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ABILENE, Texas - The 2011-12 school year will serve as a farewell tour for the long-standing rivalry between McMurry and Hardin-Simmons as McMurry will make the jump to the NCAA Division II next season. The epic basketball battles over the years between both men and women, close baseball games and volleyball matches will all come to an end between the local schools at the end of the year.

Saturday will likely mark the end of a rivalry on the football field, although the term “rivalry” can be used loosely when it comes to the gridiron. The Cowboy football team has defeated McMurry 23 straight times with the last victory for the latter coming in 1963.

The Cowboys took a 26-year break from the football program following the 1963 season, which included a 21-7 victory for McMurry. But, once the Cowboys came back under head coach Jimmie Keeling in 1990, HSU started a string of dominance, not only as a program, but over McMurry.

In the 23 victories over the past 22 seasons (teams played twice in '95), only four games were decided by seven points or less, and all 23 contests have been decided by an average of 18.1 points in HSU's favor.

“Anything can happen you just got to go out and play, and let the chips fall where they may,” said McMurry head coach Hal Mumme. “We have to play relaxed, all the past history; well none of that really applies to this team so hopefully I can give them that frame of mind.”

With the War Hawks' transition to scholarship athletics, ending the rivalry on a good note in football is important to the school. However, more importantly is the season that McMurry (5-2, 4-1 in ASC) is putting together, and the need to win its final three regular season games for a shot at an at-large bid at the NCAA Division III playoffs.

Hardin-Simmons started the season with a new head coach for the first time in 22 years with Jesse Burleson, a Keeling pupil, taking over the reins. The Cowboys also lost offensive coordinator Alan Wartes who had been with the team several seasons.

The Cowboys began the Burleson era with two non-conference wins over Coe and Willamette, but struggled with losses to Mississippi College, Mary Hardin-Baylor and East Texas Baptist to start conference play. However, once quarterback Zach Stewart, a transfer from D2 Abilene Christian, began starting, the Cowboys have rattled off three consecutive victories by a margin of 31.3 points.

“They've improved quite a bit since the beginning of the season, they changed quarterbacks and they're running the ball very well too,” Mumme said. We're going to have to be physical up front.”


McMurry defeated Texas Lutheran Oct. 15 60-16 in the War Hawks' last game before last week's open date. HSU followed Saturday by beating TLU 67-17.

The Bulldogs surrendered an ASC record 677 passing yards to McMurry before allowing Stewart to throw for 421 yards and six scores the following week.

The story line for Saturday will be the HSU pass defense, which ranks No. 1 in the ASC against the McMurry pass offense which ranks not only No. 1 in the ASC, but No. in Division III.

McMurry quarterback Jake Mullin has 2,343 yards through the air in seven games and averages 334.7 yards per game through the air while the team averages 379.7 per contest. Mullin has tossed 20 touchdown passes and eight interceptions to accompany his 65.7 percent completion rate.

For his career, Mullin averages over 300 passing yards per game, but in two starts against HSU, his average is 183.5 with only two touchdown passes and three interceptions. Last season his year was cut short by two and a half games as he separated his throwing shoulder against the Cowboys early in the third quarter of a 34-13 loss and didn't play the final two games.

The HSU pass defense is stingy allowing just 120.9 yards through the air, and the Cowboys have picked off eight passes. However, Hardin-Simmons is allowing 230.9 yards per game on the ground. McMurry, which ranks 221st in Division III in rushing offense will likely need a solid ground effort to be effective.

The good news for War Hawks fans is that McMurry's rushing average since the third game of the season against Mary Hardin-Baylor is much improved at 120.25 yards per contest differing from their overall average of 75 yards per game.

The teams will kickoff at Wilford Moore Stadium on McMurry's campus at 2 p.m.