After falling by 61 points last Saturday, the Wayland Baptist football team should take much consolation that they got 60 points closer to the team ranked the equivalent of 31
st in the NAIA.
The Pioneers went punch-for-punch with Arizona Christian in their season-finale Saturday afternoon at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium, but in the end the Firestorm went home the victors by the slimmest of margins, 37-36.
Wayland ends its seventh season on the gridiron with a 5-5 record, including 3-5 in the Sooner Athletic Conference for sixth place. Arizona Christian winds up 7-3 overall and 5-3 in the league to tie for third.
On a chilly, windy Saturday that saw Wayland recognize 14 seniors, the Pioneers trailed the Firestorm until a 27-yard field goal gave them their first lead, 36-34, with 5:19 left in the third quarter. But in a game that saw the teams combine for 60 points in the first half, only three more were scored the rest of the game.
They came when ACU kicked a 33-yarder field goal to take the lead with 11½ minutes left. The field goal by Parker Brubaker was a low liner that just cleared the crossbar.
Wayland got two more chances to regain the lead. The first, as the Pioneers were driving inside ACU's 30-yard line, ended with an interception.
The last came after Wayland's
Raymond Tarango made a tackle on fourth-and-1 near midfield. That gave the Pioneer offense the ball with 3½ minutes still left. Wayland managed one first down before a rush for no gain and three incompletions turned it over on downs at the ACU 44 with 2:12 showing.
The Firestorm's Aidan Quinn took over from there, rushing for 14 yards to get a new set of downs then effectively ending the game with a 34-yard scamper to the WBU 3 where the visitors from Phoenix took two knees and ran out the clock.
Junior running back
De'Sean Johnson had a brilliant day for Wayland, rushing for 141 yards on 23 carries. Jerrell Petersen scored on a 15-yard run for the Pioneers' first touchdown. WBU's first points came when senior
Richard Parham II – after the Firestorm returned an interception 51 yards for a touchdown – returned a blocked PAT for a safety, making it 13-2.
Besides his 27-yarder that gave Wayland the lead late in the game, Baeza made the most of a strong south wind to boot a career-best 52 yarder late in the first quarter.
Sophomore quarterback
Nick Quintero threw for 217 yards (averaging almost 20 yards per completion) and three touchdowns: 25 yards to
Caden Bailey, seven yards to
Daniel Hurn and 38 yards to
Brayln Kirby. Kirby ended with three catches for 72 yards.
Freshman linebacker
Manny Arguijo was busy on defense for Wayland, racking up 13 tackles (five solo, 1½ for loss). Junior lineman
JaQuavious Dean ended with 10 stops while sophomore back LeRoy McNac III got nine.
Casey Buck and
Travis Williams both had interceptions.
Quinn finished with 127 yards on 26 carries and two TDs for the Firestorm. ACU quarterbacks Adam Abbatacola, who left the game with an injury midway through the second quarter, combined for 270 yards.
The wind played a major factor throughout the afternoon, as evidenced each time the special teams took the field. In addition to field goals and kickoffs, the punting game was an adventure. For instance, Wayland's
Caleb O'Connor had a punt of just two yards but also had an 81-yarder. The Pioneers also snapped the ball over O'Connor's head on WBU's first punt attempt. That set up Arizona Christian at Wayland's 8 and led to the first TD of the day.
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