Cowboys To Play At Mary Hardin-Baylor

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INDIANAPOLIS - For the sixth time, Hardin-Simmons football team will play in the NCAA Division III football playoffs and for the third straight time they will face a familiar foe in American Southwest Conference rival Mary Hardin-Baylor at noon on Saturday in Belton.

"We are excited to be back in the playoffs," said HSU head coach Jimmie Keeling. "Our guys deserve to be there and they have worked extremely hard. We like our team and we think we are playing very well right now."

The Cowboys are looking for their first win in the NCAA playoffs since the 2000 season when they defeated Trinity in the national quarterfinals. HSU lost in the first round on its last three trips to the playoffs, the last two coming in games against UMHB.

Hardin-Simmons is paced by a potent offense that averages 480 yards a game, which ranks fourth in the nation. The Cowboys success this season has been largely based on a vastly improved defense that is 52^nd in the nation in scoring defense, after being ranked 226 out of 231 teams in Division III last season.

HSU is 9-1 on the year and its only loss came to Mary Hardin-Baylor, 20-18, in Belton on Oct. 4.