BLINN TO FACE TYLER IN CONFERENCE OPENER
Story by Joe Alberico, Blinn College Sports Information
The Blinn College football team will look to build upon an encouraging season-opening victory when it returns to the field Saturday for its Southwest Junior College Football Conference opener against No. 4 Tyler Junior College.
The Buccaneers and Apaches will kick off at 7 p.m. at Cub Stadium in Brenham.
Blinn (1-0) opened its season with a 34-20 victory over Kilgore College on Aug. 22, earning its first win over the Rangers since 2017. The Bucs overcame a 10-6 halftime deficit and outscored Kilgore 28-10 in the second half behind several explosive offensive plays and a defense that intercepted three passes.
Sophomore quarterback Jack Emerson threw for 295 yards and two touchdowns while adding a rushing score, sophomore wide receiver Travaris Turner-Smith caught six passes for 149 yards and a touchdown, and sophomore running back Bryson Batts rushed for 122 yards and a touchdown on nine carries while also returning a kickoff for a score.
Sophomore running back Lorenn Johnson added a 66-yard touchdown reception.
“That first game came down to execution,” head coach Ryan Mahon said. “I think you started to see our guys shake off some of those early-season jitters in the second half against Kilgore. That’s when we started executing at a higher level, making bigger plays on defense, and establishing our running game, which is what helped us win the ballgame.”
Fresh off a bye week, one of Blinn’s biggest points of emphasis during its two-week break has been eliminating penalties and freeing the offense to showcase its potential with explosive scoring plays.
“We have guys on this offense who are sophomores and really understand what we’re trying to accomplish as a unit, and they’re helping instill that mindset in the younger guys, too,” Mahon said. “Having a quarterback who has been in the system for a while also helps. We feel like we’re just scratching the surface of what our offense is capable of, and we’re excited to see how it grows and improves.”
Emerson said the Buccaneers have used the extended break to focus on timing and communication.
“We had times where we showed a lot of spark and potential as a unit, but you could still see some moments where we were trying to get on the same page as a group,” Emerson said. “These last two weeks have been centered around focusing on the little details, timing issues, and communication as we look to clean up the mistakes and missed opportunities from week one.”
Blinn also hopes to establish its running game earlier after doing much of its damage on the ground in the second half against Kilgore.
“We’ve put a lot of emphasis on our running game the last two weeks in terms of making sure that part of our offense is established right out of the gate,” Mahon said. “We absolutely cannot expect to wait an entire half to run the football effectively and expect to win the game again.”
Defensively, the Bucs will look to build upon a performance that included three sacks and three interceptions against Kilgore. Sophomore defensive back Kingston Kramer and his freshman cohorts K’hrin Hollerman and E’Ryan Lawrence each picked off a Kilgore pass, while linebackers Jude Hernandez (sophomore) and Sterling Bright (freshman) picked up solo sacks and freshman defensive lineman Bryan Godfrey and Chris Carbin combined for another.
“Our pass rush is something we focus on every day,” Mahon said. “They wreaked some havoc in the backfield against Kilgore and made it really hard to play the quarterback position. They opened up a ton of plays for our defensive secondary.”
The challenge becomes significantly tougher Saturday against a Tyler program coming off an 11-1 campaign and an appearance in the NJCAA Division I four-team national tournament. The Apaches are 2-0 this season and ranked fourth in the country under new head coach Brady Davis.
“They are very talented,” Mahon said. “They’re coming off a very good year, and that allowed them to recruit very well this past offseason. They’re a very talented team that plays with great confidence, and they will be a handful to deal with.”
Carbin said containing Tyler’s quarterback and running game will be a priority for the Blinn defense.
“We need to keep their quarterback in the pocket and close his running lanes,” Carbin said. “They also have some great running backs, so if we can keep them from breaking outside, I think we have a shot to pull this one out.”
For Emerson, Saturday represents an opportunity for Blinn to prove it can build on its season-opening victory. The Bucs seek their first victory over the Apaches since 2018.
“This is a huge game for our entire team,” Emerson said. “We started the season off with a big victory, and then we went into a two-week break from real football. We’re determined to build off what we started.
“This game against Tyler really gives us an opportunity to turn some more heads. We’ve really been locked in these last two weeks because this game means something to us.”