Two weeks after making a 10-plus hour bus ride out west, the Wayland Baptist football team will do the same thing this week in the opposite direction, hoping for an opposite outcome.
The Pioneers ride the momentum of their first win of the season to Batesville, Ark., to take on the Lyon College Scots at 4 p.m. Saturday.
"We need to win on the road," Wayland coach
Butch Henderson said as his team looks for its first victory in what will be its fourth road trip of the season. "We're used to it (playing on the road). We've been to Louisiana and to Arizona, now we're going to Arkansas.
"It'll be nice to play a little earlier in the day (the Pioneers played at 6 p.m. in Pineville, La., and at 9 CDT in Phoenix). We know the routine and what it takes to do it, we just have to go do it."
Coverage links to the Central States Football League game are available at
www.wbuathletics.com. Danny Andrews will provide play-by-play both on the web and locally on 1090-AM beginning at 3:30.
Saturday's game will be the third in 13 months between Wayland (1-3, 1-1 CSFL) and Lyon (2-3, 0-2) after the teams met twice last season. The Pioneers won both times, first 37-14 in a non-conference contest in Batesville to open the season then 52-14 nine weeks later in their official conference game in Plainview.
"We know each other real well," Henderson said.
In fact, Wayland has never lost to Lyon, which is in its third year of competition. In their first battle in 2015, the Pioneers prevailed, 51-30.
To stay perfect against the Scots, the Pioneers must find a way to win on the road for the first time. They proved in their last road outing in Phoenix they can do it, playing what Henderson called some of the best football he's witnessed. Now, they have do it for four quarters.
"We played real well at Arizona for a quarter and a half. We need to keep building off of that," Henderson said.
Lyon is coming off a 42-21 loss to CSFL newcomer Oklahoma Panhandle State, a former conference alliance member not eligible for championships, last Saturday in Goodwell, Okla. Prior to that, the Scots defeated Trinity Bible College, N.D., 61-0, which followed losses to Langston at home, 41-14, and at Hendrix College, Ark., 56-28. Lyon opened the season with a home victory over Missouri Baptist, 28-7.
Henderson said the Scots field a run-oriented offense.
"They have a predominantly run offense. They run at you and run at you, and about the time you start pulling players (closer to the line to stop the run), that's when they try to throw the football," the coach said. "Your hope is you can handle the run without having to pull players up in there."
Henderson mentioned senior running back Fabian Buenrosro (5-8, 190) of Tulare, Calif., as the Scots' main back. In five games, Buenrostro, an all-conference pick a year ago, has rushed for 170 yards, averaging 4.3 yards a carry, and has scored four touchdowns.
Senior Cody Jones (5-10, 210) of Russellville, Ark., quarterbacks the Scots. Jones has completed 76-of-118 passes for 940 yards (188 yd. avg.) with five TDs and three interceptions.
Henderson said Lyon sports a dangerous kickoff and punt returner in junior all-conference honoree Tre Hawkins (5-8, 150) of Houston, who plays cornerback in Lyon's 4-2-5 defense. Hawkins already has recorded three picks on the season, sharing team-high honors with junior all-CSFL pick Xavier Story (5-10, 180) of Bushnell, Fla.
The team's leading tackler is Taylor Thibeau (6-1, 195), a junior safety from Kennedale, Texas, averaging 7.0 stops an outing.
"They play good, solid technique," Henderson said of Lyon's defense, which benefits from the Scots' ball-control offense which attempts to keep the opposing defense on the field as much as possible.
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