The Wayland Baptist football team came out of last week's Sooner Athletic Conference opener against Southwestern Assemblies of God University reasonably healthy, not counting the Pioneers' self-inflicted gunshot wounds in their proverbial feet.
"Our offense was directly responsible for 35 (of SAGU's) points," Wayland coach
Butch Henderson said of last week's 54-23 loss to the Lions. Thanks to a pair of pick-sixes, a strip-fumble for a touchdown and a number of other offensive miscues that led to points for the other side, the Pioneers missed a chance to improve to 2-0 by knocking off a team that in the preseason was ranked 22
nd in the NAIA.
"Even with all of that I felt like we were in it until" late in the third quarter when WBU's mistakes finally became too much to overcome.
Wayland (1-1) has another chance to upset a team receiving Top 25 votes when the Pioneers hit the road for the first time in 2018 to take on Oklahoma Panhandle State in Goodwell. Saturday's kickoff from Anchor D Stadium at No Man's Land, where it will be the Aggies' homecoming, is 2 p.m.
"They're a good football team. They play well," Henderson said.
He said the Pioneers have bounced back strong after last week's setback that kicked off Sooner Athletic Conference play.
"They've worked hard. I don't think you ever get your pride wounded like that (and not be disappointed). But they've come fighting back.
"We have to go do some good things, especially offensively."
Wayland will be looking for its first-ever win in what will be its fifth outing with OPSU (1-2, 1-0), which was ranked the equivalent of 28
th in the NAIA in the preseason after ending last year's 7-3 season ranked 24
th. The Pioneers came the closest to beating the Aggies a year ago when OPSU joined the Central States Football League after being an associate member for many years. In their 2017 meeting in Plainview, WBU jumped out to a 17-0 lead, but the Aggies scored the last 28 points of the game to win, 35-24.
Wayland junior
De'Sean Johnson – who last week had two rushing touchdowns, including a school-record 92-yarder – ran for 84 yards and one score against OPSU last year.
Danny Campos, making his first start for injured
Mitchell Parsley, completed 10-of-36 passes for 157 yards with one TD and two interceptions.
Parsley, a senior who was injured in the first half of Wayland's season-opening win over Austin College, will miss his second straight game with a shoulder injury that Henderson said is more serious than anticipated. Sophomore
Nick Quintero will make his second straight start against OPSU.
The Aggies, meanwhile, employ a quarterback rotation featuring seniors Brandon Ramon and Jesse Robbins Jr., along with sophomore John Polston. All three saw action under center in OPSU's 38-35 win last Saturday in Arizona over first-year Ottawa University. Ramon (6-0, 205) threw only two incomplete passes in 15 attempts for 110 yards while Polston (6-2, 215) added 85 more yards in the air, including a 60-yard TD.
Henderson said Ramon – who in limited playing time last season against Wayland completed all three of his passes, including two for scores – is the key to the Aggies' offense.
"Ramon has the knack to make big plays when they need something to happen. He's been there two years and really understands their system. He does a good job of spreading the ball around."
Henderson added that the Aggies "run the ball well" and "like to control the clock." RJ Stevens, a 220-pound redshirt freshman from Mobile, Ala., is "a good running back" averaging 5.3 yards a carry.
Henderson said OPSU "plays hard-nosed defense" built around 5-foot-11, 230-pound junior linebacker Nathan Leithead of Colorado Springs, Colo. "He's the preseason conference defensive player of the year," Henderson said of Leithead, who with 22 tackles is second on the team in tackles behind sophomore defensive back DeAdryelle Fites of Dallas with 24 stops.
"They come sick you with their defense and play a lot of man-to-man behind it."
Before winning last week, OPSU dropped its first two games. The Aggies fell in their season- and home-opener to Hastings, Neb., a team that was receiving Top 25 votes earlier this season, 26-17 before bowing to NCAA Division II West Texas A&M in Canyon, 42-7.
""They've had a strange, tough early schedule," Henderson said. "They were beating Hastings (17-7) then had a two-hour lightning delay in a game that finished at midnight. Then they played well with WT."
For the Pioneers to avoid starting conference 0-2, with a road game against No. 13 Langston next week, Henderson said Wayland must improve on offense.
 "We have to go get points. As well as we're playing defensively, and our special teams are doing a good job keeping (the other team) on the other end of the field, we have to find ways to put up points. It will be a combination of not making mistakes and penalties, as well as making big plays."
Â
