SURPRISE, Ariz. – Wayland Baptist ran into a buzzsaw here Saturday in Ottawa-Arizona as the Spirit overwhelmed the Pioneers, 75-14.
In a match-up of teams tied for fourth place in the Sooner Athletic Conference, the first-year Spirit scored 41 points in the second quarter to lead 48-0 at halftime.
Wayland trailed 68-0 before getting on the scoreboard with 5:28 left in the game on a 2-yard touchdown run by freshman Christian Vaughan.
Edgar Baeza booted the PAT. The score came two plays after a 43-yard pass completion from
Nick Quintero to
Kamron Williams.
The Pioneers scored again following a muffed punt that was recovered by
Kaleb Thornton at the Ottawa 10-yard line. Three plays later, Vaughn scored on a 1-yard dive with 1:41 left.
The points avoided what would have been the first shutout for Wayland in 30 games, since a 17-0 loss to Southwestern Assemblies of God late in the 2015 season.
Ottawa recorded touchdown plays of 2, 63, 18, 36, 14, 10, 35, 6 and 30 yards, plus a 91-yard pick-six. The Spirit kicked field goals of 41 and 27 yards and nine PATs.
Ottawa's 75 points were one short of the most ever scored against Wayland, behind only a 76-13 final against McMurry in the Pioneers' inaugural 2012 season.
Going into the game Ottawa averaged 52 points and 539 yards to rank fourth in the NAIA in both categories. The Spirit ended Saturday with 610 yards, and their 75 points were the most scored by Ottawa all season, two more than in a 73-28 win over then No. 19 Arizona Christian two games previous.
Wayland ended with 178 yards and nine first downs.
The loss snapped a three-game winning streak for the Pioneers (4-4, 3-4 SAC).
The game, which started at 7 p.m. MDT, ended 20 minutes before midnight in Plainview.
The Pioneers will try to end the season on a better note and secure a winning record when they host Arizona Christian at 2 p.m. Saturday, Nov. 10 at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium. Arizona Christian (5-3, 3-3) also was tied for fourth going into this weekend's home game against third-place Southwestern Assemblies of God University (5-4, 4-3).
