tigers lost 13-3 to Mary Hardin-Baylor in 2021, the Cru's second-tightest game of the season after its six-point win over HSU.

This article originally appeared on Abilene Reporter-News: Hardin-Simmons makes Division III football playoffs; takes on Trinity