WBU to play under the lights for first time

When kickoff for Saturday's game against Texas College was moved from 2 to 7 p.m., the Wayland Baptist football team couldn't have been more excited for its first night game of the season. Well, at least most of them were excited.
 
While the players' wishes for a night game were realized, the thought of breaking the routine of afternoon starts didn't go over as well with veteran head coach Butch Henderson, a self-proclaimed creature of habit.
 
"Our kids have been wanting to play at night, (but) I like following the same routine," Henderson said.
 
The Sooner Athletic Conference game will be played at All-Saints Episcopal High School, 2695 SSW Loop 323 in Tyler.
 
The Pioneers (2-3, 1-3 SAC) go into the contest against the winless Steers (0-4, 0-4) after enjoying a week off following their dramatic 49-43, four-overtime victory against Lyon College (Ark.).
 
"We cut way back on our workout time but tried to keep the rhythm of what we're doing offensively and defensively," Henderson said. "We're an emotional football team, and that emotion is what I challenged them to bring back this week."
 
Also back for the Pioneers will be sophomore quarterback Nick Quintero, who missed most of the Lyon game with an injury although he did direct the game-tying drive that forced overtime. Henderson said Quintero has been a full participant at early-week practices.
 
"He's ready to play," said the coach, who also praised Quintero's replacement, sophomore Brook Quinones, for his performance against Lyon as well as offensive coaches for tailoring a game plan around Quinones' strengths. Part of that plan included a rushing attack that produced five touchdowns by Jacoby Hunt (111 yards, 2 TDs) and De'Sean Johnson (87 yards, 3 TDs).
 
Wayland also benefited from a number of "chunk" plays against Lyon, something Henderson hopes will continue the rest of the season.
 
"We need to consistently get explosive plays like that," he said. "We want big plays but also don't want to turn the ball over."
 
Something else Henderson hopes the Pioneers' offense can do is take advantage of a defense that leads the conference in total yards (336 ypg).
 
"We need to take advantage of our opportunities, especially when the defense gets us the ball on the other side of the 50. We have to go score, and we have to find a way to score in the red zone," Henderson said.
 
This would seem to be a good week to get that done since Texas College's defense has struggled this season. The Steers rank last in the SAC in points allowed per game at 44.5, and they gave up 63 (in a 63-14 loss) to newcomer Ottawa, Ariz., last weekend.
 
Henderson said part of the issue for the Steers has been finding their identity.
 
"They're evolving into a four-man front. Early on they didn't have that, but now they have four good down linemen. They're all between 280 and 300 pounds and fill a lot of gaps," the coach said.
 
The Steers field a pair of solid linebackers in sophomore Malik Guillory (5-11, 215) and junior Willie Teo-Clifton (5-10, 210). Henderson said Guillroy, who averages a team-best 6.8 stops a game, serves as the stunting linebacker.
 
"Those two have to do a lot," he said.
 
Texas College uses a ball-control, I-backfield based offense to help out its defense.
 
"They want to keep their offense on the field as long as they can," Henderson said.
 
The Steers do that with a speed-centered, zone-option ground game that ranks second in the SAC averaging 212 yards an outing. It features the league's top two individual rushers in junior tailback Carlos Mosby (85.5 ypc) and sophomore quarterback Vontyne Williams (78.8 ypc). Both Mosby (6-1, 225) and Williams (6-2, 215) average about 5.0 yards every time they touch the ball.
 
"They complement each other very well," Henderson said. "You can't hone in on that tailback" because Williams also is dangerous. As a passer, Williams has completed just under 50 percent of his passes (37-of-77) for an average of 112 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
 
"He's a pretty good passer. They just don't throw it much," Henderson said.