Although its Southwest Junior College Football Conference road tilt against Tyler Junior College didn’t end the way it planned, the Blinn College football team ended the game with a bang thanks to an unlikely source.
While the Apaches earned a 52-27 victory over Blinn on Saturday in Tyler, Texas, the Buccaneers kept things interesting in the second half thanks to a breakout effort from freshman quarterback Rylan Wooten.
Wooten, a Brenham, Texas, product, came off the bench in the third quarter and proceeded to commandeer four Blinn touchdown drives. The third-string signal caller tossed TD passes of 18 yards to freshman wide receiver Richard Edwards and 15 yards to freshman running back Kelton Weathers, while helping to keep several drives alive with his feet as the Bucs scored twice more on the ground.
“We needed a spark, and I thought Wooten came in and played exceptionally well,” said Blinn head coach Ryan Mahon. “He has some fight in him. He used his feet to keep the defense honest and made plays, which is all we ask of the kids.”
Freshman running back Antonio Martin found the end zone on a 4-yard run and fellow freshman halfback Junior Onipede also scored on the ground from 3 yards out.
Blinn’s second-half eruption provided some promise for the future in an otherwise rough day for the Bucs.
Tyler benefited from five Blinn turnovers en route to a 42-0 halftime lead. The Apaches took advantage of some short-field opportunities to score 35 second-quarter points.
“We put our defense in bad situations, and they capitalized on it,” added Mahon. “We had a tough time blocking up front and we were unable to run the ball. We have to stop finding a way to lose and find a way to win. We have to get out of our way and take care of the football.”
Blinn is now 2-5 overall and 0-5 in conference play.
Next up for the Bucs is a bye week before hitting the road to face conference rival Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College at 3 p.m. on Saturday, Oct. 28, in Miami, Okla.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 44 NJCAA national championships since 1987.
