CORSICANA, Texas — Quarterback Brock Landis and wide receiver Danny Gray connected for three touchdowns on Saturday night to help boost No. 18 Blinn College football (2-1, 1-1) to a 38-33 win over Navarro College on the road.
"It is always hard to win in this conference, especially on the road, so I couldn't be more proud of the team," said Ryan Mahon, Blinn head coach. "Landis did a really good job and every wide receiver that played tonight had a catch, so he is playing with this offense at a high level and it is fun to watch."
Landis completed 31-of-43 passes for 468 yards and five touchdowns, while Gray caught 15 receptions for 207 yards and three touchdowns. Xavier Hutchinson followed with seven catches for 134 yards and one touchdown, while Trea Shropshire tallied 74 yards on four catches for one touchdown.
The first quarter was low scoring as Navarro led Blinn 7-3. The Bulldogs scored first on a 3-yard run with 3:39 remaining, while Blinn landed on the board in the final second when Alex Schroeder kicked a 23-yard field goal.
In the second quarter, Landis threw for three touchdowns to help Blinn gain a 24-17 lead over the Bulldogs at the half.
Landis connected with Gray for Blinn's first two touchdowns. First, Landis and Gray linked up for a 95-yard touchdown pass for the Buccaneers to lead 10-7 with 13:09 on the clock. Navarro evened the score to 10-10 with a field goal before Landis found Gray in the end zone again, this time for a 10-yard touchdown pass at the 7:15 mark.
Blinn extended its lead to 24-10 with 5:09 left when Landis connected with Shropshire for a 2-yard touchdown pass. Navarro scored its final touchdown of the first half with 2:00 remaining on a one-yard run.
Blinn came out strong in the third quarter as Landis threw a 74-yard pass to Hutchinson in the end zone within the first two minutes (13:17). Navarro scored one touchdown in the quarter on a 16-yard pass to close in on the Buccaneers, but Blinn answered back immediately. With 7:56 left in the third, Gray caught a one-yard touchdown pass from Landis for Blinn to lead 38-24 entering the final quarter.
Navarro managed the only points in the final quarter. With 10:26 left, the Bulldogs scored on a safety. Then, Navarro scored on a four-yard pass with 2:20 remaining to gain on Blinn 38-33. The Buccaneers were able to hold Navarro off for the rest of the game for the win.
Next, Blinn will return home to face Rezolution Prep Academy in a non-conference game on Saturday, Sept. 14, at 7 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 41 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
