***

Coming off their second American Southwest Conference loss, the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets will attempt to regroup as the Texas Lutheran Bulldogs come to town Saturday.

Kickoff between the Yellow Jackets (5-2, 2-2) and Bulldogs (1-6, 0-4) is slated for 1 p.m. at Gordon Wood Stadium.

The Yellow Jackets were upended by McMurry, 45-21, last week, which dealt a significant blow to their hopes of competing for the ASC championship. Meanwhile, the Bulldogs have yet to defeat a conference foe, dropping a 16-6 decision at home to East Texas Baptist last week.

A triumph Saturday would secure a third consecutive winning season for Howard Payne, which can still reach eight victories – the most since going 9-1 in 2002 – by winning its three remaining contests.

“We’re still in the championship picture but we have to have help,” said HPU first-year head coach Kevin Bachtel. “Is that help likely? You never know, but it’s still a possibility. But our goal is to take it a week at a time and to win this week. TLU is playing well and a lot like McMurry where they’re in games and playing well, they just don’t win it. But our mindset is to move forward this week and don’t think about anything else.”

Reflecting on last week’s 45-21 loss to McMurry, Bachtel said, “I felt like we were ready to play. We scored the first drive and got a stop, then they blocked a punt which I felt like deflated the team a little bit. From there, it was a perfect storm for us. We turned the ball over three times, didn’t play great on special teams and they got away from what they do defensively and change their front on us. We just didn’t play up to our standard and that’s the outcome you get. It’s one of those games you just have to get over.”

Heading into the eighth game of the season, Howard Payne’s offense produces 37 points and 462 yards – 363 through the air and 99 on the ground – per game, with eight turnovers.

Quarterback Landon McKinney has completed 153 of 256 passes for 1,978 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. Leading receivers include Gus Charles (43-715, 7 TDs), Jordan Carroll (41-614, 8 TDs), Deon Collins (22-297, 5 TDs), Samuel Sims (13-184), and Semahj Brown (5-96, 2 TDs). Weapons out of the backfield include Javian Myles (351 rushing yards, 5 TDs; 23-194, TD receiving), Reece Rodgers (212 rushing yards, 1 TD; 22-144 receiving), and Ngene Blessing (107 rushing yards, 3 TDs).

The Yellow Jackets defense gave up a season-high 45 points last week, but for the year is still yielding just 18 points and 299 yards – 206 passing and 93 rushing – per contest, with 18 takeaways.

Leading the charge are KJ Kelley (56 tackles, 6 interceptions), Jessie Paris (45 tackles, 5 for loss), KD Bookman (32 tackles, 1 interception, 1 fumble recovery), Jacob Korrodi (31 tackles, 3 for loss), KC Cornelius (29 tackles, 1 interception), and Peyton Lowe (22 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 sack).

The biggest key for a turnaround for HPU this week, according to Bachtel, is consistency.

“At times last week we played really well on offense and at times we didn’t,” he said. “And at times we played really well on defense and we didn’t at other times. Special teams has been so back and forth all year and we really honed in on that this week. We can’t give up big plays in that area. Consistency, playing four quarters is what we’re after.”

The Bulldogs generate 24 points and 336 yards – 192 passing and 144 rushing – per game.

Quarterbacks who have seen the most action for TLU this year include Seth Cosme (783 passing yards, 2 TDs, 5 INTs) and Caden Bosanko (504 passing yards, 5 TDs, 2 INTs). The ground game is led by Jacob Forton (404 rushing yards, 6 TDs) and DaKory Willis (235 yards, 2 TDs), while Bosanko (228 rushing yards, 3 TDs) is also a threat. Top receivers include Jacob Wallace (24-219, 3 TDs), Forton (22-172), Caleb Camarillo (16-122), and Chase Patek (12-203).

“They are very multiple, run lots of formations, a lot of tackle over type stuff with the power run,” Bachtel said. “Their quarterback is unbelievable. They had a fifth-year senior in Seth Cosme and this kid beat him out, so obviously he’s really good. Their running backs run extremely hard and they’re gigantic up front. They’re going to try and mash you, and that’s my concern.”

Texas Lutheran is giving up 31 points and 414 yards – 220 through the air and 194 on the ground – on average.

Standouts for the defense include Tristan Smith (38 tackles, 4 for loss), Mason Hardy (30 tackles, 1 interception), Troy Tomaselli (30 tackles, 1 fumble recovery), Markel Turner (27 tackles, 1.5 for loss), Christian Monroe (22 tackles, 2 sacks) and Jemario Thomas (22 tackles, 4 interceptions).

“Defensively, they’re not as athletic as some teams we’ve seen but they’re big up front and get after you,” Bachtel said. “Our biggest concern is us, but they’re going to pose a lot of problems. And if we don’t play well, they will beat us.”

—

American SW Conference		Conference Wins	Conference Losses	Overall Wins	Overall Losses
Hardin-Simmons		4	0	6	1
Mary Hardin-Baylor		4	0	4	3
East Texas Baptist		3	1	4	3
Howard Payne		2	2	5	2
*Sul Ross		2	2	3	4
McMurry		1	3	3	4
Austin College		0	4	1	6
Texas Lutheran		0	4	1	6

* Not eligible for ASC Championship due to reclassification

—

Week 9 Games (Oct. 26-28)

Texas Lutheran at Howard Payne

Mary Hardin-Baylor at Hardin-Simmons

Sul Ross at East Texas Baptist

Austin College at McMurry

—

Week 8 Games (Oct. 19-21)

McMurry 45, Howard Payne 21

Hardin-Simmons 55, Sul Ross 7

Mary Hardin-Baylor 49, Austin College 14

East Texas Baptist 16, Texas Lutheran 6