With a five-game road swing and the start of conference play staring them in the face, to say that the Wayland Baptist Pioneers are hungry for a win is like saying the Plainview area is getting a bit of rain this week.
"We need (a win) to get that momentum to help get us to conference," Wayland coach
Butch Henderson said.
A victory won't come easy, however, as the Pioneers wrap up a three-game home stand against Hardin-Simmons University, an NCAA Division III (non-scholarship) team that doesn't shy away from facing scholarship competition. Since joining NCAA D-III in 1997, the Cowboys are 7-1 all-time against teams that offer athletic scholarships, including five wins in a row.
The Pioneers (1-2) and Cowboys (0-1) kick off at 2 p.m. Saturday in Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium. The game marks homecoming week at Wayland with a number of special activities planned, including the induction of the 2014 class of the WBU Athletics Hall of Honor at 9:30 a.m. Saturday. The four honorees also will be introduced at halftime of the football game.
Prior to the game, Centennial Bank is scheduled to host a tailgate party featuring free brisket wraps (weather permitting) beginning around 12:30 p.m. on the south side of the home parking lot. The tailgate party also will include music, the WBU band and cheerleaders, and a chance for fans to greet the Pioneers on their way to the field for pre-game warm-ups.
Just like Wayland, Hardin-Simmons also is hungry for a win. In their season-opener against Southwestern University two weeks ago with HSU leading 28-7 in the third quarter, the Cowboys had a likely win taken away when the contest was declared a no-contest due to lightning. Then last Saturday in a game that saw the first contest played in Hardin-Simmons' renovated stadium on new field turf, the Cowboys lost to Texas Lutheran, 37-14.
"They've got a good program," Henderson said of HSU, which competes in the American Southwest Conference alongside Wayland's opponent last week, Howard Payne. The Cowboys defeated the Yellow Jackets last year, 59-24, as part of a 4-6 season under head coach Jesse Burleson, now in his fourth year. After 21 winning campaigns that included numerous trips to the post-season, last year was HSU's first non-winning season since 1991.
"They have played well and been in national playoffs," Henderson said. "We know we're playing a team that knows how to play."
The Pioneers' coach compared the Cowboys in some ways to last week's opponent, Howard Payne.
"They are somewhat like that in that you'll see some of the jumbo (packages) and a lot of spread throwing the ball," Henderson said. "They'll use a combination of offenses."
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The Cowboys also will use a combination of running backs. Against Texas Lutheran, three players produced between 39 and 49 yards rushing as HSU totaled 119 yards on the ground. Kerry Sloan, a 5-foot-11, 220-pound transfer from Montana State, got the majority of carries with 12.
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"They're built around two tailbacks, (Bryce) Johnson and Sloan," Henderson said.
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Cowboys quarterback Weston Garner, a sophomore from College Station, completed 20-of-35 passes for 174 yards with two interceptions against TLU. Henderson said HSU also might use redshirt freshman Evin Abbe of Abilene High School under center.
HSU also got a lot of receivers involved last week as nine players caught passes. The top catcher with five grabs for 67 yards was junior Jessie Ramos of Stamford.
"They have a lot of balance in what they do," Henderson said.
The Cowboys operate defensively out of 4-2-5, spearheaded by middle linebacker Tyler Ryan, a 6-2, 220-pounder from Graham who was one of five Cowboys with double-digit tackles last week. Leading the group with 13 stops was junior free safety James Place.
"They seem to funnel everything back to him. He's a kid they're really dependent on," Henderson said of Ryan. "Their defense plays hard."
As for the Pioneers, Henderson said the team will be focusing on making positive plays when the offense moves past midfield, while on defense they must prevent big plays.
"Those are two key areas we're looking at this week," the coach said. "We're doing some things extremely well, like converting third-and-long, for instance. We just have to clean up some of the other stuff."
He pointed out that the Pioneer defense managed to get the offense the ball across the 50-yard line three times last week against Howard Payne, but no points were produced.
That's one of the thing the Pioneers hope to change this week.
That, and picking up a win.
