The Blinn College football team is eyeing a Week 4 bounce back when it hosts Transformation With Athletics (TWA) College this week.
The Buccaneers welcome the Battlecats at 7 p.m. on Friday, Sept. 15, at Cub Stadium in Brenham, Texas.
Blinn (1-1) is coming off a tough 20-19 road loss to Southwestern Junior College Football Conference rival Cisco College, and head coach Ryan Mahon says the game film from the Sept. 9 setback showed a capable Bucs team that left points on the field.
“We missed opportunities,” Mahon said. “There were chances to score points – a missed field goal, a failed two-point conversion, some missed throws – that we didn’t cash in on. I think we’re going to get those things fixed and get going in the direction we want to go.”
Blinn very nearly knocked off the Wranglers, scoring 19 unanswered points to rally from a 14-0 hole. After Cisco took a fourth-quarter lead, the Bucs were unable to convert a fourth-down conversion attempt as they attempted to move into field goal position in the game’s final minute.
The tough loss didn’t come without its positives, as the Bucs deployed a sturdy offensive line that opened holes for a running game that churned out 282 rushing yards and allowed just two quarterback sacks. Freshman halfback Antonio Martin led the way with 171 yards on 31 carries, while freshman quarterback Khalib Johnson and freshman wide receiver Jordan Heyward each scored touchdowns on the ground. Sophomore wide receiver Brooks Rigney hauled in a 16-yard touchdown pass in the third quarter.
Blinn’s defense also shined, allowing just six points after the first quarter while totaling three takeaways (two interceptions and a fumble recovery).
“We did a lot of good, but the loss comes down to a lot of little things that we didn’t execute on,” said Johnson. “We left some change out on the field and we know that. We need to get better as a team and that’s our focus this week.”
Sophomore defensive back Courage Ugochukwu, who had one of Blinn’s two interceptions, said he believes his team is close to being where it wants to be, adding that the Week 3 game film was evident of that.
“We did well, but obviously we need to get better,” Ugochukwu said. “We need to keep teams from scoring early and our offense needs to put up points right from the get-go. I think both units started off slowly, and I like that we eventually picked it up later in the game, but that was too late to get the result we wanted. I think we’re going to get more comfortable, we’re going to get our timing right, and we’re going to start making plays in big spots.”
TWA College, a prep academy based in Austin, Texas, has played NJCAA and NCAA Division III programs through three weeks of play and is 0-3 in those contests. The Battlecats took on Cisco in Week 1 and fell 57-7.
“For us, we just have to go out and play well,” Mahon said. “We have to make sure we improve on the mistakes we made against Cisco and move forward. We need to learn from the loss to Cisco and right the ship, so to speak. That’s what it comes down to. We need to make sure we’re not taking anybody for granted and play our butts off every play.”??
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
