Having secured their first home win of the season followed seven days later by their first road win of the year, the Wayland Baptist football team will be seeking yet another first Saturday afternoon: a win over Oklahoma Panhandle State.
The Pioneers have lost all three of their previous meetings with the Aggies, one of only two teams (Sul Ross State is the other) Wayland has faced at least three times and never beaten.
WBU coach
Butch Henderson said breaking that trend and coming up with a win against OPSU will be a big challenge.
"Playing as well as they are, we'll have to play really well to win," Henderson said.
Kickoff in the Central States Football League game between the Pioneers (2-3, 2-1 CSFL) and Aggies (3-1, 2-0) at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium is 2 p.m. Coverage by Danny Andrews begins at 1:30 p.m. locally on 1090-AM and via links on
www.wbuathletics.com.
On a "Blue Out" afternoon when the Pioneers will dress out in blue pants and jerseys, fans are encouraged to wear blue to the game. Tickets are $10 for adults and $5 for students, with WBU students admitted free with proper ID.
Atmos Energy is serving as GameDay sponsor and will host a tailgate party in the southeast corner of the home parking lot. Free food and drink, while it lasts, will be available beginning around 12:45. Fans can greet the players on their way to the field for warm-ups at 12:45 and 1 p.m.
Not only has Wayland lost all three meetings with OPSU, the Pioneers have been blown out each time. The Aggies won in WBU's 2012 reboot season, 67-14, in Goodwell, Okla., then fell the next two seasons in Plainview, 62-21 and 55-0. That's a combined 184-35.
OPSU was idle last weekend, so the Aggies' last outing was a 42-21 victory at home over Lyon College, the team Wayland squeaked past last Saturday in Batesville, Ark., 30-28. The Pioneers drove 35 yards in 44 seconds and won it on NAIA National Special Teams Player of the Week
Daniel Martinez's 41-yard field goal with nine seconds left.
The Aggies' other CSFL victory was a 31-8 road decision against Bacone, which followed a 48-20 loss at Tarleton State and a 10-0 season-opening win at home over McMurry.
"They're playing very well defensively," Henderson said of OPSU. "They're ranked second in the conference in total defense (276 yards per game), scoring defense (19.3 points per game), and sacks (3.0 per game)."
The coach said the Aggies "roll a lot of kids" into the game defensively, one reason why their top tackler, senior linebacker Dominic Bell (5-11, 240) of Long Beach, Calif., is averaging just 5.3 tackles per game, which ranks 16
th in the CSFL. When it comes to sacks, Bell and senior lineman David Smith (6-2, 240) of Frederick, Md., both are in the top four in the conference, and freshman George Dominguez of Amarillo leads the league with two interceptions in three games.
A big boost to the Aggie defense is OPSU's ground-oriented offense that tries to keep the opposing offense off the field.
"They play a run-oriented offense that uses the clock," Henderson said. "They do a lot of play-action, but they run the ball first."
Senior Preston Baker (5-9, 225) of Starkville, Miss., one of OPSU's two tailbacks, is the fourth-leading rusher in the conference, averaging 51 yards a game and an impressive 6.1 yards a carry. Junior Orlando Hayman (5-11, 200) of Vernon averages 5.6 ypc.
OPSU is in its first year of being a full-fledged member of the CSFL after competing as an affiliate member of the league under NCAA Division II guidance for several seasons.
Henderson said a victory over the Aggies this week is a must, as every game will be after Wayland dropped its league debut to then No. 12 Arizona Christian three weeks ago in Phoenix.
"It will be a war from here on out, especially these next two weeks," Henderson said of Saturday's game and Wayland's Oct. 14 road contest against 23
rd-ranked Southwestern Assemblies of God University, which broke into the Top 25 following last weekend's 43-6 victory over Arizona Christian in Waxahachie that Henderson said made the race for the CSFL title "wide open.
"It shows how tough the conference is. Now there are three teams in the top 25 (No. 9 Langston, No. 18 Arizona Christian and No. 23 SAGU), which is a good picture."
Henderson said OPSU is "right at that level" with the CSFL's three ranked teams.
"To have a chance to win a conference championship or be part of the picture," he said, "we have to win this week."
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