After an extended 2½-month preseason filled with unfamiliar pandemic protocol, the Wayland Baptist Pioneer football team can hardly wait to open the curtain on the 2020-21 football season this weekend.
"The neatest thing is we're getting ready to play football," head coach
Butch Henderson said. "The kids are working really hard, and I know they are ready to play."
The Pioneers have likely been ready now for several weeks. After their first day of practice way back on Aug. 5, the team has spent the past 10 weeks conditioning and practicing in anticipation of Saturday night's season-opener in Phoenix, Ariz., against the Arizona Christian University Firestorm.
"This week things really picked up," Henderson said. "They realized, 'Hey, you're fixing to go play a football game.' It's been exciting to watch."
The coach said the Pioneers have taken the unusual season in stride.
"They've worked real hard and kept a good attitude, which is a reflection of our (student-athlete) leaders."
Kickoff between the Pioneers and Firestorm from Greenway High School football stadium is 9 p.m. Central on Saturday. That's 7 o'clock Arizona time, when Henderson said temperatures are expected to be 98 degrees.
ACU is allowing 550 fans into the game. Ticket information is available at
https://www.acufirestorm.com/tickets. Streaming video will be offered with links at
www.wbuathletics.com.
The Pioneers are set to leave Friday morning for Phoenix, with a brief detour to El Paso where the team will have a workout Friday afternoon before concluding the 12-plus-hour bus ride. Henderson said the team planned the quick stopover in El Paso due to COVID restrictions not allowing them to work out in New Mexico.
While the game will mark the season-opener for Wayland, it will be the second game of the unusual season for Arizona Christian, which traveled to Oklahoma for their 2020 debut last Saturday against Oklahoma-Panhandle State. After trailing 7-0 at halftime, the Firestorm rallied to defeat the Aggies, 28-13.
Henderson said facing perennial power Arizona Christian, which has posted five consecutive winning seasons since a two-win campaign in 2014 when the Firestorm started the football program, won't be an easy task.
"Playing them right off the bat will be a big challenge for us, (but) we have to start somewhere," the coach said. "Our kids are ready. Just getting to play is exciting for us."
Wayland has the unique quirk to both open and close its season against Arizona Christian. Saturday's game is the first of three this fall for Wayland, all against Sooner Athletic Conference schools. The fall results won't count as a league game. Instead, Wayland's six games this spring – including the finale on April 10 in Plainview – will help determine the SAC champion.
The Pioneers will be looking to end a five-game losing skid against Arizona Christian. The Pioneers' lone win over the Firestorm, 28-21, came in the second game of ACU's inaugural season. WBU has lost every matchup since, including 40-27 last year in Plainview.
Last week against OPSU, the Arizona Christian defense amassed 10 sacks – three by senior cornerback Arthur Hayes – and 16 tackles for loss. Sophomore quarterback Tyler Duncan threw for 159 yards and two touchdowns – both to senior Jon Cole – while running for 62 more yards.
Wayland, meanwhile, will field what Henderson called one of his most athletic teams since the program was restarted in 2012.
"Athletically we're as good as we've been," he said.
The Pioneers return as many as eight starters on offense and five on defense, with a number of other seasoned veterans in the program of close to 120 student-athletes. "We have a lot of kids who redshirted last year but were here," Henderson said.
The vets include four offensive linemen in seniors
Matthew Ontiveros at center,
Trevor Townsend at guard and
Jacob Boswell, an All-SAC First Team selection last year, at tackle, along with junior
Joseph Colurciello at guard. "Boswell, Townsend and Ontiveros are all three-year starters, so "we have a really good base in there," Henderson said.
The Pioneers have two experienced quarterbacks for their fast-paced offense in senior
Nick Quintero and redshirt-junior
Brook Quinones. In mostly backing up graduated all-conference honorable mention signal-caller
Mitchell Parsley last season, Quintero saw action in seven games, completing 59-of-118 passes for 793 yards with three touchdowns.
"Nick has really improved," Henderson said. "He has a tremendous arm and his reads have gotten better. The more those players understand the system and how it fits together makes a big difference."
Senior
Daniel Hurn will be a four-year starter at slot receiver. Hurn was second on the team last season with 32 receptions for 460 yards and four touchdowns in addition to being a dangerous kick/punt returner.
After a redshirt year, taking over for all-conference running backs
De'Sean Johnson and
Jerrell Peterson will be junior
Jacoby Hunt, who saw action in 2017 and '18.
On defense, Wayland returns its top five tacklers from last season, led by junior middle linebacker
Casey Buck, a second-team all-conference honoree for his 72 tackles, three sacks, 10½ tackles for loss and two interceptions. Other leading tacklers back are junior linebacker
Manny Arguijo (63 tackles, 13 TFL), junior strong safety
Trace Richey (41 tackles, 2 INTs), senior tackle
Justin Wheeler (37 tackles, 13 TFL) and junior free safety
Kaleb Thornton (31 tackles, 2 INT).
"Casey and Manny are both excellent football players, and Justin and (junior end)
Kevin White can really play," Henderson said, adding that a number of reinforcements are expected in the spring along the defensive front.
