The Wayland Baptist football team will have a little extra incentive to play well when the Pioneers begin their 2022 home-stretch run by hosting the Southwestern Assemblies of God Lions on Saturday afternoon.
The first WBU football reunion since the program was restarted a decade ago will be held Saturday evening, so the Pioneers would like nothing better than to attend the get-together having just beaten the Lions.
Kickoff for the Sooner Athletic Conference contest is at 2 p.m. in Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium. Tickets, available at the gate, are $10 for adults and $5 for students. With proper ID, admission is free for WBU students and faculty/staff.
Join "Voice of the Pioneers" Dan Zeigler at 1:30 for his pregame show – including an interview with WBU head coach
Butch Henderson – as part of the free live streaming broadcast at
www.wbuathletics.com/watch.
Both the Pioneers (2-5, 2-4 SAC) and Lions (4-3, 3-3) are looking to move up in the conference standings. The Lions bring a bit of momentum with them from Waxahachie as SAGU has won its last two games and three of its last four. They went to Arkansas last week and beat Lyon, 31-6, after topping Oklahoma-Panhandle State at home, 41-18. Before a 35-0 loss to Texas Wesleyan, SAGU had won a non-conference game over Arkansas Baptist, 47-20.
The Lions opened the season with a 27-0 victory at home against Louisiana Christian, the same team that handed Wayland its third-straight loss in Pineville two weeks ago, 37-17. Henderson called Louisiana College "a tough place to play."
Wayland was idle last week, and Henderson said the Pioneers had a "good open date. The kids worked hard. We went a lot more live (in practices) than we usually do during our open week. We feel good going in here."
As many teams are this time of the season, the Pioneers are dealing with a number of injuries, although they're getting others back. Quarterback
Bryan Ponder, who missed last week, is questionable for Saturday's game.
Regardless, Henderson said, what Wayland needs more than anything is "someone to step up and start making big plays. We have to learn to make plays when opportunities avail themselves. All points are good, but there are times in the game when (scoring points) changes momentum. Those are the ones we need to get."
In SAGU, the Pioneers will find a team guided offensively by a young quarterback. Freshman Briley Green throws for an average of 187 yards a game, having tossed 11 touchdowns and 13 interceptions. Henderson said Green likes to get the ball to 6-foot-6 sophomore Paul Odidi, who on the season has 17 catches for 390 yards and three TDs. "No. 8 is a threat all over the football field," Henderson said. "Their young quarterback will go to him a lot. Their receivers are pretty talented once they get the ball."
SAGU's biggest offensive threat may be running back Keaton Dudik, a senior who played previously at Navarro College. Dudik averages more than five yards a carry and has rushed for 948 yards and nine TDs. He also has 30 receptions. "Dudik is the real thing," Henderson said.
Dudik runs behind an offensive line that Henderson said all weigh in around the 300-pound range. "They make a difference," Henderson said. "SAGU does as good of a job as anybody in the conference of playing a bunch of kids, especially up front, and keeping them fresh.
On defense, the Lions look to a pair of seniors in noseguard Keandre Belcher and middle linebacker Zach Nelson. Henderson called Belcher SAGU's "bell cow" and said Nelson "plays over the top of their front three covering the gaps. Their outside linebackers really cause some havoc and do a good job of turning everything back in."
The Lions are tied for the conference lead with 16 interceptions, led by Isaac Gowdy with five picks and Lonterrious McClain with four.
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