Houston – The Pioneer's offense found their groove on Saturday night as they annihilated the Stallions of North American University, 41-6, to earn their first win on the season.
Wayland Baptist kicked the ball off to begin the game, and in a matter of fifty seconds, the Stallions had been forced to punt to the Pioneers thanks to a three-and-out. The Pioneers began their opening possession in great field position, taking over on the Stallion's 42-yard line. The Pioneers moved the ball to the NAU 30-yard line, then struck paydirt as junior running back
Damon Ford had a 30-yard completion from senior quarterback
Davian Guajardo for a Pioneer Touchdown.
The Pioneer defense continued to fly around on the second NAU possession as they forced another quick three-and-out to get their offense the ball back with some early momentum. The Pioneers took over on their own 40-yard line, but a strong 11-yard rush by Ford and a personal foul on the Stallion defense pushed WBU deep into enemy territory. Guajardo then ripped off an 11-yard scramble to put the Pioneer offense in the red zone for the first time tonight. The Pioneers took a shot to the end zone on third and goal, but a defensive pass interference call gave the Pioneers a fresh set of downs, which was capitalized upon by senior quarterback
Bryan Ponder as he ran in a two-yard touchdown to extend the Pioneer lead to 14-0 near the end of the first quarter.
Wayland Baptist had the ball to begin the second quarter after their defense continued their strong play by forcing another Stallion's punt, their third of the game already. Sophomore wide receiver Maddox Platzek made his presence known just a few minutes into the quarter as he caught a 17-yard dime from Guajardo to go up 21-0 and officially turn on the route for the Pioneers. The Stallions finally answered with a 38-yard touchdown rush, but the Pioneers were able to get a hand on the extra point and block it to keep the score at 21-6, which is what the score would be as the teams headed into the locker at the halftime break.
The opening second half drive for the Pioneers stalled pretty quickly, but
Brayden Welch delivered a solid punt that was muffed by the Stallion returner and recovered by Wayland Baptist at the NAU 33-yard line to continue their drive. The Pioneers capitalized on the Stallion mistake with a five-yard touchdown pass from Guajardo to
Jasiah Barron to push the WBU lead to 28.6.
In last week's defeat at Oklahoma Panhandle State to open the season, Pioneer Head Coach Marcos Hinojos talked about how his team made little mistakes that ultimately cost them the game. That was a different story for the Pioneers this week, and they were the team forcing their opponent into those same little mistakes.
Coach Hinojos said, "We made some strides in the right direction. This week we practiced with purpose. Our emphasis was on executing at a very high level. To eliminate the "sometimer" mindset. Throughout the entire trip, we were very focused on a professional approach to our work. The leaders on this team made the first loss a personal thing. They pushed each other to do their 1/11
th every play."
With just under six minutes left in the third quarter, the Pioneer's had the possession and were pushing into NAU territory. After that drive stalled out, senior kicker
Leo Marini showed great poise while drilling a 42-yard field goal to put the Pioneers up 31-6. Marini followed up that successful field goal on the very next Pioneer possession with a 44-yard bomb to push the WBU lead up to 34-6 heading into the final quarter.
On the Pioneers first possession of the fourth quarter, junior running back
Keamodre Horace broke through the Stallion's defense for smooth 42-yard touchdown rush to put Wayland Baptist up 41-6, which is how to contest would come to an end.
Coach Hinojos was very proud of how his team played, but admitted there were still some things his team could continue to improve on. Coach Hinojos said, "Our offense was highly productive, our defense bowed up on many occasions, and our special teams dominated for four quarters. We were not perfect and still have some work to do, but we are very proud of our team."
Wayland Baptist had 351 yards of total offense compared to 168 for NAU, which is a credit to the Pioneer defense for standing tall all night long. Special Teams was a huge determining factor in this game as the Pioneers only had two punts for a total of 66 yards, while the Stallions had seven punts for a total of 174 yards, which is only 24.9 yards per punt. The Pioneers converted 3 of 5 red zone opportunities, went 5-5 on extra points, went 2-2 on field goals, and had four penalties for 62 yards compared to nine penalties and 106 yards for NAU, showing the improvements the Pioneers made in doing the little things right.
Guajardo was efficient in his limited throwing opportunities, totaling 75 yards and three touchdowns on 8 of 13 attempts. Ford led the Pioneer run-game with 72 yards rushing on 20 attempts. Horace finished with 68 yards rushing on nine attempts. Quarterback
Bryan Ponder showed off the legs in this one, compiling 47 yards and a touchdown on nine attempts.
Senior defensive back,
Harper Terry, led the Pioneers defensively with six total tackles including three solo tackles. Defensive lineman
Isaiah Brooks was a force on the line all night long, finishing with four total tackles, two solo tackles, 1.5 sacks, and two total tackles for loss that equaled 15 yards.
Kaleb Brooks finished with four total tackles, 1.5 sacks, and a solo tackle.
The Pioneers will look to keep the positive momentum heading into next weekends matchup with Sul Ross State University. Wayland Baptist will hit the road for Alpine, Texas next Saturday as they will face Sul Ross State University at 1:00 PM.
