Box Score MUSKOGEE, Okla. – The Wayland Baptist football team will have to wait until next week to try one last time for its first road victory of the season after Saturday afternoon's effort fell short against Bacone College, 53-0.
The Pioneers (2-6) had no answer for speedy junior running back Tyler Thomas, who ran for 206 yards and three touchdowns on just 11 carries for the Warriors (6-2).
Wayland trailed just 7-0 after the first quarter, but Bacone added 21 points in the second quarter to take command. The Warriors added 13 in the third period and 12 more in the fourth.
"We played well for about a quarter-and-a-half," Wayland coach
Butch Henderson said, adding that when the Pioneers didn't score when they had a couple of chances early in the game it took a little wind out of their sails. "We got it inside the red zone, and (when we didn't score) that was a telling deal. Had we gotten points I think it would have been a lot better."
Wayland managed 18 first downs but was limited to 174 yards by the NAIA's top-rated defense, which sacked WBU quarterbacks 10 times. The Pioneers were held to 28 yards rushing on 39 carries while three quarterbacks completed 18-of-34 passes for 146 yards, most by
Anthony Campuzano, who threw two interceptions. Kendall Robertson ran 19 times for 80 yards while
Thomas Curry caught a team-best four passes for 37 yards.
"We moved the ball well through the first two quarters, then they lined up and brought a lot of heat in the second half and we didn't pick it up," Henderson said.
The coach said Wayland's defense also struggled after the first quarter.
"We played well early but struggled tackling the second half," he said.
It was Bacone's fifth consecutive win. During that streak, the Warriors have outscored opponents, 223-26.
"They're a good football team. We have to learn how to play with teams like that, especially on the road," Henderson said. "We need to learn how to handle that. Today, we just didn't get it done."
The Pioneers end their season with a return trip to Oklahoma to take on Panhandle State (3-5) at 2 p.m. Saturday in Goodwell. Panhandle State fell on Saturday to Southwestern Assemblies of God University, 28-27 in overtime. A week earlier, Wayland defeated SAGU, 58-37.
