Henry Austad and Will Wilcox continue to be a two-man wrecking crew for the Kansas Wesleyan football team.
Austad, the Coyotes' quarterback, had 268 total yards and accounted for three touchdowns while Wilcox, a tall and talented split end, caught nine more passes in leading the Coyotes to a 30-6 demolition of Avila on Saturday night on Gene Bissell Field at JRI Hospitality Stadium and Graves Family Sports Complex.
Wesleyan improved to 3-0 under first-year coach Matt Middleton with Austad and Wilcox once again leading the offense. Their efforts were backed by another stellar effort from the defense.
Austad, a graduate transfer from Southeastern (Florida), was 23 of 36 passing for 225 yards and a touchdown and had 43 yards rushing that included a pair of two-yard scoring runs. Wilcox, a freshman transfer from Henderson State, gained 102 yards with his nine receptions, the longest 36 yards. Five others also caught passes.
Luke Armstrong, the team's leading rusher, missed the game with a leg injury he suffered a week earlier against Bethany.
"I thought it was sloppy at times," Middleton said on his postgame radio show. "We've got to get our running game going. Obviously, you could see the big miss with Luke tonight - we got some bad news with him this week.
"All in all, it's a win and you can't ask for more than that. ... but we left a lot of points on the field tonight, at least 14 or 15."
Middleton used three running backs in the game. D'Heaven Domena had 66 yards on 10 carries, Kohl Nolan 29 on nine tries and Enoch Walton 20 on six attempts.
"The thing is we faced a three-man front," Middleton said. "We've got to be able to run the football at will and anytime you get a three-man front you should be able to at will. It's just something we haven't done, and I need to do better with that."
Defensively KWU limited Avila (0-3) to 274 total yards and blanked the Eagles until midway through the fourth quarter. Linebacker Myles Elam had a team-best 10 tackles, seven of them solo.
Special teams also had a good night highlighted by a pivotal play in the second quarter. Clinging to a 7-0 lead Avila drove deep into KWU territory before the drive stalled.
Eagles' placekicker Juan Delgado attempted a 35-yard field goal, but Diego Davis broke through and blocked it. Brennon Allen scooped up the loose ball and ran 72 yards for a touchdown that gave KWU a 14-0 lead with 14:02 remaining in the second quarter.
Middleton was thrilled with one statistic that actually did not register as such - the Coyotes were not flagged for a penalty the entire game. Avila had five penalties for 33 yards.
"That's what we want to do," he said. "The biggest thing is play disciplined football and do the very best that we possibly can. I'm super proud of the kids for that, there's no doubt."
Wesleyan took a 7-0 lead on its second drive of the game going 95 yards on 10 plays, the final 11 yards on a pass from Austad to David Sheffer with 5:31 left in the opening quarter.
After Allen's special teams gem Avila went three-and-out. KWU scored five plays later on Cole Segraves' 38-yard field goal with 10:54 left in the half that made it 17-0 - a margin the Coyotes took to the locker room at halftime.
Wesleyan scored on first possession of the second half, Austad going in from the 2 at the 7:21 mark of the third quarter and capping a 51-yard, 12-play drive.
Austad's second two-yard touchdown run came with 11:32 left in the game and finished off a 46-yard, 10-play drive that upped the advantage to 30-0.
Avila scored on Kasaun Graham's 4-yard run with 8:47 remaining.
"I'm proud of the kids and the reason I love them is they're not satisfied," Middleton said. "There's a sour taste in their mouth after tonight. We're leaving a lot points out there and we've got to get that corrected pretty quick."