Slotted exactly in the middle of the Sooner Athletic Conference football standings, Wayland Baptist will have a chance to knock off one of the upper-tier teams when the Pioneers take on Lyon College on Saturday afternoon.
Kickoff of the Sooner Athletic Conference game from Batesville, Ark., is 2 p.m.
The Pioneers (3-3, 2-2 SAC) will be looking for their third straight victory this season against the Scots (4-2, 3-1), who are coming off a bye week. Before their bye, Lyon bounced back from a 60-7 loss to then No. 17 Langston with a 38-22 road win over Southwestern Assemblies of God University, putting a damper on the Lions' homecoming. Wayland defeated SAGU last Saturday in Waxahachie, 24-14.
The Scots' other conference wins have come over Texas College, 32-17, and Texas Wesleyan, 53-45. Wayland defeated Texas College, 40-18, and will face Texas Wesleyan in two weeks, after next Saturday's homecoming game against Oklahoma-Panhandle State.
WBU holds a 3-1 series lead over Lyon, winning a wild four-overtime game last season in Plainview. The Pioneers and Scots were tied at 31 after regulation, and Wayland wound up winning, 49-43.
The teams played another thriller the year before in Batesville, with Wayland all-American kicker Daniel Martinez booting a 41-yard field goal to win it, 30-28. (WBU later forfeited that win, giving Lyon its only victory over the Pioneers).
Wayland coach Butch Henderson said one of the most concerning things about the Scots is the size of their defensive line.
"With all four of them it's probably the biggest we'll play," Henderson said. At the head of the class are sophomores Ladarious Thomas, a 5-foot-9, 295-pound end, and Marcus Garza, a 5-11, 270-pound tackle.
Leading the Lyon stopper unit is senior linebacker Sam Taylor (6-0, 200), the SAC's top tackler with 56 stops on the season, including 6½ tackles for loss.
"He's a good football player," Henderson assured. "He moves well and is making a lot of tackles all over the field."
The coach said it's important the Pioneers put together a well-balanced offensive game plan to try to keep Taylor at bay.
"We have to be able to run the ball at them, but we also have to use our passing game to keep balanced so he can't become a dominant factor." Henderson said while it's virtually impossible to design a plan to block Taylor on every play, a balanced offense – especially one with effective run-pass options – will at least keep him guessing. And, hopefully, occasionally we "can make him guess wrong."
Offensively, the Scots lean on sophomore quarterback Isaiah Bradford (5-11, 190), who ranks third in the conference in average passing yards at 215, just behind Wayland senior Mitchell Parsley at 229. Bradford completes 56 percent of his passes, having thrown 13 touchdowns and four interceptions.
"He's real patient," Henderson said of Bradford. "He's a lot like Mitchell in that he's able to extend plays. That's where they get a lot of big plays is his ability to move and make things happen. That puts a lot of pressure on (the defense)."
Bradford and his receivers – especially Randy Satterfield and Orreon Finley who average close to 80 yards per game apiece and have combined for 11 TD catches – have good communication when the QB scrambles.
"They adjust well to him when he gets in those situations. They do a good job adapting their routes."
Henderson added turnovers could play a big part in the outcome of Saturday's game, just as they did last week when Wayland came up with six takeaways in their 10-point win over SAGU. Lyon caused three turnovers when it took on SAGU two weeks ago.
Henderson said the Pioneer defense "works real hard creating turnovers, and they got to see their hard work pay off." The coach also praised his defense for allowing just six yards rushing on 22 carries.
"That's phenomenal," he said, adding that with a defensive effort like that, "as long as you're not making mistakes offensively then you have a chance to win."
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