The 11th-ranked Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals scored three touchdowns in the final 3:54 Saturday night to rally for a 36-28 victory against Blinn College in SWJCFC action Saturday night at Bruce Field.
The win improved the Cardinals to 3-1 on the season and 2-1 in league play. Blinn dropped to 2-2 and 1-2. It was their sixth straight win against the Buccaneers.
The Cardinals are scheduled to return to action Saturday, traveling to Little Rock, Ark., to face Arkansas Baptist College in a 3 p.m. non-conference clash.
"It was a great win in front of a large Family Day crowd," 10th-year Cardinal head coach Brad Smiley said. "I am very proud of our kids with the way they made plays and battled back.
"It was a blessing the way everyone stayed together and on the same page when things weren't going like we wanted. The energy on the sideline and from our fans was awesome."
With 13:13 left in the game, the Buccaneers took control of the game, going up 28-17 on a 19-yard D'Anthony Hopkins touchdown run. Blinn maintained the advantage until the Cardinal defense forced a punt, resulting in the offense getting the ball on the Blinn 36-yard line.
The Cardinals covered the distance in four plays to get back into the game. Cedric Battle took a Shelton Eppler handoff and scooted in from the one. The try for two points failed, leaving the Blinn lead at 28-23.
With 3:06 remaining, the Cardinal defense against came up big when Patrick Peek recovered a Blinn fumble and returned it to the Buccaneer 36. Five plays later, Adam Berryman crashed into the end zone from three yards out to put the Cardinals up 29-28 with 1:31 to go. The two-point conversion attempt failed.
The Cardinals sealed the deal on the ensuing kickoff when Jaquay Pough recovered a fumble on the ensuing kickoff on the Blinn five-yard line. Berryman scored on the first play following the turnover. With Caden Novikoff's PAT, the Cardinals were up 36-28.
Blinn lost a fumble on the ensuing kickoff and the win was sealed.
The Cardinals rallied from another 11-point deficit in the first half after Blinn went up 14-3 at the 13:23 mark of the second quarter.
The comeback began with 4:13 to go in the half on a 24-yard Battle scoring run. Michael Curtis hit Anthony Turner with a 29-yard pass with 42 seconds left to give the Cardinals a 17-14 advantage.
Curtis completed 16-of-31 passes for 249 yards before leaving the game with an injury in the second half. He was replaced by Rayjohn Austin-Ramsey, who was replaced by Eppler. Eppler, in his collegiate debut, hit 4-of-10 passes for 60 yards. He also had two runs for eight yards.
Battle led the Cardinals' 224-yard ground game with 72 yards on 12 carries. Berryman finished with 61 on 11 and Curtis 42 on eight.
Defensively, Sami Awad paced the Cardinals with nine tackles. Jalen Scott had eight and Terrence Potts, Devante Thoms and Blake Stephenson seven each.
Peek had two of the Cardinals' four fumble recoveries. He returned one 61 yards for a touchdown that was wiped out by a penalty.
TVCC-BLINN SCORING SUMMARY
BLINN – D'Anthony Hopkins 4 run. (Ryan Buckley kicks)
TVCC – Caden Novikoff 34 FG
BLINN – Tre'Veon Hamilton 49 pass from Caleb Hill. (Buckley kicks)
TVCC -- Cedric Battle 24 run. (Novikioff kicks)
TVCC – Anthony Turner 29 pass from Michael Curtis. (Novikoff kicks)
BLINN – Brandon Howser 57 pass from Hill. (Buckley kicks)
BLINN – Hopkins 19 run. (Buckley kicks)
TVCC – Battle 1 run. (Run fails)
TVCC – Adam Berryman 3 run. (Pass fails)
TVCC – Berryman 5 run. (Novikoff kicks)
