Don't Stop Believin' by JourneyWorking hard to get my fill
Everybody wants a thrill
Payin' anything to roll the dice
Just one more time
Some will win, some will lose
Some were born to sing the blues
Oh, the movie never ends
It goes on, and on, and on, and on
Don't stop believin'
Hold on to the feelin'
Streetlights, peopleÂ
Butch Henderson might want to borrow the message from the 1980s rock band Journey as he makes final preparations for the Wayland Baptist football team's Central State Football League opener this weekend.
"Don't Stop Believin'."
"The big thing we have to do is deal with a belief system that good things are going to happen," Henderson said. "As we continue to play at the level we're playing and then believe some (good) things are going to happen, then you have a chance to win that conference championship."
Even though their 1-4 record doesn't bear it out, Wayland mostly has played solid football through the first half of its season, which after winning the opener over Arizona Christian has seen the Pioneers drop their last four by an average of 10 points.
"We're playing very, very well coming into conference play, and we have to carry that forward," Henderson said.
The Pioneers (1-4) will attempt to turn their fortunes around beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday in Waxahachie where they take on Southwestern Assemblies of God University (1-3). Tom Hall and Danny Andrews will broadcast the game locally on KKYN 106.9-FM and on the Internet at
http://mixlr.com/plainview-radio-sports-channel-1/. Live video streaming also will be available, with all links through
www.wbuathletics.com.
While Wayland was off last week, the Lions were winning their first game of the year in their conference opener at home over Oklahoma Baptist, 30-20.
"They've been real patient in developing all year," Henderson said of SAGU. "They had some struggles early in the year and lost some ballgames but came up with a big win last Saturday when they beat OBU, and everybody thought OBU would be one of the top teams to beat in the conference."
The coach said the win over the Bison, who had won four of their first five games, was especially impressive because of how SAGU did it.
"They physically beat them," he said. "The type of football they play, they run right at you and throw a little bit over the top of you, but most of it is running at you."
Henderson said the Lions put together a pair of 15-play, clock-chewing drives that helped do in OBU.
"They don't let you have the football," he said. "Physically, they try to mash you."
The Lions do that with large offensive linemen as well as oversized lead backs that open holes for playmaker tailback Troy Griffin. A 195-pound senior from Houston by way of Texas A&M-Commerce, Griffin had a break-out game against OBU, racking up 173 yards of total offense that included 117 yards rushing on 20 carries and three receptions for 56 yards.
"He's been their workhorse," Henderson said of Griffin, the CSFL Offensive Player of the Week who last year in SAGU's 26-21 win in Plainview rushed for 89 yards and scored twice. "They're not doing anything flashy. They put him at tailback and have two or three jumbo sets with big guys ahead of him. Between their offensive line being 300 pounds (per player) and those (lead backs) being about 260, they're going to try to blast you, and (Griffin) does a great job of finding holes."
Quarterbacking the Lions is freshman CJ Collins, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound freshman who averages 153 yards passing a game with five touchdowns on the season.
"They do a good job with play selection of things he can be successful doing," Henderson said.
Collins' top target is 6-2, 220-pound receiver Dylan Moore, who has 19 catches for an average of 55 yards a game.
"He has good height and catches the ball and protects it really well," Henderson said.
The coach said SAGU's passing attack can surprise defenses if they're not on their toes.
"About the time you go to sleep" from them running it, they'll throw it, he said.
Henderson said Wayland's fast-paced offense has to be productive in order to keep the Lions from controlling the tempo of the game.
"The thing we have to do is put points on the board and make them play catch-up. It's a lot harder to play that type of (slow-down) offense when you're playing from behind. So the key for us offensively is to go get points and not let them have a lead and sit there and hammer the football."
Trying to keep Wayland's offense from doing that will be a SAGU defense that Henderson said lines up in a 4-2-5 alignment and sees the down linemen absorb blocks to allow linebackers to make tackles. One of those linebackers is 6-1, 235-pound Ethan Eastwood, a sophomore who is averaging a team-best 10½ tackles per game, which ranks second in the conference.
"Week after week he's the one that makes the stops," Henderson said of Eastwood. "A lot of it is because of the defensive front. They keep (blockers) off of him."
Following their open week, Henderson said the Pioneers are anxious to return to action, and after four losses in a row they're even more ready to claim another victory.
"The No. 1 thing is we need is to win," he said. "We're playing (opponents) really close, and the kids have had a great attitude; they have not given up in any ballgame. But you need a point where you win, when you're able to say all of that work and all of that belief has paid off."
Just like the other five CSFL teams, none of which are receiving votes in the NAIA Top 25 this week for the first time all season, Henderson feels Wayland has a legitimate shot at claiming the conference title.
"The goal in the beginning was to win the conference championship, and we've got that opportunity. Now it starts," Henderson said. "Through the preseason we played well and played close, but we have got to be able to get to the point where we win."
If the Pioneers can do that on Saturday, Henderson said it would give the team a "jump start" for the rest of the season.
"Especially for us being on the road for four straight weeks, we really need to win this one so we can be rolling for the next week."
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