BLINN FOOTBALL FALLS ON THE ROAD TO NAVARRO 31-10

Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information  

The Blinn College football team was unable to keep its unbeaten stretch intact Saturday as No. 6 Navarro College earned a 31-10 Southwest Junior College Football Conference victory over the Buccaneers in Corsicana, Texas.

Blinn is now 3-1 overall and 1-1 in conference play.

“I thought my team played hard and stuck with it, but we can’t make the mistakes we made and commit penalties when and where we did and expect to win a football game,” Bucs head coach Ryan Mahon said. “It was a game of missed opportunities and one we have to learn from.”

The two teams played a tightly contested first half before the Bulldogs pulled away after the intermission.

Navarro outscored the Bucs 17-0 in the second half.

After the Bulldogs scored on the game’s first possession to make it 7-0, Blinn answered on a six-yard touchdown toss from freshman quarterback Jack Emerson to freshman wide receiver Tyler Harrington with 3:36 left in the first quarter.

The Bucs later took a 10-7 lead on an 18-yard field goal by sophomore kicker Matt Velasco with 12:31 to go in the half.

A four-yard rushing touchdown just past the five-minute mark of the second quarter put Navarro back on top for good.

Blinn put itself in the red zone on several drives throughout the ballgame, but turnovers and untimely penalties stalled promising drives.

“We had our chances and kept shooting ourselves in the foot,” Mahon said. “We have to be better in the red zone and we have to do a better job of taking care of the football. Good teams will make you pay for those types of mistakes, and that’s what Navarro did today.”

The Bucs will look to get back on track in conference play when they host 12th-ranked Trinity Valley Community College at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 4, at Cub Stadium in Brenham, Texas.