Box Score
(This game was later forfeited by Wayland.)
It took just over two minutes for the Wayland Baptist Pioneers to set the tone for a celebratory Saturday afternoon at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium.
The Pioneers scored two touchdowns in the game's first 123 seconds and went on to dismantle Bacone College (Okla.) in Central States Football League play, 48-21.
"I was pleased with the fire we came out and played with," Wayland coach
Butch Henderson said. "I knew we would have to get a good, early start. When we do that it just seems like the kids really take off and play well."
Quarterback
Mitchell Parsley threw for 226 yards and tossed touchdowns to four different receivers, and the Pioneers found another yet ground threat in freshman JyUis Bumpus, who rushed for 68 yards. Leading an opportunistic defense, senior linebacker
Michael Nealy – the NAIA's fourth-leading tackler – logged nine tackles and converted a tone-setting scoop-and-score.
"We made some really big plays defensively," Henderson said, alluding in part to Wayland's four takeaways. "What you're trying to sell them is you need to be the top half of that (turnover) ratio. That gives you a great chance to win."
It was
Devonte Hayden who got the ball rolling for Wayland (3-5, 3-3 CSFL), returning the game's opening kickoff 60 yards to the Bacone 30-yard line. On the Pioneers' fourth play from scrimmage, Parsley – returning after missing the last two games with injury – rolled to his right and found
Jeremiah Eaton coming back the other way for an 18-yard touchdown.
Just 1:54 into it, Wayland was up 7-0.
Then, on Bacone's (2-6, 2-4) first offensive play of the afternoon, sophomore lineman
JaQuavious Dean forced a fumble with a big hit on the Warriors' Kevin Jackson. Linebacker Nealy picked it up and returned it 23 yards to make it 14-0.
"That was big," Henderson said. "Once we got that start, it was like, 'We're OK.'"
Wayland made it 21-0 thanks to a short field resulting from solid defense, a 15-yard
Michael Romero punt return and a Bacone facemask penalty. That set up the Pioneer offense at the Warriors' 39-yard line, where two plays later Parsley found freshman Sebastian Hartless streaking up the visitors' sideline. Hartless hauled in the long pass in the end zone while managing to stay in-bounds, and on the last play of the first quarter Wayland took a commanding 21-0 lead.
The Warriors got on the board with a 33-yard pass 4½ minutes into the second period, but WBU kicker
Daniel Martinez booted a 27-yard field goal that came after Pioneer Cody Thomas recovered a muffed punt and Parsley and
Ben Owen hooked up on a 32-yard completion.
Martinez added a 43-yard field goal with 2:20 left in the first half after a drive stalled following a 36-yard run by Bumpus.
It appeared Wayland would add to its lead just before the break when David Garza intercepted Bacone's Sam Sewards near midfield and returned it all the way to the Bacone 17 with 27 seconds left in what was a 2-hour-long first half. Instead, Bacone got a boost as the Warriors' Eric Brown picked off Parsley and returned it 87 yards, making it 27-14 at intermission.
However, just as they did to start the game, the Pioneers set the tone early in the second half. The defense forced a three-and-out that led to a short punt and Wayland starting its first second-half possession at the Bacone 38. On third-and-10 from the 12,
Malik Sims hauled in a Parsley pass that extended Wayland's lead to 34-14.
Another strong defensive effort gave the Pioneers a head-start on their next TD with WBU freshman tackle Andre Smith credited for the tackle on Bacone's failed fourth-and-1 quarterback sneak at the Wayland 42.
Kirby came up with a 25-yard reception before Parsley found Hayden on a 17-yard scoring toss that made it 41-14 with just under 7 minutes left in the third.
The Warriors' final TD was a 64-yard pass-and-run late in the third.
The last of Wayland's four takeaways – a fumble recovery by Isaiah Levert – led to the game's final points with just over 10 minutes to go. Two plays after a 49-yard Parsley-to-Eaton completion, Romero took it up the middle for a 3-yard touchdown run.
"This feels real good," Henderson said. "The biggest part of is coming back after losing one and practicing all week and then being able to win one."
The 48 points are the most for Wayland this season and the fourth-most in the six-year history of the restored program.
The Pioneers play their final road game of the season Oct. 28 in Fort Worth against a winless Texas Wesleyan first-year team (0-8, 0-5) that fell Saturday to Lyon College (Ark.), 21-14. Wayland takes the following week off then plays its season-finale at home Nov. 11 against undefeated, eighth-ranked Langston College (7-0, 5-0), which squeaked past No. 23 Arizona Christian, 21-20. Langston is tied for first in the CSFL with No. 18 Southwestern Assemblies of God (6-1, 5-0), which won by a touchdown on the road over Oklahoma Panhandle State (5-2, 4-1).
"We plan to go win next week and keep finishing this out real strong," Henderson said. "If we do that, we'll be all right."
Â
