Karen Henderson recently told her husband Butch what many coaches' wives likely observe at one time or another.
"You can never be happy," Karen said.
That observation came after a couple of preseason intra-squad scrimmages by the Wayland Baptist football team at which the Pioneer offense shined during one and the Pioneer defense at the other. Karen Henderson understood that while one unit might look solid during an intra-squad event, it likely means the other unit didn't.
While that's true, overall it is somewhat comforting to Coach Henderson that both his offense and defense have performed well – albeit at the expense of the other – leading up to the Pioneers' 2015 season-opener at 6 p.m. Saturday against Southwestern College (Kan.).
"Defensively we looked good in the first one, then the offense had the better day the next time. That helps us confidence-wise going into the season," Henderson said.
Tickets to the game are $10 for adults and $5 for students, available at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium. The game can be heard locally on KVOP 1090 AM and in Lubbock on KDAV 1590-AM, with free video streaming available through
www.wbuathletics.com.
Free food and drinks will be available at a tailgate party hosted by GameDay sponsor Happy State Bank about an hour before kickoff. Fans are invited to the event on the south end of the home parking lot where Pioneer players will visit on their way to the field for pre-game warm-ups.
Fans also are invited to participate in a car caravan beginning two hours before kickoff in front of the Laney Center on campus. There will be music, free food and prizes awarded to the best decorated cars (decorations provided, if needed) before the caravan makes its way north on Yonkers to the stadium in time for the tailgate party.
The Pioneers, coming off their most successful season (3-8) since the program was restarted in 2012, will be looking to win their season-opener for the second straight year. In 2014 Wayland went on the road to defeat now Central States Football League foe Arizona Christian, 28-21.
Henderson said it's important to get off to a good start, and then even more important to sustain that success.
"The thing we have to do is come in and start winning, which means making the plays in order to be able to do that," he said. "Once you get started (winning), the momentum will ride with you. We couldn't get that momentum up and running last year. We played well, but we just didn't make the plays we needed to in order to continue to win."
Southwestern also is looking for some early momentum as the Moundbuilders play their first game under new head coach Brad Griffin. Southwestern went 1-10 last season, which started with a 47-17 setback to former SAC member Oklahoma Baptist, which defeated Wayland in the final game last season, 63-21.
Henderson described Southwestern's offense as time-controlling.
"They like to move the football and keep their defense off the field," he said. "They may spread you out but they're going to run the ball."
Senior tailback Anthony Sims figures to carry the ball much of the time. Last year, Sims ran for a team-leading 739 yards and six touchdowns, averaging 4.1 yards a carry and earning all-conference honors.
"He has good vision and good speed," said Henderson, adding that Southwestern also is effective with the play-action pass.
Starting at quarterback for the Moundbuilders could be freshman Christian Gordon, ahead of last year's returning starter, senior Tyler Crandall who threw for just over 1,000 yards in 2014 with six touchdowns and 15 interceptions.
On defense, Henderson said Southwestern is "very aggressive" in its 3-3 alignment that "disguises which players have which gaps." They're led by a pair of all-conference picks in middle linebacker Eric Walker (5-10, 235) and tackle Ricky Higuera (6-0, 260), both seniors. Walker led the team with 148 tackles (83 unassisted) a year ago.
"Those guys really solidify the middle of their defense," Henderson said.
The coach added that new coach Griffin served as defensive coordinator for the last 10 years at William Penn, one of the top NAIA schools in the country, so the Moundbuilders figure to be solid on that side of the ball.
But so, too, are the Pioneers, Henderson said.
"I feel like we're playing extremely aggressive defense," he said. "Our front seven are making things happen."
A big reason for that, he added, can be attributed to veteran senior linemen
Holt Henderson at end and tackles
Reggie Pierce and
Nathan Askins.
"The maturity of those three has really helped us," Henderson said.
After playing NCAA Division II Adams State (Colo.) its first two seasons, the Pioneers lined up against fellow NAIA member Arizona Christian last year. Another NAIA school in Southwestern figures to be a good matchup.
"They're in the closest NAIA conference (Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference) to us, and it's important for us to play those teams" for rating purposes, Henderson said.
And not just play, he added, but play well...and win.
Â
