First-place Firestorm too tough

A sack-fumble on the second play of the day foretold the kind of afternoon it would be for the Wayland Baptist football team Saturday afternoon as the Pioneers wrapped up their season against No. 14 Arizona Christian.
 
The Firestorm turned that early turnover into the first of their six touchdowns, and Arizona Christian went on to a 42-7 Sooner Athletic Conference victory at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium.
 
It was a far cry from Wayland's season-opener in Phoenix way back on Oct. 17 when the Pioneers took the Firestorm to overtime before falling, 31-28.
 
On Saturday, on its way to securing the SAC championship, Arizona Christian (9-1, 6-0 SAC) led 21-0 at halftime and scored 21 more in the second half before the Pioneers got on the scoreboard midway through the fourth quarter. With many non-starters on the field, freshman quarterback Trayton McLain hooked up with Evan Gonzales running an inside slant for a 30-yard touchdown that allowed Wayland (2-5, 1-4) to avoid the shutout.

Wayland came within a yard of breaking the goal line on a couple of other occasions. First, early in the second period, Wayland had it 1st and goal at the ACU 10 but failed to score when Jasiah Barron, after catching a pass, was pushed out of bounds at the 1 on third down before Christian Vaughn was denied on fourth.

Then, late in the second, Naaji Gadsden broke up the middle for a 20-yard run but lost control of the ball right before he crossing the goal line. The ball rolled out of the back of the endzone for a touchback.

Wayland's defense had a difficult time controlling Arizona Christian's vaunted passing attack, which ranks seventh in the NAIA. Quarterback Shea Morales helped direct the Firestorm to 366 yards and four touchdowns as he and backup James Duncan completed 27-of-39 passes.

Meanwhile, the Pioneers' air attack was grounded by ACU, held to 118 yards and 14 completions (to 11 receivers) in 24 attempts. It didn't help when starter Nick Quintero exited the game with an injury suffered when he was sacked midway through the second quarter.

The Pioneers did have some success rushing the ball, totaling 167 yards on the ground including 83 from Christian Vaughn and 74 from Naaji Gadsden.

Kaleb Thornton led WBU's defense with 10 tackles – five solo and five assists. Tyrell McCalester and Casey Buck finished with nine stops each, and Caleb Jennings and freshman Brian Patterson both had interceptions.

The Firestorm ended with 529 yards of offense compared to Wayland's 285.