Pioneers determined to finish strong

Although they saw their hopes for a Central States Football League championship and a spot in the NAIA playoffs all but die in the desert last weekend, the Wayland Baptist Pioneers haven't cashed it in for their final regular-season game Saturday against Langston University.

"Those guys want to finish 8-2," Wayland coach Butch Henderson said of a record that would give the Pioneers twice as many victories as they posted last season. "We've brought our game to a higher level every week, so we want to continue that again this week."

And while the Pioneers are disappointed over last Saturday's loss to Arizona Christian that will keep them from making the program's first appearance in the playoffs, Henderson said the team is determined to finish the season on a strong note.

"These guys are pretty mature. I think they will bounce right back," he said.

There's a chance the Pioneers (7-2, 4-1 CSFL) can still finish as co-champions in the Central States Football League if they defeat No. 23 Langston (6-3, 4-1) and No. 25 Arizona Christian (6-3, 5-0) falls at home to Bacone (2-7, 2-3). Even if that doesn't happen, however, the Pioneers will walk away knowing they've made history with the winningest team Wayland has fielded since the program was restarted five years ago.

"We'll come ready to play," Henderson said. "I feel good about our seniors, and knowing their leadership they'll have us ready to play."

Kickoff is at 2 p.m. in Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium. Thirteen seniors will be recognized beginning at 1:35. Wal-mart Distribution Center is serving as GameDay sponsor and will provide free sausage wraps, while they last, beginning around 12:45 p.m. in the southeast corner of the home parking lot where fans are encouraged to greet the players on their way to the field for warm-up.

Free live streaming and other coverage links can be found on www.wbuathletics.com. Locally, Danny Andrews will provide play-by-play coverage on 1090-AM.

Wayland will be looking for its first on-field victory over Langston, which has outscored the Pioneers over the past four seasons by a combined margin of 159-31, including 48-24 last season. (WBU was credited with a victory in 2013 after Langston was forced to forfeit its win due to an ineligible player.)

Both the Pioneers and Lions have lost only once in conference play, each to Arizona Christian. Langston fell in its CSFL opener in Phoenix, 34-10, while Wayland went down last week, 45-35.

"We just didn't make plays that we'd been making early in the game. By the second half we were playing well defensively and extremely well offensively," Henderson said.

The loss dropped Wayland from being ranked No. 22 in the NAIA – its first-ever appearance in the poll – to the equivalent of 26^th.

After its setback to Arizona Christian, Langston has won its last four outings. The Lions squeaked by Bacone, 33-32, before trouncing its last three opponents in Southwestern Assemblies of God (63-10), Texas College (70-13), and Lyon (40-12).

"They are very athletic, maybe the most athletic team in the conference," Henderson said of the Lions.

Langston relies on its athleticism especially on defense.

"They're not real big, but they have a lot of team speed," Henderson said.

The Lions lead the CSFL in total defense, giving up an average of 299 yards per game. Wayland is a distance second at 384.

Leading Langston in tackles is senior linebacker Christian Minies (5-10, 220), averaging 7.4 stops per game.

"He gets to the ball really well," Henderson said.

Langston's defense has recorded a league-best 24½ sacks a game, 3½ more than Wayland. Individually, the Pioneers' Billy Hatten leads that category with 4½.

"Right behind him are three kids from Langston," Henderson said.

Like their defense, the Lions also lead the league in total offense and scoring, averaging 491 yards and 39.1 points. Wayland is third in total offense (472 ypg) and second in scoring (34.6 ppg).

"They have a good balance of run and throw," Henderson said.

Senior Kievon Jackson (5-10, 190) averages 107 yards rushing a contest, good for second in the CSFL, and has scored a dozen touchdowns while averaging 6½ yards per carry.

Henderson called Jackson a "slashy" runner.

"He slips and finds his way through cracks and has really good acceleration," the coach said.

Henderson described senior quarterback Mark Wright Jr. (6-2, 200) in much the same way.

"He throws the ball well but they use him running the ball, too, through zone reads and other things. He's the same type of runner – slashing. He can find the cracks."

In eight games, Wright has thrown for 1,439 yards (7 TDs, 6 INTs) and rushed for another 502 yards (7 TDs) to average 242.6 yards per game, making him third in the CSFL. Wayland sophomore quarterback Mitchell Parsley is first at 306.9 ypg.