Jackets head to Arkansas seeking first win at Lyon, the team HPU defeated 85-0 last year

September 20, 2024 at 7:00 am Derrick Stuckly

HPU is averaging 16.5 points and yielding 33.5 points per outing thus far, while the Fighting Scots produce 27 points and yield 38 per contest, on average.

The Howard Payne Yellow Jackets’ quest for their first victory of 2024 takes them to Batesville, Arkansas this weekend for a rematch with the Lyon College Fighting Scots – a team HPU defeated 85-0 a year ago at Gordon Wood Stadium.

Kickoff between the Jackets (0-2) and Scots (1-1) is set for 6 p.m. Saturday.

Lyon opened the season with a 48-28 win over Grinnell College, but fell to McMurry, 48-6, last week. Howard Payne, meanwhile, followed a 38-6 season-opening defeat with a 29-27 loss at Nelson last week, a game in which the Yellow Jackets trailed 22-0 at halftime.

Reflecting on last week’s contest, Howard Payne second-year head coach Kevin Bachtel said, “It was a tale of two halves really. We didn’t play well at all in the first half, can’t put my finger on why. We had some special teams errors that put us behind the chains, that was part of it, and defensively the first half we played OK overall, we just missed some tackles. But I was really proud of guys for the way they responded in the second half. I felt we had a chance to win going in, but we’d have to play four quarters and that proved to be right, and we didn’t finish. But this team showed they do have fight in them and I feel like our team came together in trying to come back from that deficit.”

Regarding areas the Jackets need to improve to find the win column, Bachtel said, “The biggest thing is our special teams and we’re not getting guys on the ground as far as tackling. We’re there, we’re just not getting people on the ground. Nelson’s last first down, if we get a stop there we get the ball back with a chance to win it, and we missed two tackles. The offense got some things cleaned up in the second half this week, and we’ve had a good series of practices this week, so I’m really excited to see these guys play again on Saturday.”

Comparing this year’s Lyon squad to the one HPU set records against a year ago, Bachtel said, “They’re older and a lot better than they were last year, and we’re younger. We’re a different team in a lot of ways and how we handle the travel this week is a concern. We’re going to leave at 8:30 a.m. Friday morning, drive to up Sulphur Springs and practice, and that’s an afternoon practice which we haven’t done this year, then drive up and stay in Little Rock, which is an hour and half south of Batesville. We don’t play until 6 p.m. Saturday, so how are they going to handle the down time and getting on the bus again? I worry about Lyon, but I’m worried about ourselves more.”

Lyon is producing 27 points and 280 yards – 145.5 through the air and 134.5 on the ground – per contest, with five turnovers.

The Scots offense features running back Jaylin Babers (223 rushing yards, 2 TDs), quarterback Joe Galay (21 of 29 for 207 yards 3 TDs, 2 INTs ) and receivers Reginald Brown III (11-72, 2 TDs) and Clifford Washington (2-81, TD).

On the defensive end, the Scots yield 38 points and 413.5 yards – 342.5 passing and 71 rushing – per game, with three takeaways.

Standouts defensively include Mason Davis (13 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1.5 sacks, 1 INT), Michael Wingo (11 tackles), Quatavious Gatewood (9 tackles), and William Litton (8 tackles, 1.5 for loss. 1.5 sacks, 1 INT).

“Lyon lost two quarterbacks last week and we’re not sure if they’ll be back this week,” Bachtel said. “Their running back is really good, and I feel like they’re better up front on both sides of the ball. Their defensive front is pretty good. They look faster to me on film than they did last year, so I think this will be a totally different team from last year. And I’m sure they’re going to remember last year’s game.”

The Yellow Jackets enter the contest averaging 16.5 points and 295.5 yards – 236 passing and 59.5 rushing – per outing, with one turnover.

Quarterback Zy Gravitt has completed 30 of 51 passes for 466 yards with three touchdowns and one interception thus far for HPU, while leading receivers include Kristopher Creel (8-86), Gus Charles (7-168, TD) and Jackson Meller (6-136, 2 TDs). Blessing Ngene (78 rushing yards, TD) is the top rusher for Howard Payne thus far.

Defensively, HPU allows 33.5 points and 398 yards – 206.5 through the air and 191.5 on the ground – per game, without a takeaway or sack.

Leading the charge defensively for the Jackets are Jacob Korrodi (20 tackles), KC Cornelius (18 tackles, 1.5 for loss), Kale Shaw (17 tackles), Kadarius Carr (13 tackles), and Peyton Lowe (11 tackles, 1 for loss).

“I want to see consistency, play well all the time for four quarters,” Bachtel said in regard to the goals this week for HPU. “We need to be us. If we’re us, we’ll be fine, but we have to take care of us and not worry about everything else that’s going on. Last week we had such a terrible start, I feel like we have to start fast this week. That is a point of emphasis, starting fast.”