Riding the thrill of one of their most exciting victories since the restart of the program five years ago, the Wayland Baptist Pioneers will do something on Saturday they've never done before. Actually, they'll be experiencing a couple of "firsts."
While the Pioneers will be playing a team from Florida for the very first time, that's not the thing with which coach
Butch Henderson is most concerning himself. Instead, it's the fact that Saturday's opponent, Webber International, will be Wayland's first challenge from a team ranked in the NAIA Top 25.
"They're good," Henderson said of the Warriors, who are tied for 25
th in this week's coaches' poll.
Webber moved into the rankings after knocking off then No. 9 St. Xavier, Ill., 36-31. It was the Warriors' first win of the season after a 38-21 season-opening loss in Illinois to North Central College.
While Wayland has faced teams receiving Top 25 votes, and played a Hardin-Simmons team last year that was ranked No. 21 in NCAA Division III, Saturday's game will be the first for the Pioneers against an NAIA Top-25 opponent. Henderson said the Pioneers need to make the most of it.
"We have a nationally-ranked team coming in here, and for us to make a move in the NAIA we need to beat a nationally-ranked team," Henderson said.
Kickoff at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium is 2 p.m. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students. Students at Coronado Middle School and their families will be guests of Wayland. The game can be heard locally on 1090-AM with free streaming and live stats on www.wbuathletics.com.
Happy State Bank is serving as GameDay Sponsor and will provide free food and drink, while it lasts, at a tailgate party in the home parking area beginning around 12:30.
Fans are invited to join a car caravan that will gather at the Laney Center on campus at noon and move to the stadium shortly thereafter. Wayland cheerleaders and dancers, the Pioneer band and fans will greet WBU players on their way to the field for warm-up beginning at 12:45 in the tailgate area.
Saturday's game will be the last outing for Wayland prior to the start of Central States Football League play. The Pioneers are off next week then go on the road to face Bacone College in the CSFL opener Oct. 8.
"We need to win to keep the momentum running," Henderson said. "If we're going to win a conference championship, we have to have that feeling of winning back-to-back games. The biggest thing is beat a nationally-ranked football team."
Much like the Pioneers saw last week against Howard Payne, Webber features a "very talented, mobile quarterback. A lot of their work is centered around him. He's not just a throwing quarterback but does a lot of sprint-outs and play action," Henderson said of Garry Chouloute, a 6-foot-4, 190-pound redshirt-sophomore from Miami. In Webber's two games, Chouloute has thrown for 336 yards, four touchdowns and one interception while completing 29-of-54 passes. In eight games last season, he attempted about the same number of passes while throwing for 422 yards and three TDs.
On the ground, the ball often goes to Patrick Logue (aka Austin Logue), a 5-9, 200-pound junior from Jacksonville, Fla., who last week rushed for 107 yards on 22 carries (4.8 ypc) in the Warriors' win over St. Xavier.
"He's a good, hard runner," Henderson said.
The coach said Webber runs a 3-3 defense, an alignment Wayland has not faced this season.
"They have three good, athletic linemen that are very disruptive plus three good linebackers behind them that run to the ball real well," Henderson said, adding that 6-2, 235-pound lineman Dequan Harvin "makes a lot of plays for them." A junior academically but a freshman on the field, Harvin is the team's second-leading tackler with 16 total stops, one behind senior defensive back Malik Brooks. Last week against St. Xavier, Harvin recorded five tackles for loss, 1½ sacks and an interception. It was one of three interceptions for the Warriors, two of which were returned for touchdowns. Webber also recovered two St. Xavier fumbles.
Henderson said the Pioneers again could be without quarterback
Payson Bain, who was injured early in the Sept. 10 game and has missed time recently due to other health issues. Sophomore
Mitchell Parsley stepped in for Bain and last week and in his first collegiate start threw for 343 yards, three touchdowns and no interceptions.
"We need to continue to do like we did last week offensively and manage the game very well and not turn the ball over," Henderson said.
The coach said his defensive line is "pretty beat up" with minor injuries, although all-American linebacker
Alden Mann is back in the line-up this week after missing the last two games.
"Our defense last week made them work for everything they got, so we need to keep doing that," Henderson said.
Overall, he added, "We need to cut out some little mistakes – some penalties and missed assignments – that can help opposing teams stay in games."
The Pioneers also need to continue building momentum and confidence, which receive a big boost with last week's overtime victory.
"That was really good for us," Henderson said. "We really haven't had a game where we've had good things happen and we've come from behind and won. You need that to happen for your belief system to develop."
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