BRENHAM, Texas – The No. 14 Blinn College Buccaneers used an explosive offense to combat the No. 3 Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals, 31-27, on Saturday night at Cub Stadium.
Trailing 27-24 in the final quarter, the Buccaneers had a chance to tie the game with a field goal after freshman quarterback Devin Williams and freshman wide receiver Quinton Newton connected on a 37-yard pass to move the ball into the red zone. During the fourth down from one-yard out, the Buccaneers called a timeout.
"I just knew we had to score and a touchdown would change the whole game," Williams said.
Williams rushed through the Trinity Valley defense for the last touchdown of the game with 10:22 remaining for the Buccaneers to take a 31-27 lead.
"It was a huge risk, but everyone wanted to go for it," said Ryan Mahon, Blinn head coach. "That's what gave us the lead as opposed the tie and it was a big play."
Williams led the offense with 273 passing yards and 62 rushing yards for one touchdown.
Although Trinity Valley came out strong, opening the game with a 14-0 lead with 7:23 on the clock in the first quarter, it was Blinn's explosive offense that came out on top.
Dandre Reed posted 55 yards with two catches, Newton recorded 134 yards with six catches, Carlos Grace rushed for 100 yards, and Quantonio Williams rushed for 32 yards as the Blinn offense worked alongside Devin Williams to conquer the Cardinals.
"I know if I get the ball into their hands they are going to do something and are going to be playmakers," Devin Williams said. "This win shows the bond we have together; everybody loves one another."
Back-up quarterback Daveon Boyd came in for the third drive of the game and got things started for the Buccaneers with a 45-yard touchdown pass to Reed to get Blinn on the board with 6:18 left in the opening quarter.
The Buccaneers tied the game 14-14 with 1:28 on the clock in the first quarter after Williams connected with Reed on a 48-yard pass that allowed sophomore running back Quantonio Williams to rush the ball in from the one-yard-line.
Trinity Valley took back control with a 37-yard field goal to open the second quarter with a 17-14 lead, but the Buccaneers answered back as sophomore kicker Ryan Buckley kicked a 33-yard field goal to even the score 17-17 with 8:54 remaining.
With 4:13 left before the half, Blinn grabbed a 24-17 lead after recovering a fumble for freshman Grace to score on a one-yard run.
Trinity Valley moved quickly to take back the lead in the second half as the Cardinals evened the score 24-24 with 8:51 on the clock in the third quarter. The Cardinals grabbed a 27-24 lead with a 38-yard field goal with 13:21 left, but the Buccaneers took it back during their first drive of the final quarter.
The Buccaneers improved their record to 3-0 overall to remain undefeated in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference. Blinn will face off against Kilgore College on Saturday, Sept. 23 at 7 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 36 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
