Four consecutive non-conference games have followed since the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets kicked off their 2024 football campaign against American Southwest Conference front-runner Hardin-Simmons, but the league slate resumes Saturday.
The Yellow Jackets (2-3, 0-1) are back on the road for the first of two meetings against the East Texas Baptist Tigers (3-1, 0-1). Kickoff is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday at Ornelas Stadium in Marshall.
Howard Payne chalked up a 75-0 victory over Westgate Christian last week in its final non-conference outing of the year.
“We started well, we had one touchdown called back early, but other than that I thought we played well overall,” said HPU second-year head coach Kevin Bachtel said. “Every running back got a carry which was really cool for them, and most everybody that dressed got in the game at some point.”
Regarding what Bachtel has learned about the Yellow Jackets during their non-conference stretch of games, he stated, “It’s hard to put a stamp on it. I feel like we play to our opponent’s level some. I think we’ve grown, but I think this week will tell me more. It’s a little stiffer competition. Offensively, I want to see us put everything together for a full game and see if we can play as a team for a full game. I’ll know more after this week about what I know about this team.”
East Texas Baptist is coming off its first defeat of the season, a 42-28 setback to No. 14 Mary Hardin-Baylor. The Tigers actually held a 28-27 advantage with just under five minutes to go.
“This is ETBU team is as good as they’ve been since I’ve been here,” Bachtel said. “They did a good job recruiting, they do a good job coaching and they’re really good. We’ll have our hands full.”
The Tigers average 49 points and 541 yards – 300 passing and 241 rushing – per outing, with five turnovers, all fumbles.
Quarterback Kaden Brown has completed 71 of 101 passes for 1,114 yards with 14 touchdowns and no interceptions, while also rushing for a team-best 288 yards and three scores. Paul Woodard has chipped in 254 yards and six touchdowns on the ground while Hymond Drinkard has rushed for 216 yards and three scores out of the backfield. Primary receiving threats include Zay Thomas (17-381, 2 TDs), Trayjen Llanas-Wilcox (17-350, 6 TDs) and Chase Walker (11-125, 3 TDs).
“They have a really good quarterback,” Bachtel said. “To me, he’s their biggest highlight. He can make them go and can get them out of bad situations. He makes good decisions all the time. I haven’t seen him make a bad one yet. We have to do a good job containing the quarterback. Hopefully we can get some pressure and get him a little flustered.”
Howard Payne counters with a defense that allows 29 points and 363 yards – 222 through the air and 141 on the ground – with six takeaways. Stats from last week’s game against first-year Westgate Christian do not count toward the season totals as they are neither an NAIA or NCAA program yet.
Leading the charge for HPU are Kyle Shaw (32 tackles), Jacob Korrodi (29 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception), KC Cornelius (27 tackles, 1.5 for loss, 1 interception), Peyton Lowe (20 tackles, 1.5 for loss), Kadarius Carr (18 tackles), and Cade Rochinshki (16 tackles, 2.5 for loss).
Defensively for ETBU, the Tigers are giving up 22 points and 296 yards – 154 through the air and 142 on the ground – with 11 takeaways, including seven interceptions.
Standouts for the Tigers are linebacker Keewan Grismore (30 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1 INT), linebacker Bron Melvin (26 tackles, 2 for loss, 1 INT), free safety Mason Stancliff (19 tackles, 1 INT) and lineman Jahkamian Carr (18 tackles, 4.5 for loss, 1 sack). Defensive lineman Tyler West has recovered two fumbles and picked off a pass while cornerback Andrae Gibson leads the team with a pair of interceptions.
Meanwhile, The Yellow Jackets are producing 26 points and 370 yards – 307 passing and 63 rushing – on offense per game, with seven turnovers.
Quarterback Zy Gravitt has completed 67 of 118 passes for 1,189 yards with seven touchdowns and three interceptions, while leading receivers include Gus Charles (21-435, TD), Kristopher Creel (11-129), Jackson Meller (10-231, 2 TD), Mateo Hernandez (6-134, TD), Klyderion Campbell (5-87, TD), and Ellis Myers (4-99, TD). Weapons out of the backfield are Blessing Ngene (136 rushing yards, 2 TDs), Kiante Stoker (70 yards, 2 TDs), and Jalen Davis (48 yards, TD).
As for what it will take for the Yellow Jackets to return home with a victory, Bachtel said, “We have to click on all cylinders, and we can’t have costly turnovers and costly penalties that set us up behind the chains. Our kids are focused, but we’ll have to play a really clean game and not beat ourselves.”