"Tough times never last, but tough people do," is part of the message head coach
Butch Henderson is sending to the Wayland Baptist football team as it prepares to end an as-of-now winless season on Saturday afternoon against Langston University.
"These kids have hung in there and battled," Henderson said. "They're pretty tough."
The Pioneers (0-9, 0-4 CSFL) will need one of their best performances of the season if they are to pull out their first win against 24
th-ranked Langston (5-4, 4-0), which entered the NAIA Top 25 for the first time this week after defeating then-No. 22 Bacone in a barn-burner, 39-37. That win secured the Central States Football League title for Langston, which likely needs a win Saturday in order to maintain its ranking and secure a spot in the 32-team NAIA Football Championship Series.
While Wayland won't be playing for much more than pride on Saturday afternoon, Henderson said he expects total effort from the Pioneers, just as they've given all season.
"Our kids have played really well with everybody, and they have a chance to go in there and beat the team leading the conference," Henderson said. "They're playing hard, we just need some good things to happen. It's about time for that. The kids have to continue to believe it's going to happen."
After a tough pre-conference schedule that saw Langston lose its first four games of the season to Northern Colorado (31-10), Incarnate Word (24-0), Nicholls State (42-22) and Northwestern State (37-0), the Lions have reeled off five straight wins in the CSFL. The run started with a 41-17 road victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God University then continued at home with decisive wins over Texas College (34-8) and Oklahoma Baptist (53-7). The Lions have won their last two outings by a combined three points, 20-19 over CSFL alliance member Oklahoma-Panhandle State and 39-37 over Bacone last week.
The Langston-Bacone game in Muskogee, Okla., saw 46 points scored in the fourth quarter alone. The Lions led it, 33-10, before Bacone scored 27 unanswered points to take a 37-33 lead with 1:53 to play. Undaunted, Langston pulled out the win by completing a 30-yard touchdown pass with one second remaining.
Henderson said Langston isn't overly impressive in any statistical categories in part because of its tough pre-conference schedule that included a pair of NCAA Division I schools and one D-II.
"That had something to do with it, along with them developing a young quarterback who has started to take off," he said.
That young quarterback, freshman Mark Wright Jr., now ranks third in the CSFL – behind two seniors – in total offense, averaging 183 yards per game. Wright has passed for 1,338 yards on the year while running for another 313. He has thrown eight touchdowns and just three interceptions.
"They run a form of a spread (offense) that allows him to run zone reads and zone options and still throw the ball," Henderson said.
Wayland's Kendall Robertson continues to lead the CSFL in rushing averaging 130 yards per game, some 55 more than anyone else Langston, meanwhile, uses a package of running backs, three of which rank in the top 10 in the league. Leading the group is Kievon Jackson, who averages 42 yards a game and 5.9 yards per rush, second only to Roberson's 6.2 ypc among the CSFL's run leaders.
Similarly, the talent-rich Lions depend on a number of receivers, four of which average between 32 and 41 yards receiving per game.
On defense, Henderson said Langston returned 10 starters from last season's team which toppled Wayland, 40-0, in a game that saw the Pioneers trailing just 13-0 at halftime. The Lion defense is led in tackles by middle linebacker John Hunter, whose 8.4 tackles per game puts him fourth in the conference on a list headed by Wayland's
Jon-Lucas Poe (11.2) and
Tyler Smith (9.8).
The Pioneer offense will be guided for the second straight week by freshman
Payson Bain, who quarterbacked the WBU junior varsity before stepping up to play on Saturdays following a rash of injuries. Bain made his varsity debut in last week's 56-29 loss to McMurry, throwing for 179 yards and one touchdown while rushing for 154 yards and another score.
"I thought he was relaxed and got in and competed real hard," Henderson said of Bain. "The kids rallied around him knowing they had to play better."
It will take a similar if not improved effort by the entire Pioneer team on Saturday against Langston.
NOTE: Kickoff in Langston, Okla., is at 2 p.m. Wayland is not providing an audio broadcast for the game. Links to any online coverage provided by Langston will be available through www.wbuathletics.com.
