The Blinn Buccaneers and Tyler Apaches traded touchdowns throughout the night Saturday, but in the end it was Tyler that came away with the 72-65 victory in both teams’ Southwest Junior College Football Conference opener at Cub Stadium.
Tyler opened the game with a four-play touchdown drive, but the Buccaneers bounced back, scoring on a 32-yard fourth-down touchdown pass. Tyler then drove inside the 1-yard line, but the Buccaneer defense held firm, stopping them twice with less than a yard to go.
Quarterback Luke Klingler would go down in the end zone for a safety, and Tyler would score on its ensuing possession to take a 16-7 lead. Jake Hubenak then found Dede Westbrook on a 73-yard swing pass to make it 16-14 at the end of the first quarter.
The Apaches would tack on two more scores before Westbrook caught his second touchdown pass of the night, a 30-yard connection that cut Tyler’s lead to 30-21.
The teams would trade touchdowns until the final seconds of the half, as the Buccaneers drove 75 yards, capping the drive with a touchdown pass to Darrion Landry in the corner of the end zone to make it 43-37 at halftime.
Tyler would pull away in the third quarter, scoring 21 unanswered points before Gaylon Sanders scored on a 21-yard touchdown run to make it 64-44 going into the fourth quarter.
The Bucs would score twice to cut Tyler’s lead 64-58 with 9:11 remaining, but Tyler would answer once again, punching the ball in with 5:19 remaining to extend the lead to 70-58.
But the Buccaneers still wouldn’t quit, forcing a Tyler fumble and cutting the final score to 72-65 with 2:28 left.
The Buccaneers are now 1-1 on the season and 0-1 in the SWJCFC after defeating Southeast Prep 77-6 in their season opener. The Bucs return to action Saturday when they travel to Miami, Okla. To play Northeastern Oklahoma A&M at 7 p.m.
Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 29 NJCAA national championships since 1987. For more information, visit www.buccaneersports.com.
