Funny thing about winning…it makes you hungry to do it again and again and again.
"We need to keep finding a way to be able to win so we can keep moving forward," Wayland Baptist football coach
Butch Henderson said on the heels of the Pioneers winning back-to-back games for the first time since restarting football three years ago. "Once you start you need to keep it up and going."
The Pioneers get a chance to make it three-in-a-row when they host Oklahoma Panhandle State at 2 p.m. Saturday at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium. The game can be heard on KKYN (106.9-FM) with video and audio streaming plus live stats available on
www.wbuathletics.com.
A tailgate party, sponsored by Atmos Energy, will feature free sausage wraps and chili dogs, while they last, beginning around 12:30 p.m. on the south side of the home parking area. Fans are invited to greet the Pioneers before their pre-game warm-up beginning around 1 p.m. in the tailgate area.
Fans also are invited to participate in a car caravan and hay ride to the stadium. Prizes will be awarded for best decorated vehicles (decorations provided). The caravan will leave from the Laney Center parking lot around 11:45 a.m.
Saturday's game will be the first at home for Wayland in 49 days, since the Pioneers' homecoming contest against Hardin-Simmons way back on Sept. 20.
"It'll be fun to be back home," said Henderson, who has applauded the Pioneers' fan support throughout their five-game road swing.
Oklahoma Panhandle State will be in no mood to make Wayland's coming-home game an enjoyable one. The Aggies (6-3), an NCAA Division II alliance member of the Central States Football League (OPSU plays all CSFL teams but is not eligible for the conference championship), are coming off a 38-17 loss to 23rd-ranked Langston, Okla., a setback that ended OPSU's six-game win streak.
"They're good athletes," Henderson said of the Aggies.
OPSU's two other losses came in the first two games of the season to Colorado-based NCAA D-II members Adams State (23-7) and Fort Lewis College (45-38). Since then, OPSU has rolled over Oklahoma Baptist (49-21), Texas College (70-27), Sul Ross St. (56-0), Southwestern (59-7), Bacone (37-27) and Southwestern Assemblies of God University (45-7).
The Aggies, who have beaten Wayland the last two years by scores of 62-21 and 67-14, come into Saturday's contest averaging 511 yards and 42 points a game. They're led by senior quarterback Caleb Holbrook (6-3, 235), who has thrown for 2,494 yards with 26 touchdowns and 12 interceptions.
"A lot of their offense is controlled by their quarterback," Henderson said. "He throws the ball well and finds a variety of receivers. He also gets their tailback the ball in the right place."
That tailback is Chris McClendon, a 5-10, 220-pound junior who has rushed for 1,073 yards and seven touchdowns while averaging 7.1 yards per carry.
"They're pretty balanced with their offense," Henderson said. "Their throwing game keeps you (distracted) to where McClendon is able to run."
On defense, the Aggies are led by junior middle linebacker Tanner Hallford, a Dumas product who averages 8.3 tackles a game, with 5½ sacks and 13½ tackles for loss.
"He's a good football player," Henderson said, adding that as a team the Aggies are "going to play up in your face and press you. They like to play man-to-man defense and bring people after you."
While Wayland ends its season with a home game Nov. 8 against Oklahoma Baptist, Saturday's contest marks the end of the road for OPSU, which needs a win to get to seven victories for the first time since 1984.
Of course the Pioneers would like nothing better than to end their season on a four-game roll.
"We've played hard all year and been close all year," Henderson said. "It's just been a matter finding ways to make plays to win and expecting things to happen where we have the opportunity to win instead of expecting something to go bad."
