Pioneers look to end on high note

Butch Henderson admitted that in the wee hours of last Sunday morning it seemed like a longer trip home from Surprise, Ariz., than the actual 13 hours it was. Coming out on the short end of a 75-14 score will do that.
 
"It's a long trip anyway, but thinking about that ballgame, it was a double-long trip," Henderson said.
 
Thankfully, the Pioneers have a chance to get that awful taste out of their mouths before their season comes to a close when they host another Arizona team, the Arizona Christian University Firestorm, beginning at 2 p.m. Saturday at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium.
 
As Sunday is Veteran's Day, all military veterans will be admitted free. Don Smith, who served in the U.S. Army from 1955-58 and is a 1965 Wayland alum, will offer the invocation, and Felipe Azua, who served in the military from 1994-2002 and is a 2011 WBU alum, will toss the coin. At halftime, a moment of silence will be observed followed by the playing of "Taps."
 
It's also Senior Day for the Pioneers, and prior to the game 14 seniors will be recognized.
 
"Those guys have helped us walk this thing through, so stepping on that field and playing for the last time, I think you'll see great effort on their part," Henderson said of his seniors. "It's their last time to go play, which is sad from a coaching standpoint but at the same time I'm excited to watch them go play."
 
The Pioneers (4-4, 4-3 Sooner Athletic Conference) and Firestorm (6-3, 4-3), ranked the equivalent of 31^st in the NAIA Coaches' Top 25, were the newest programs in the SAC (WBU in 2012, ACU in 2015) until last week's opponent, Ottawa-Arizona, came on the scene this season. The Pioneers are looking for their first win against the Firestorm, having lost previously 36-24, 45-35, and last year 42-12.
 
Henderson said both Arizona Christian, which won the now-defunct Central States Football League the Firestorm's first two seasons, and Ottawa (5-3, 4-3) have done a tremendous job building their programs in a short time, although – with nine junior colleges in the Phoenix area – they've done it a different way than Wayland.
 
"Where we build them and tried to raise them, they've gone the junior college route. They're not dealing with freshmen trying to grow up, and they've done a great job," Henderson said.
 
The coach said the Pioneers needed one of their best performances against Ottawa last week.
 
"We needed to be able to play our top-ranked game. We did a pretty good job except for 6-8 minutes" in the second quarter when the Spirit, up just 7-0 after the first 15 minutes, made the most of a pick-6, onside kick recovery, and multiple other explosive plays to put up 41 points. "We hit a time where we got out of balance on what we do and got away from our personality, and before we could get back in rhythm…
 
"They're very talented, and it didn't take them long. We were fighting a psychological battle from there."
 
The Pioneers will have another challenge on their hands in Arizona Christian, a team that won its first five games of the season and was ranked as high as 19^th in the NAIA before dropping three in a row. The first of those setbacks was to Ottawa, 73-28, before losses to No. 14 Langston, 38-17, and Oklahoma Panhandle State, 21-14.
 
ACU righted the ship last Saturday with a come-from-behind, 34-30 homecoming victory over Southwestern Assemblies of God University. The Firestorm twice rallied from 10 points behind and scored 20 unanswered second-half points behind junior quarterback Adam Abbatacola.
 
Abbatacola (6-3, 195) averages 291 yards passing a game to rank seventh in the NAIA. He completes almost 60 percent of his passes (161-of-275) and has thrown for 20 TDs and nine interceptions.
 
"He's a good passer and has a good balance of receivers," Henderson said. Abbatacola's top targets are junior slot receiver Alias Sturges (5-10, 170), who has 47 catches for 486 yards, and senior Kendrick Murphy (6-0, 170) with 44 catches for 888 yards and a dozen TDs. Murphy's 99 receiving yards a game ranks 12th in the NAIA.
 
On the ground ACU's top rusher is freshman Aidan Quinn (5-8, 180), who averages 73 yards rushing an outing. As a team the Firestorm have thrown for 2,730 yards and rushed for 1,291, ranking 15^th in the NAIA in total yards per game (447).
 
"They do a good job of balancing the run," Henderson said. "They are a very strong offensive football team. What we've got to do is play within our assignments, cover guys and get heat on the quarterback."
 
Wayland's defense recorded a season-high five sacks last week.
 
Leading ACU's defense with 64 tackles apiece are senior defensive back Zhi'irKane James and junior lineman Jaron Green (6-1, 195), who is 15^th in the NAIA with 14½ tackles for loss. Lineman James Bagley has tallied six sacks.
 
The Firestorm will also bring to town a talented kick and punt returner in senior Alan Freeman (5-9, 180), who is 12^th in the NAIA in punt return yards per attempt (10.8).
 
After being slowed by injuries, especially in the offensive backfield, Wayland is due to get a handful of players back this week. Down four running backs last week, the Pioneers turned to freshman Christian Vaughn, a former defensive back, against Ottawa. Vaughn scored both of WBU's touchdowns.
 
"Christian came in and did a yeoman's job battling," Henderson said.