Pioneers hang tough with #15 Ottawa

Wayland Baptist gave No. 15 Ottawa (Ariz.) all it could handle for more than a half, but the Spirit finished strong and walked away from Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium with a 61-30 win Saturday afternoon.
 
The Pioneers (2-7, 2-6 Sooner Athletic Conference) were still within one possession, 24-17, after scoring on their first offensive series of the second half. But Ottawa (7-1, 7-1) scored 17 straight points after that and tacked on 14 more unanswered in the fourth to put it out of reach.
 
Ottawa, coming off its first loss of the season, sputtered out of the gates with turnovers – two fumbles and an interception by Tari York – on three of its first four possessions. But Wayland was only able to get three points out of the takeaways, settling for an 18-yard Jeffrey Lucido field goal after having it 1^st-and-goal at the 3.
 
The Pioneers held the Spirit scoreless until a 40-yard field goal with 39 seconds left in the first. Ottawa's first touchdown came almost four minutes deep into the second, although Wayland answered with a three-yard touchdown run by Jacoby Hunt.
 
The Pioneers didn't always have answers after that.
 
Ottawa took the lead for good with 5:20 left before halftime. After the teams traded TDs to open the third, with Dylan Sterling catching an 11-yard Nick Quintero touchdown pass for Wayland, the Pioneers trailed 24-17. But the Spirit's fast-paced, no-huddle offense got rolling and Wayland couldn't keep up.
 
Quintero did hook up with Brenden Strickland on a 74-yard bomb on the final play of the third quarter that made it 44-23. It was 58-23 when Hunt scored on a 1-yard dive to round out the Pioneers' scoring.
 
WBU had no answer for Ottawa receiver Jermaine Trotma, who caught eight passes for 176 yards and three TDs. Spirit QB Austin McCullough threw for 369 yards and four scores, while two Ottawa running backs surpassed the 100-yard mark toward a 299-yard rushing day for the visitors.
 
Strickland had a six-catch, 165-yard day for Wayland. On defense, Andrew Villa recorded a dozen tackles, Manny Arguijo 10, Stefano Sanchez nine and Jaren Baltazar eight.
 
Prior to the game, Wayland honored nine seniors – Joseph Colurciello, Samuel Daily, Jacoby Hunt, MarQuell McFalls, Brook Quinones, Nick Quintero, Brenden Strickland, Dominque Taylor and Kaleb Thornton.
 
The Pioneers wrap up their season next Saturday in Glendale, Ariz., against No. 24 Arizona Christian (7-2, 6-2), which went on the road and handed No. 18 Langston its second loss in a row on Saturday, 40-37 in overtime.