As far as the Wayland Baptist football team has come this season, Saturday afternoon proved there’s still work to be done.
Hoping to go out with a win on Senior Day and double their victory total from the winningest previous season, the Pioneers instead ran into a buzz saw in the form of 23rd-ranked Langston University. The Lions roared, and then roared some more, winning the Central States Football League contest at Greg Sherwood Memorial Bulldog Stadium, 54-10.
Langston (7-2, 5-1 CSFL) made statements both early and late, scoring its first touchdown in the first five minutes of the game then scoring the last on the final play of the contest on a 44-yard bomb to the end zone.
The Lions had scored with 45 seconds left to make it 48-10. After going for two and failing, Langston opted for an onside kick, which the Lions recovered. They then hurried to get off not one but two plays, the last resulting in the touchdown as time expired.
The points basically were meaningless for Langston, which might move up in the NAIA poll but won’t qualify for the playoffs because the Lions didn’t win the conference title. Arizona Christian (7-3, 6-0) made sure of that by locking down the CSFL crown outright for the second straight season with Saturday’s 47-12 victory over Bacone.
Wayland still ends its campaign at 7-3, easily the best since the program was restarted in 2012.
By the time the Pioneers began to find a groove Saturday, they were already down 21-0 as Langston scored TDs on three of its first four possessions. Wayland had some success moving the ball but didn’t have any points to show for it after a 36-yard field goal attempt was blocked.
Sophomore quarterback Mitchell Parsley finally got the Pioneers on the board with a 14-yard scramble with 5:23 left in the first half.
Hoping to go to the locker room and regroup at halftime trailing by two touchdowns, Wayland instead suffered a big blow when Langston quarterback Mark Wright Jr. threw a dart to Daylon Person on a seam route. Person caught the ball in stride and raced to paydirt to complete a 90-yard touchdown reception with 2:16 on the clock.
The second half started with the Pioneer defense forcing Langston into a 3-and-out, which led to the Wayland offense marching down the field before settling for a 38-yard Daniel Martinez field goal to make it 28-10.
Langston’s next possession resulted in another touchdown when a breakdown in coverage resulted in Wright finding a wide-open Leonard Cook for a 49-yard throw-and-run.
The Pioneers looked like they would answer, but failed to convert on fourth down at the Langston 24-yard line. The Lions quickly went the other way with it on a drive that ended with a short scoring run and a 42-10 lead with 25 seconds left in the third.
The Lions produced 654 yards of offense, including 402 in the air as Langston quarterbacks completed 24-of-35 passes. Parsley finished with 284 yards on 26-of-50 passing with three interceptions. Wayland also fumbled four times, losing one. The Pioneers took the ball away three times, including interceptions by Brian Johnson and Gary King.
Trey Rowe caught six passes for 78 yards while Preston Woodard had five grabs for 60 yards. Wayland ran the ball 31 times for just 78 yards against the athletic Lions defense.
Alden Mann, who is second in the NAIA in tackles per game, matched his season average with 17 tackles (six solo) and also forced a fumble.
COURTESY WAYLAND BAPTIST ATHLETICS
