The Howard Payne Yellow Jackets face a formidable task for homecoming as the Mary Hardin-Baylor Crusaders visit Gordon Wood Stadium at 2:30 p.m. Saturday, as both teams are attempting to rebound from American Southwest Conference losses a week ago.

Howard Payne (2-4, 0-2) dropped a 42-33 decision at East Texas Baptist last week, while UMHB (3-2, 1-1) was thumped by Hardin-Simmons, 44-21.

“I feel like we played a complete game last week,” said HPU second-year head coach Kevin Bachtel. “We started fast and played well. We had a couple of special teams errors, one was a great design by them, the other was us getting out of our lanes on kickoff returns. That was the difference in the ball game. I was proud of our guys and told them that after the game. Things could have gone wrong, we had a bunch of guys that were sick that played through it, so I’m proud of the way they held together even going down by 15 points at one time. There was no give up or quit.”

Turnovers have plagued UMHB throughout the season, including four first-half interceptions in last week’s loss to Hardin-Simmons, but aside from that this year’s Cru team is what you would typically expect from the program, according to Bachtel.

“When you turn on the tape they look like Mary Hardin-Baylor,” Bachtel said. “They’ve had some turnovers and if they don’t turn the ball over last week it could be a different game. They have replaced the quarterback it appears, and I don’t know if that changes the game plan because they don’t look any different. Defensively they’re doing the same things since I think they started the football program. They’re gigantic and really good up front, they’re phenomenal athletically, so we’ve got our hands full. They’re a potential Top 10 team if everything comes together for them.”

Mary Hardin-Baylor produces 27 points and 380 yards – 207 passing and 173 rushing – per contest, while turning over the ball 14 times.

Kamerin Ferguson paces the ground game with 359 yards and four touchdowns, joined by Asa Osbourn’s 189 yards and a score.

Quarterback Isaac Phe has thrown for 604 yards, completing 53 of 90 passes with five touchdowns and 10 interceptions. Receiving threats include Christopher Gacayan II (11-162, 2 TDs), Jerry Day Jr. (8-114) and AJ Williams III (6-133, 2 TDs).

The Yellow Jackets counter with a defense that is giving up 32 points and 367 yards – 217 rushing and 150 passing – per outing, with seven takeaways.

Defensive standouts for the Jackets are Kale Shaw (37 tackles, 2.5 for loss), Jacob Korrodi (35 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 sacks, 1 interception), KC Cornelius (30 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 interception), Peyton Lowe (30 tackles, 3.5 for loss), Kadarius Carr (22 tackles) and Cade Rochinski (21 tackles, 2.5 for loss).

On the flip side of the ball, Howard Payne averages 27 points and 385 yards – 311 through the air and 74 on the ground – per contest, with nine turnovers.

Quarterback Zy Gravitt has connected on 90 of 155 passes for 1,514 yards with 11 touchdowns and four interceptions. Leading receivers include Gus Charles (31-585, 2 TDs), Jackson Meller (12-279, 3 TDs), Kristopher Creel (11-129), Ellis Myers (9-175, 2 TDs), and Mateo Hernandez (8-155, TD). Weapons out of the backfield include Blessing Ngene (225 rushing yards, 2 TDs; 7-47, TD receiving) and Kiante Stoker (108 rushing yards, 3 TDs).

The Cru is also yielding 27 points per game, along with 344 yards – 215 through the air and 129 on the ground – with 15 takeaways.

Leading the charge are Durand Hall (38 tackles, 5 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 interception, 2 fumble recoveries), Da’Marion Morris (26 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 2 interceptions), Gavin Brzezinski (22 tackles, 1 interception), and Justin Hines-Moore (15 tackles, 5.5 for loss, 3 sacks).

As for what it will take for the Yellow Jackets to emerge with the victory Saturday, Bachtel said, “Playing a whole game like we did last week and growing together, I think we’ll have a chance to win at the end of the game. I told our guys they can play with anybody and I think they believe that. It will come down to if things go right, and how do we respond if things go wrong? They’ve handled that well, I was proud of that last week, but we can’t get in a big hole and give them momentum. If we can stay in the game we’ll have a chance to win the game at the end of it.”