TYLER – Wayland Baptist used an opportunistic defense and solid offensive effort to roll to a 38-18 Sooner Athletic Conference victory over Texas College here Saturday.
"I was really pleased, especially with how hard we played," Wayland coach
Butch Henderson said.
Wayland, which led 31-0 at halftime, evened its overall record to 2-2 while moving to 2-1 in the conference. Texas College fell to 0-4 on the season and 0-3 in the SAC.
"This puts us right near the top of the conference. We're sitting right there with everybody," Henderson said.
Official statistics were not immediately available.
The Pioneers came up with a school-record seven interceptions, a blocked punt and a blocked field goal.
Devron Sims and
Kaleb Thornton had two picks each while
Caleb Molina,
Chester McVade and
Tyrel McCalester had one each, with
Caleb Molina turning his into a pick-6.
The Steers converted just 1-of-20 third-down conversion attempts and, due only to a WBU penalty, 1-of-6 fourth-down conversions. The Pioneer defense limited Texas College to 136 yards of total offense: 10-of-49 passes for 136 yards; 19 rushes for 0 yards.
"Defensively we played extremely well," Henderson said, adding that the Pioneer "D" was the highlight early until the WBU offense found its rhythm.
"The defense kept us in it early. We took a while to (start) moving the ball, but defensively we played great. I'd say (Texas College) had negative yardage in the first quarter."
Wayland also scored on a blocked punt by sophomore
Tari York, who not only blocked the boot but recovered it and returned it some 30 yards for the score.
Jacoby Hunt and
Jaden Miles both had rushing TDs.
"We controlled the ball pretty well with our running and passing game," Henderson said.
Reserve quarterback
Brook Quinones connected with
Dylan Sterling for a second-half TD.
"We got to play a ton of kids. That worked out well for us," Henderson said.
The Steers avoided the shutout with a TD late in the third quarter. They scored again early in the fourth period.
Wayland ends a stretch of four road games over the first five weeks when the Pioneers travel to Fort Worth to take on Texas Wesleyan (2-1, 2-1) at 2 p.m. The Rams, who were off this weekend, own wins over Arizona Christian (35-28) and Oklahoma-Panhandle State (49-20) with a loss to Ottawa (45-31).
"They're playing real well right now," Henderson said of Texas Wesleyan.
The Pioneers had two games against the Rams cancelled last season for COVID-19 issues. The teams' most recent meeting was in 2019 in Fort Worth, which Texas Wesleyan won, 24-6.
