Box Score (This game was later forfeited by Wayland.)
FORT WORTH – Wayland Baptist got off to a blazing-fast start and put up a season-high point total for the second straight week, and the Pioneer defense came through with another strong performance as the Pioneers rolled to a 54-24 Central States Football League victory over Texas Wesleyan on Saturday afternoon at Farrington Field.
In its first season of football, Texas Wesleyan was looking to earn its first victory. The Pioneers (4-5, 4-3 CSFL), though, had none of it.
"We were there six years ago starting a program, so we knew how fired up they would be wanting to get a win under their belts," Wayland coach Butch Henderson said. "We thought it was important to get control of the game and take them out of that mind-set early that they could get that win against us."
In its last road game of the season, Wayland used a 95-yard kickoff return for a touchdown by Devonte Hayden to open the game and fuel a 23-point first quarter, which also included a 32-yard TD pass from tight end Caleb O'Connor to Ben Owen after a fumble recovery by JaQuavious Dean that gave the Pioneers a 14-0 lead just 32 seconds in.
"We talked all week about coming out and controlling the ballgame," Henderson said. "That really helps when you can do that, and the kids did a great job of it."
The Pioneers were hardly done.
Joseph Isaac recorded a safety for Wayland that made it 16-7, then Malik Sims caught a 28-yard TD reception from Mitchell Parsley that made it 23-7 with just under four minutes still left in the opening period.
After Texas Wesleyan (0-9, 0-6) scored on a 36-yard pick-six, the Pioneers put up 10 points in the last 80 seconds of the first half. First, Daniel Campos – who took over in the second quarter when Parsley re-aggravated a hamstring injury – threw 14 yards to Jeremiah Eaton, then after a quick three-and-out forced by the Pioneers defense, Campos completed passes of 15 yards to Michael Romero and 26 yards to Hayden to set up a 48-yard field goal by Daniel Martinez with three seconds left before intermission, making it 33-14 at the break.
The Pioneers didn't slow down much in the second half, scoring 21 points over a span of about five minutes in the third period.
"You want to do the same thing to start the second half (that you do to open the game): to establish control," Henderson said. "You have to get your emotions way up and they did a great job. I'm real proud of how they were able to do that."
Midway through the third, JyUius Bumpus scored from one yard, then Romero did the same from two yards away. Finally, Jeremiah Eaton recovered a fumble in the end zone with 1:42 to play in the third, making it 54-17.
The Rams added a 33-yard touchdown pass midway through the fourth quarter to finish off the scoring.
Wayland rushed for 255 yards, with Romero getting 143 of those on 14 carries.
Hayden ended with four catches for 130 yards. Campos completed 10-of-15 passes for 158 yards while Parsley was 5-of-16 for 128 yards.
Michael Nealy led the Pioneer defense with seven tackles and a forced fumble, one of three lost by the Rams. Fellow linebacker Zac Hollingsworth was credited with six stops including a quarterback sack.
Wayland is idle next week before closing out the season Nov. 11 at home against No. 8 Langston (7-0, 5-0), which opened a regular-season-ending three-game road trip by taking on Oklahoma Panhandle State on Saturday. Langston plays at Southwestern Assemblies of God (7-1, 6-0), a 28-13 winner over Lyon College, next Saturday before coming to Plainview.
"That will be a nice week for us," Henderson said of the upcoming bye. "We'll keep our rhythm but be able to heal up and get ready to take on Langston."
The coach said the Pioneers are pumped up about hosting one of the top teams in the NAIA.
"To get a win over a top-10 ranked football team would be great for these kids to establish another step in what we're doing," Henderson said.
