It's only been three weeks since the Wayland Baptist football team has played a home game, but to the Pioneers it might seem more like three months. That's because in their two outings since their historic 27-23 home win over Howard Payne, the Pioneers suffered a 76-13 loss in Abilene to McMurry and dropped a 26-0 decision to Texas College on a rain-soaked afternoon in Tyler.
No wonder Wayland head coach
Butch Henderson got a big smile on his face when asked if he was ready to be back in Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium.
“It'll be nice to be back home,” Henderson said as he previewed Saturday's 2 p.m. game against Langston, Okla. The contest can be heard on KRIA (103.9 FM) with Internet streaming available by logging onto
www.wbuathletics.com, going to the football page and clicking on “Watch Live.”
Tickets to the game, available at the gate, are $10 for adults and $5 for students. A tailgating party and concert – sponsored by Happy State Bank and featuring music by the Proud Cut Ponies along with free food – will precede the game in the west parking lot at the stadium beginning at 11 a.m.
For the Pioneers (1-3), Saturday's game will feature a solid opponent in Langston, like Wayland an NAIA independent located between Oklahoma City and Stillwater. The Lions, who at 2-3 have already lost as many games as they did all last season when they went 7-3 under first-year coach Mickey Joseph, started the season ranked tied for 22
nd in the country, but fell out of the Top 25 after losses to some stiff competition: NCAA Division II Arkansas-Pine Bluff, 17-14; defending NAIA national champion and former No. 1 St. Xavier (Ill.), 37-7; and NCAA Division I Lamar University, 31-0. Langston's two wins were 19-0 over Bacone College, a team Wayland plays in Muskogee, Okla., on Oct. 27, and 17-14 last week over former Sooner Athletic Conference member Southern Nazarene (0-5). Langston kicked a 37-yard field goal with under five minutes left in the game to win it.
“They've challenged for the conference championship the last few years,” Henderson said of Langston, which has been champion or co-champion of the Central States Football League three out of the last four years. Wayland was scheduled to be a CSFL member, but the league disbanded this year due to too few teams.
The Lions hang their hat on a stingy defense that ranks 10
th in the NAIA, allowing opponents 264 yards per game. While Langston's offense had trouble moving the ball last week against rival Southern Naz, the Lions' defense helped them out with a 72-yard interception return for a touchdown by 6-foot-3, 220-pound sophomore Chace Green.
“He's a combo linebacker/secondary guy and is a key player for them,” Henderson said of Green, the team's top tackler with 37 stops. “He's always at the right place at the right time.”
Henderson said Langston boasts lots of depth.
“Just like they do on offense, they play a lot of players (on defense),” Henderson said. “They'll put several linebackers out there. All of them are good, downhill players.”
The Lions employ the same strategy on offense, having used three quarterbacks. Last week, freshman Tre Stewart made his first start, although Brendan Crawford, a 6-4, 220-pound senior, did most of the passing, completing 9-of-15 for 65 yards and one touchdown.
“He has a good arm,” Henderson said of Crawford.
While they've passed for 656 yards this season and rushed for 417, the Lions would prefer to keep the ball on the ground.
“They beat (Southern Naz) with defense and by running the football,” Henderson said.
Mostly that meant the ball wound up in the hands of junior running back William Taylor, who last week ran for 64 yards on 18 carries. The 5-10, 200-pound Taylor has rushed for 270 yards this season.
“He's their go-to guy,” Henderson said. “He has real good balance and good eyesight. He can score from a distance.”
Henderson also singled out receiver Sheldon Augustine, saying Langston looks to take advantage of his speed by using him on reverses. Augustine caught a touchdown pass last week.
As for Wayland's offense, Henderson said being shut out last week was frustrating in the sense that little things prevented the Pioneers from sustained any drives.
“It seemed like we'd get something rolling and then do something – fumbled snaps, dropped passes – that would throw us off,” the coach said. “We were still in position to win after halftime (trailing 9-0) because we played such great defense. That was by far the best defensive game we've had this year. (William) Chiodo, (Michael) Walsh, (Jon-Lucas) Poe and many others played really well, and we got outstanding play on our kicking units. They gave us the ball four times with a short field. That part we're executing very well.”
Henderson said the key to securing Wayland's second win is tying everything together.
“We need to get the offense back to where we were when we were going in and making points. We'll take the positive things and try to put together a complete team. We have to make it a complete effort.”
Henderson hopes for another supportive crowd on Saturday, just like the Pioneers had in the rain in Tyler last weekend.
“We had more people there than Texas College,” he said, adding that there were lots of umbrellas and blue and gold ponchos. “They weathered the storm with us. It was a great sight.”
