The Buccaneers are now 3-5 on the year and 1-5 in conference play.
“You have to play consistently well to win in this conference, and we did not do that today,” Blinn head coach Ryan Mahon said. “We played hard and we didn’t give in, but we just need to be more consistent.”
The Golden Norsemen opened the scoring on a 27-yard quarterback keeper from sophomore Quintevin Cherry with 3:51 left in the first quarter.
The Bucs answered with a 37-yard field goal to make it 7-3 at the 8:49 mark of the second quarter.
On Northeastern’s ensuing possession, Blinn sophomore defensive lineman Raquan Thompson forced a fumble from the hands of quarterback Will King and Buccaneer freshman linebacker Bra’lon Jones fell on top of it at the NEO 26-yard line.
Blinn needed just two plays to take the lead, as freshman quarterback Brock Bolfing floated a 22-yard pass to sophomore running back JJ Branham and Branham capped the scoring drive with a 4-yard scamper into the endzone with 7:18 left in the first half.
The extra point from sophomore kicker Agustin Doeyo made it a 10-7 Blinn lead.
The Norsemen jumped ahead for good on their subsequent series, using an option read from Cherry to sophomore running back Najee Ellies that went 57 yards down to the Blinn 2-yard line. Running back Fredrick Watson scored on the next play to make it a 14-10 ballgame.
Watson tacked on a short touchdown just before halftime to send the Norseman into the intermission with a 21-10 edge.
NEO made it 28-10 on a Cherry touchdown pass at the 7:28 mark of the third quarter.
The Buccaneers cut into the Norsemen’s lead on a 9-yard keeper from sophomore quarterback Hayes Gibson with 3:09 left in the third period.
The Buccaneers will close out their season on the road when they visit Kilgore College for a conference showdown at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Nov. 5, in Kilgore, Texas. The game will be broadcast on ESPN+.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
