BRENHAM, Texas — The Blinn College football team fell to Tyler Junior College, 37-31, on Saturday at Cub Stadium.
With the loss, the Buccaneers are now 1-6 overall and 0-6 in conference play.
“Both teams came ready to play and it really just came down to the very end of it,” head coach Ryan Mahon said. “I thought we fought the entire time which is definitely a strength, and until the end, I thought we had a chance to win. I thought we did some good things with turnovers early and controlled the ball really well.”
Ben Langston led the defense with two interceptions and returned one for a Blinn touchdown, while Chandler Rogers led the offense with two touchdowns and Jackson Mueller received one touchdown pass.
“Ben is a great football player and I am happy for him,” Mahon said. “He brings good sophomore leadership, so for him to make a play like that at home is always good. We expect it from him.”
Kicker Erik Michel was phenomenal as he kicked three field goals for the Buccaneers, including one from 47 yards out.
“Erik did an exceptional job of handling the wind and getting points on the board for us today,” Mahon said.
The Buccaneers came out strong and built an 18-10 lead at halftime. Tyler took off with a 10-0 lead in the first quarter, but the Buccaneers bounced back by outscoring the Apaches 18-0 in the second quarter.
Tyler built its 10-0 lead in the first quarter with a 33-yard touchdown pass with 10:06 on the clock and a 20-yard field goal in the final 4:39 minutes.
The Buccaneers came back with 18 points in the second quarter to lead at the halfway mark. Rogers put the Buccaneers on the board with a five-yard run into the end zone at the 14:16 mark. Langston, who caught one interception in the first quarter, caught his second interception of the game and returned it for Blinn’s second touchdown. The Buccaneers recorded a two-point conversion to lead 15-10 with 13:02 showing. Blinn kept things rolling as Michel jumped in to kick a 19-yard field goal for the Buccaneers to lead 18-10 with 8:23 left until halftime.
Blinn continued to lead Tyler throughout the third quarter. Tyler scored the first touchdown of the quarter on a 25-yard run at the 13:28 mark to trail Blinn 18-17. However, the Buccaneers answered back with the next 10 points. First, Rogers threw a 10-yard touchdown pass into the hands of Mueller to extend the lead to 25-17 at the 10:23 mark. Then, Blinn pulled ahead 28-17 when Michel kicked a 47-yard field goal with 7:08 showing. Tyler scored the final touchdown of the third quarter with a 52-yard pass to gain on Blinn 28-24 with 1:24 left.
The Apaches managed to rally back in the final quarter for the win. The Apaches took back a 31-28 lead with a six-yard touchdown pass with 11:41 left. Then, they extended their lead to 37-28 with a 20-yard touchdown pass with 9:59 remaining. Michel kicked a 30-yard field goal with 4:52 left to go for the Buccaneers’ final points of the game
Next, the Buccaneers will conclude the season against Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College on Saturday, May 15, at 2:30 p.m. at Cub Stadium. The game will feature Sophomore Day.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 42 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
