LITTLE ROCK, Ark. – Defense led the way in the first way and offense caught up in the second half for Blinn College football to run away with a 49-0 victory over Arkansas Baptist College Saturday afternoon in Little Rock, Ark.
Offense was a little sluggish in the first half but the defense picked up the slack in scoring two touchdowns in the first quarter to start the game off right. From there, the offense woke up and buried Arkansas Baptist for the commanding road victory to improve its overall record to 4-1 and the conference record stays at 1-1.
“The defense played really well and scored the first 13 points for us,” said Blinn head coach Keith Thomas. “Offensively we didn’t do much in the first half but came back in the second half and played real well.”
J.J. Dallas led the defensive charge in the opening quarter when he intercepted a pass and made a 40-yard beeline for the end zone for a 7-0 lead. The defense wasn’t done in the first as Ben Sutton picked up a fumble from an Arkansas Baptist receiver and took it back 80 yards for a 13-0 lead.
With the defense pitching a shutout, the offense got going in the second quarter as Thomas Hutchings found the end zone before halftime from 10 yards out for a 20-0 lead and the score stayed that way at the half.
Blinn’s offense exploded in the third quarter with 21 points as Hutchings added his second touchdown run, this one from two yards away for a 27-0 lead. Timon Nolan added the following touchdown as he ran it in from 45 yards away for a 34-0 lead.
D’Anthony Hopkins probably made the play of the game for the Buccaneers before the end of the third quarter as Blinn was content to just run the ball on third and 15 to get into better position to punt. Hopkins had other ideas as he took the handoff and weaved through Arkansas Baptist traffic for a 40-yard touchdown and a commanding 41-0 lead.
Blinn’s defense was able to keep the zero on the scoreboard for Arkansas Baptist and Brandon Jackson added a touchdown from nine yards out to put the icing on the cake. Caleb Hill hit Hunter Johnson for a 2-point conversion to make the final score 49-0.
After a bye week next Saturday, Blinn will be back in action for homecoming against Cisco College on Oct. 3 at 3 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 32 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit: www.buccaneersports.com.
