Gallery: (10-26-2024) Football vs Texas Wesleyan
Plainview – The Pioneers got off to a blistering start against the 11
th ranked Rams of Texas Wesleyan University, but a tough second half for the Pioneers comes back to haunt them in a 66-35 loss to the Rams.
Wayland Baptist (3-4, 3-3 SAC) opened the game with an 85-yard touchdown pass on the first play of the game from senior quarterback,
Davian Guajardo, to freshman wide receiver
Brenden Strickland, catching the Rams completely off guard. The Pioneer defense followed up the electric start by the offense by forcing the Rams into a quick three-and-out to get the ball back.
After a few stalled possessions between both offenses, the first quarter came to an end with Wayland Baptist holding a 7-0 lead over #11 Texas Wesleyan, and the Pioneers had possession of the football to begin the second quarter.
On the second play of the second quarter, the Pioneer offense struck again, this time Guajardo would connect with junior receiver
Jaylen Reed for a beautiful 27-yard touchdown catch with a Ram defender draped all over Reed, giving the Pioneers a 14-0 lead. The Texas Wesleyan offense would respond immediately on their next possession, scoring on 28-yard touchdown pass to cut the Pioneer lead in half, 14-7.
On the next offensive possession for the Pioneers, the rushing attack would make its impact known after a 47-yard touchdown run by junior running back
Damon Ford, to give the Pioneers a 21-7 lead midway through the second quarter.
The Rams would begin to chip away at the Pioneer lead after converting a 30-yard field goal to make it 21-10. The Pioneers began to march down the field on their next possession, but the Rams secondary stepped up to make a big interception of Guajardo inside their own 10-yard line to extinguish the Pioneer momentum. The next Texas Wesleyan possession was 3 plays, 91 yards that ended with a 40-yard touchdown pass to make it 21-17, WBU. The Pioneers would take a 21-17 lead over 11
th ranked Texas Wesleyan into the halftime break.
The second half was a completely different story for the Pioneers. On the opening kick-off of the second half, Zykeelan Hadnot of the Rams caught the kick just inside the endzone and promptly took it 100 yards for a touchdown, giving the Rams a 24-21 lead and a sense of confidence. The Pioneers were unable to get anything cooking offensively on their opening possession of the second half and were forced to punt the ball back to the Rams.
Texas Wesleyan would carry their momentum from the kick-off return for a touchdown into their next possession, scoring on another splash play. The Rams connected for a 52-yard touchdown pass to extend their lead over the Pioneers, 31-21. The Pioneers fell into a deeper hole later in the third, falling behind 38-21 after the Rams punched one in from the two-yard line.
The Pioneer offense showed signs of life on their next possession. After a couple of plays went for 20+ yards, Guajardo would connect with junior receiver,
Jasiah Barron, for a beautiful 21-yard touchdown to make it 38-28, Rams.
Texas Wesleyan would connect on another one of those "splash" plays, this one being a 75-yard touchdown connection on the first play of the possession, making it 45-28, Rams. On the following Texas Wesleyan kick-off, the Pioneers tried to return the kick and fumbled inside their own 20-yard line, which the Rams scooped up and returned to the WBU 7-yard line. The Rams would score a touchdown on the very next play to extend their lead over the Pioneers, 52-28.
The Pioneers had possession of the football on the Rams 8-yard line to begin the fourth quarter. Guajardo then completed his fourth touchdown pass of the day, this one going to sophomore tight end,
Davian Perkins, for an 8-yard score. However, the Rams would answer back nearly instantly on their next possession, tossing a 46-yard touchdown to take a 59-35 lead over the Pioneers. Texas Wesleyan scored for the final time on a 50-yard rush that resulted in a touchdown to extend their lead to 66-35, which is how the scoring would end in this one. The 66-35 loss for the Pioneers puts them at 3-3 in Sooner Athletic Conference play with three regular season games remaining.
Guajardo had a solid game, completing 21 of 36 pass attempts for 347 yards, four touchdowns, and one interception, while also adding 18 yards rushing. Barron led the Pioneer receiving group with 12 catches for 161 yards and a touchdown. Strickland added five catches for 133 yards including the 85-yard touchdown on the first play of the game. Ford led the Pioneer rushing attack with 100 yards on 17 carries for an average of 5.9 yards per carry.
Wayland Baptist finished with 540 yards of total offense compared to 562 yards for Texas Wesleyan. The Pioneer offense had the ball for 44:11 in time of possession compared to 15:49 for the Rams. The Pioneers committed two turnovers in the game, which the Rams capitalized on with points each time.
Safety
Donovan Henry finished with four tackles and a pass break up.
Brennen Davis added five total tackles including three solo.
Isaiah Brooks added four tackles including 0.5 tackles for loss.
Head Coach Marcos Hinojos talked about what changed between the first half and the second half for the Pioneers, "We came into this game with a belief and a desire to Win. We executed the game plan and played with a great deal of heart. In the 3rd quarter Texas Wesleyan made some splash plays that we were unable to recover from. One right after the other. That's what 6-0 "SR" led teams do to remain unbeaten."
The Pioneers will look to bounce back next week as they will host Senior Day on Saturday, November 2
nd against Arkansas Baptist College. The Pioneers will honor their nine seniors with a pregame ceremony followed by kick-off at 2:00 PM from Greg Sherman Memorial Field.
"The goal from here on out is to Win. To approach each week the way we did this week. This conference is a tough conference. Wins do not come easy. There is nothing good in life that is worth having that comes easy. You must get up every day and work hard to succeed. That's what we will do," said Coach Hinojos when talking about this upcoming week of preparations for next Saturday's game against Arkansas Baptist.
