WBU drops SAC opener to Lions

Wayland Baptist scored on two runs totaling 141 yards to start and close the scoring in Saturday afternoon's Sooner Athletic Conference opener against Southwestern Assemblies of God University.

What happened in between wasn't always pretty, however, and the Pioneers fell to the Lions at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium, 54-23.

Wayland (1-1, 0-1 SAC) jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but SAGU (2-1, 1-0), ranked the equivalent of 31st in the NAIA after being No. 22 in the preseason, dominated the rest of the way. By halftime the Lions had gone on top 23-17, then they kept it up in the second half with 31 more unanswered points to roll to their fifth win in the last six meetings against Wayland.

The game couldn't have started much better for Wayland, especially Jerrell Peterson as the junior from Mansfield got loose on the Pioneers' first play from scrimmage and scored on a 49-yard run.

After the WBU defense forced a 3-and-out and SAGU shanked a 6-yard punt, the Pioneers took over at the Lions' 35-yard line. Although they had two 1^st-and-goals from the SAGU 7 (thanks to a penalty against the Lions), Wayland couldn't punch it in and settled for a 27-yard field goal by Caden Hogan to take a 10-0 lead.

Another 3-and-out gave Wayland's offense the ball near midfield, and although the Pioneers were forced to punt, Caleb O'Connor's high boot was muffed and Manny Arguijo recovered at the 8-yard line.

Three plays later, De'Sean Johnson scored on a 3-yard run to make it 17-0 with 6:36 still left in the opening period.

Wayland appeared to be on its way to avenging SAGU's 28-point first quarter last season against the Pioneers, but then momentum shifted.

The Lions scored their first points after a long drive on their next possession, then early in the second SAGU's defense made it 17-14 when sophomore linebacker Torionte Williams stripped the ball from Peterson and raced 40 yards in the other direction.

SAGU's next points also came when its offense was on the sidelines as WBU punter O'Connor saw the ball sail through his hands and out of the back of the end zone for a safety, cutting the WBU lead to 17-16.

The Pioneer defense forced a 3-and-out following the free kick, then an excellent punt by O'Connor was downed at the SAGU 3 with just 1:17 left before the half.

Stephon Free got loose for a 25-yard run then two plays later Lions quarterback CJ Collins hooked up with Jeremy Carr on a crossing pattern behind the WBU linebackers that resulted in a 53-yard TD. With 12 ticks left in the half, SAGU took its first lead, 23-17.

Neither team scored on its first two offensive possessions of the second half, but SAGU did on its third. After a 26-yard completion to the Wayland 5, Michael Bledsoe ran it in to make it 30-17.

Everything started going SAGU's way late in the third when freshman defensive lineman Devonta Crownover intercepted Wayland quarterback Nick Quintero and rumbled 25 yards to paydirt.

SAGU extended it to 44-17 on a beautiful 39-yard post-route pass from Collins to Northey. The Lions kicked a 30-yard field goal then tacked on another pick-six as Williams scored his second TD of the game after a 38-yard INT return with a minute left in the game.

After a penalty on the ensuing kickoff put the ball at the Pioneer 8-yard line, Johnson ripped off a school-record 92-yard touchdown run that saw him cross the goal line with just 10 seconds left. It broke the old record of 82 yards set by Kendall Roberson in 2013 also against SAGU.

Wayland stayed within 41 yards of SAGU (387-346), but was done in by six turnovers, half of which were returned for TDs. Quintero, filling in for senior Mitchell Parsley who was injured last week, completed 15-of-39 for 112 yards. Brayln Kirby caught five passes for 59 yards.

Johnson ended with 123 yards rushing on 14 carries, while Peterson tacked on 95 yards on 11 totes.

The 3-hour and 14-minute game featured 28 penalties (15 for WBU, 13 for SAGU) for a total of 236 yards.

After back-to-back games to open the season, the Pioneers are on the road for their next two against Oklahoma-Panhandle State and No. 13 Langston before returning home to face Lyon College on Oct. 6.

OPSU, which ended last season ranked 24^th and started this season the equivalent of 28^th, is 0-2 after falling to Hastings, Neb., ranked the equivalent of 34^th, 26-17, and NCAA Division II West Texas A&M, 42-7. The Cowboys played conference newcomer Ottawa-Arizona on Saturday night.