SURPRISE, Ariz. – Back on the field for the first time in a month, the Wayland Baptist football team fell behind early and never caught up as the Pioneers fell to 24
th-ranked Ottawa (Ariz.) in Sooner Athletic Conference play here Saturday afternoon, 34-15.
The Pioneers (2-3, 1-2 SAC) found themselves trailing 28-0 early in the second half before getting on the board with a four-yard touchdown run from quarterback
Nick Quintero.
Wayland didn't allow the Spirit (2-1, 2-1) in the end zone again, but Ottawa did manage a couple of fourth-quarter field goals before the Pioneers added a late TD on a 25-yard pass from
Brook Quinones to
Brenden Strickland with 55 seconds to play.
WBU ended with almost 500 yards of offense – 491, to be exact – compared to 579 for Ottawa. But the Spirit managed to put it in the end zone while the Pioneers came up short.
Big plays hurt Wayland's defense as Ottawa scored on passes of 21 and 32 yards in addition to a 65-yard run by Shamar Moreland. The Spirit also scored on a 9-yard pass for the first point of the day.
Quintero completed 25-of-43 passes for 253 yards, but he was sacked five times. Eleven different Pioneers caught passes, with Strickland grabbing six for 160 yards.
Skyler Whitten snared seven receptions for 78 yards.
The Spirit got 383 yards and three TDs from Austin McCullough, who completed 25-of-40 with an interception by
Kaleb Thornton. Moreland was the game's leading ground-gainer with 119 yards on just 12 carries.
Caleb Jennings and
Keondre Vassar were WBU's top tacklers with seven stops each. De'Andre Armstrong logged nine stops, including one tackle for loss, and two pass breakups for the Spirit.
Wayland next travels to Oklahoma to take on Langston (1-2, 1-2) at 2 p.m. Saturday, April 3, prior to the season finale against No. 16 Arizona Christian in Plainview on April 10. Langston won its first game over Lyon, Ark., on Saturday, 37-10. The Lions previously lost to Arizona Christian, 27-10, and SAGU, 31-20.
