The Howard Payne Yellow Jackets will attempt to keep their unblemished American Southwest Conference record intact as they return to Gordon Wood Stadium to take on the winless McMurry Warhawks.
Kickoff between the Yellow Jackets (4-1, 3-0) and War Hawks (0-5, 0-3) is slated for 1 p.m. Saturday.
“In my opinion, they are not a typical 0-5 football team,” HPU second-year head coach Jason Bachtel said of McMurry. “They’re in ballgames and if you don’t show up and play, these guys will beat you. They’re good and I really do believe they’re capable of winning multiple games this season, we just don’t need that to happen this week. We have to play a really good football game, a four-quarter game.”
Howard Payne has started quickly in each of the last two contests, scoring the first 19 points against East Texas Baptist and the first 28 at Sul Ross. But in last week’s contest, the Yellow Jackets saw their lead shrink to a touchdown in the fourth quarter before emerging with a 56-42 victory.
“Two weeks in a row we started out fast on both sides of the ball and then there’s been a sense of relaxation on the sideline,” Bachtel said. “We had opportunities in the last two weeks to put daggers in both teams before halftime and we just never did it. The point of emphasis this week is we can’t allow a team to come back into a ballgame when there’s really no ballgame to begin with. There was never a sense on our sideline that we were in trouble last week, and that’s good. That shows a sense of resolve that this program has been looking for for many years. We just made it a lot closer than you would have really liked.”
Heading into the sixth game of the season, the Yellow Jackets are averaging 51 points and 604 yards – 387 passing and 217 rushing – per outing behind the offensive front of left tackle Justin Tesno, left guard Chase Iverson, center Dominik Reed, right guard Chandler Noble, right tackle Steven Trevino and tight end Casey Dufner.
HPU’s ground game is anchored by Javian Myles (324 yards, 5 TDs), Billy Reagins (317 yards, 5 TDs), and Tauren Bradley (288 yards, 2 TDs), while Landon McKinney has completed 96 of 157 passes for 1,763 yards with 16 touchdowns and four interceptions. Leading receivers include ASC Offensive Player of the Week Otis Lanier (26-475, 6 TDs), Jordan Carroll (18-457, 5 TDs), Hunter Cheek (13-367, 5 TDs), and Samuel Sims (8-128, 2 TDs).
The Jackets will face a McMurry defense that yields 26 points and 330 yards – 167 rushing and 163 passing – per game, with three takeaways on the season.
Standouts include Devin Nixon (38 tackles, 4 for loss), James White (23 tackles, 2.5 for loss), Ke’Shaun Jnofinn (20 tackles, 1.5 for loss), Herman Lee (19 tackles, 6 for loss, 6 sacks), and Kane Strohman (19 tackles, 5 for loss, 1 sack).
“Defense has been their life line all season long,” Bachtel said of McMurry. “They’ve stayed in ballgames because of how they’ve played defensively. This is team that’s not going to give us the big play or the deep ball. We’re going to have to be methodical, we’re going to have to be able to march the field and understand that if they take deep ball away from us, if they take the big play away from us, we’re still OK and can gain 4 yards and move the chains and eventually score.”
On the flip side of the ball, McMurry produces 21 points and 308 yards – 242 through the air and 66 on the ground – per game, with five turnovers.
Andrew McBride (54 of 120, 755 yards, 4 TDs, 4 INTs) and Gaylon Glynn (19 of 27, 314 yards, 4TDs) have seen time at quarterback, while receiving threats include Kristopher Martin (15-247, TD), Xavier Williams (9-130, TD), Jermond Lovely (8-156, TD), and Kevi Evans (5-139, 2 TDs). Rajan Cunningham (182 yards, 1 TD) is the top rusher.
Meanwhile, the Howard Payne defense will attempt to approve upon the 32 points and 424 yards – 283 through the air and 141 on the ground – allowed per contest.
Leading the charge are Kyle Bell (33 tackles, 1.5 for loss), Jarett Brown (30 tackles, 3 for loss, 1 interception), K.C. Cornelious (28 tackles, 2.5 for loss), Jessie Paris (27 tackles, 1.5 for loss), Peyton Lowe (24 tackles), and James Jakubowski (18 tackles, 3 for loss, 2.5 sacks, 1 interception).
“Defensively we have to get more takeaways and we have get them off the field early in a drive,” Bachtel said. “We can’t allow them to continue to move the chains and milk the clock like they did against Hardin-Simmons.”
Bachtel noted that McMurry defensive coordinator Will Snyder was a member of the Yellow Jackets staff a year ago.
“He’ll have his kids primed and ready to knock off his former school, but our kids are primed and ready to knock him off, too,” Bachtel said.
Earlier this week, the Yellow Jackets received 11 votes in the American Football Coaches Association NCAA Division III Top 25, which would rank 31st in the nation.
“That’s been a goal of ours since day one, to get back in the national standings and become a team that the nation sees in the polls,” Bachtel said. “It’s one step closer, but we still have a long way to go. We’re not the gold standard in the conference yet, and I still believe we’re in the toughest conference in the nation. It’s great to be recognized but we never want the satisfication or contentment in this program and then fall back down.”