For the second time this season, the Howard Payne Yellow Jackets are presented with the daunting task of challenging the American Southwest Conference rival and fifth-ranked Hardin-Simmons Cowboys.

Kickoff between Howard Payne (2-5, 0-3) and Hardin-Simmons (7-0, 3-0) has been moved up to 7 p.m. Friday at Shelton Stadium due to threat of inclement weather Saturday. Coming off a bye week and having already seen Hardin-Simmons once this season, the preparation for second-year head coach Kevin Bacthel’s squad hasn’t affected by the date change.

“With this round-robin schedule we’re playing the No. 5 team in the country twice, but I’m excited about the opportunity because I felt like we left some stuff on the field the first time,” Bachtel said. “We’ve seen them so we understand their personnel, but now it comes down to who changes their game plan and how do the game plans change. The advantage is we know who they are, but a disadvantage is the game planning gets tricky and you have to be careful not to try and over-coach or out-couch your opponent.”

The Yellow Jackets dropped their season opener to the Cowboys, 38-6, back on Sept. 7 at Gordon Wood Stadium. Hardin-Simmons outgained Howard Payne 427-272 in total yardage in that contest.

HPU scored on a 74-yard pass from Zy Gravitt to Jackson Meller to cut the deficit to 7-6 in the first period following a missed extra point, but the Yellow Jackets mustered just 198 yards the rest of the game on 45 snaps – an average of 4.4 yards per play.

Hardin-Simmons rushed for 187 yards as Noah Garcia contributed 87 yards and three touchdowns, while Kyle Brown passed for 240 yards and a touchdown to Kris Sims, who finished with four grabs for 63 yards. Brown also rushed for a score.

Regarding improvements Bachtel hopes to see the second time around, he said, “We moved the ball against them the first game, we just didn’t score. That’s the thing for us. We’re going to have Gus Charles back for us and he didn’t play the first game so that’s a huge shot in the arm. Defensively, we didn’t get off the field on third down. We had them in third and longs and didn’t get off the field. If we score and get off the field, it’s going to be a good game.”

For the season, the Yellow Jacket offense is averaging 23 points and 351 yards – 286 through the air and 65 on the ground – per contest, with 12 turnovers.

HPU is led by quarterback Zy Gravitt (106 of 185 for 1,675 yards, 11 TDs, 7 INTs); receivers Gus Charles (35-678, 2 TDs), Jackson Meller (14-285, 3 TDs), Ellis Myers (11-179, 2 TDs), Kristopher Creel (11-129), and Mateo Hernandez (10-180, TD); and running backs Ngene Blessing (245 rushing yards, 2 TDs) and Kiane Stoker (114 rushing yards, 3 TDs).

“Looking at us, we’ve tweaked some things offensively from that first game, but we haven’t really changed,” Bachtel said. “If we’ve done anything we’ve cut a few things.”

Defensively, Howard Payne is surrendering 33 points and 386 yards – 225 passing and 161 rushing – per outing, with eight takeaways.

Leading tacklers include Kale Shaw (40 tackles, 2.5 for loss), Jacob Korrodi (39 tackles, 2.5 for loss, 1 sack, 1 interception), Peyton Lowe (38 tackles, 4 for loss, 1 sack), KC Cornelius (33 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1 interception), Kadarius Carr (28 tackles), and Cade Rochinski (23 tackles, 2.5 for loss)

“Defensively we’ve been in this system for four years, so we’ll continue to do what we do and tweak stuff on the go,” Bachtel said.

Meanwhile, the Cowboys enter the contest producing 48 points and 428 yards – 233 passing and 195 rushing – on average, with six turnovers.

Offensive standouts include quarterback Kyle Brown (120 of 169 for 1,579 yards, 18 TDs, 2 INTs); receivers Tailon Garrett (32-424, 4 TDs), Kris Sims (21-368, 2 TDs), Dozie Ifeadi (19-249, 5 TDs), and Wes Douglas (14-170,3 TDs); and running backs Noah Garcia (584 rushing yards, 11 TDs), Braylon Henry (362 rushing yards, 4 TDs), and Colton Marshall (210 rushing yards, 3 TDs).

“They threw the ball a lot against us the first game, which we didn’t know if they would, but they’ve continued to throw the ball, and their run game is unbelievable,” Bachtel said. “The quarterback they have is legit and they’re able to do more, which puts team in a huge bind.”

HSU’s defense yields only 17 points and 286 yards – 165 through the air and 121 on the ground – per contest, with 10 takeaways.

Top players include Harrison Foster (63 tackles, 3 for loss, 2 interceptions), Kaiden Roden (59 tackles, 7.5 for loss, 2 sacks, 1 fumble recovery), Charlie Patterson (45 tackles, 6.5 for loss, 4 sacks), Mike Akinbisola (25 tackles), and Brody McClure (21 tackles, 3.5 for loss, 1 sack).

The Cowboys forced the only turnover of the game in the first meeting with the Yellow Jackets.