BELTON, Texas – Top-ranked Mary Hardin-Baylor capitalized on a blocked punt and two long scoring drives on its way to a 24-0 shutout of No. 8 Linfield Saturday in the second round of the NCAA Division III football playoffs at Crusader Stadium.
 
The defending national champion Cru (12-0) advanced to play St. Thomas in next Saturday's quarterfinals. UMHB extended its winning streak to 27 games. The Cru's last loss was to Linfield in the 2015 NCAA quarterfinals.
 
Saturday's loss marked the Wildcats' first shutout in 16 years and was Linfield's first playoff game in 26 years in which it did not produce points. The Wildcats end their season at 9-2. For the second straight season, both of Linfield's losses came to Mary Hardin-Baylor.
 
How it played out
A special teams play early in the first period put the 'Cats in immediate catch-up mode. Their opening drive lasted all of three plays, and on fourth down, Colton Ramos' punt was blocked by Justis Kelly, giving the Cru the ball at the Linfield 15-yard line. A penalty spotted the ball at the 17, where Bryce Wilkerson took the football and spun around right end for the game's opening touchdown. The extra point by John Mowery was good and UMHB led 7-0 less than three minutes into the contest.
 
Linfield's three subsequent first-quarter drives all went three-and-out. The Wildcats generated four total yards and no first downs in the game's opening 15 minutes.
 
The Cru, led by freshman quarterback Carl Robinson III, moved the ball to the Linfield 15, but the Linfield defense held tight and Mowery's 32-yard field goal attempt sailed wide right.
 
A Ramos punt was later downed inside the Cru 5-yard line. From there, UMHB embarked on a 13-play, 97-yard scoring march. Robinson III raced 36 yards to give the Cru a 14-0 advantage.
 
After Linfield failed get a first down again on its next series, UMHB moved the ball to the Wildcat 10. This time, Mowery's 25-yard field goal was good, extending the home team's lead to 17-0.
 
Down three scores, the Linfield offense began to show sighs of life. Quarterback Wyatt Smith completed three straight passes, two to Kyle Kimball to move the ball into UMHB territory. But the drive stalled at the Cru 38 where Smith threw incomplete three straight times and the 'Cats turned the ball over on downs.
 
UMHB outgained Linfield 221-48 in the first half. Smith completed just 4 of 11 passes before intermission. On the other side, Robinson completed 11 of 16 throws while also gaining 46 yards rushing on 11 carries.
 
Smith piloted the Wildcats to the UMHB 1 midway through the third period, but Haston Adams stopped Nnoli for a loss on third down and Aiden Widler was halted just short of the goal line on fourth down.
 
Coming away empty handed was a back-breaking outcome for Linfield as Robinson then led the Cru on a 99-yard scoring jaunt. Jonel Reed capped the drive with a 32-yard TD reception that pushed the score to 24-0.
 
Linfield again moved inside the red zone early in the fourth quarter but Smith was intercepted by Santos Villarreal at the Cru 7, spoiling yet another scoring opportunity.
 
Stat check
Nnoli was held to 37 yards rushing on 19 carries. Smith finished 20 of 31 for 182 yards, with all but 42 yards coming in the second half. Keegan Weiss had five catches for 43 yards. J.D. Lasswell, Kimball and Blake Burnett each had four receptions.
 
UMHB led final statistics, outgaining Linfield 378-220. The Wildcats were limited to 38 yards rushing. Smith was sacked three times, two by A.J. Fanene.
 
Mitchell Kekel, starting at linebacker in place of injured all-star Jason Farlow, was credited with 13 tackles, five of which were unassisted. Jake Reimer and Wade Ransom both had nine tackles.
 
'Cat Scratch
Saturday's attendance was 2,627. . . temperature at kickoff was 75 degrees . . .the Wildcats converted just one of 14 third-down plays . . the Cru was 8 for 14 on third down. . . Linfield's last shutout came in 2001 in a 29-0 loss at Southern Oregon. . . the last time the Wildcats were shutout in the playoffs was 1991 in Ad Rutschman's final game as coach. . . Linfield didn't manage a first down until 3:25 remained in the first half. . . Linfield's last four losses have been to Mary Hardin-Baylor, including two in the playoffs.