Apaches stay unbeaten, take down Navarro
Written by Phil Hicks
Palmer missed it by one play and eight seconds.
The TJC defense stepped up with two key fourth down stops in the fourth quarter and the No. 6 Apaches held off No. 8 Navarro 17-10 before 5,000 fans on a cool autumn evening at Trinity Mother Frances Rose Stadium.
The Apaches and their fans could not breathe easy until Navarro's Markel Steward-Gillespie was ruled out of bounds on fourth down at the Earl Campbell Field 8-yard line with 8 seconds left in the game.
The Apaches then took over and victory formation meant the squad improved to 6-0 on the season and 3-0 in Southwest Junior College Football Conference play. The Bulldogs, who were ranked No. 1 just two weeks ago, lost their second consecutive game to fall to 4-2 and 2-2. It also snapped TJC's eight-game losing streak to the Bulldogs.
Running back Leroy Dobbins led the TJC offense with 169 yards on 25 carries while Tim Wright paced Navarro with 27 attempts for 161 yards.
All season the TJC offense has solidified the games for the Apaches, but this time it was defense.
Coming though were the likes of WaWa Leota, Colton Moorehead, Larry Thomas, Will Coleman, Caleb Tuiasosopo, Kenny Iloka, Tre Rosser and Darian Morris; the list could go on and on.
It was one of the best TJC defensive efforts in a while.
The Apaches looked to be in control, jumping out to a 14-0 lead on runs by quarterback Randy Price and Dobbins, but they could not put the Bulldogs away. TJC scored on two of its first three possessions.
After adding a Lumi Kaba 33-yard field goal in the third quarter for a 17-3 lead, Navarro finally got in the end zone on Wright's 18-yard dash with 6:02 to go.
Tyler's offense was conservative in the second half, although a 78-yard TD jet sweep by Andre Sanders was negated by a holding penalty.
Still, with chances to put the game away, Navarro was stood up.
With 1:38 left in the game, the Apaches held the Bulldogs when QB Carson Earp overthrew an open Steward-Gillespie near the 10-yard line.
Tyler took over at its own 37 and three plays ran only 18 seconds off the clock.
After a standout 40-yard punt by Christian Madrigal and good coverage by the Apaches, Navarro took over at its own 23 with 1:08 remaining.
The Bulldogs got to the Tyler 48 before three straight incompletions gave the ball to Tyler. Steward-Gillespie caught the desperation heave from Earp but replays showed he was out of bounds near the 8-yard line.
TJC travels to Cisco for a 7 p.m. game Saturday.
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No. 6 Tyler 17, No. 8 Navarro 10
Navarro 0 3 0 7 — 10
Tyler 14 0 3 0 — 17
First Quarter
TJC – Randy Price 7 run (Lumi Kaba kick), 8:11
TJC – Leroy Dobbins 5 run (Kaba kick), :49
Second Quarter
NC—FG Carlos Macias 29, 5:09
Third Quarter
TJC – FG Kaba 33, 6:16
Fourth Quarter
NC—Tim Wright 18 run (Macias kick), 6:01
EST. ATT. —5,000.
NC TJC
First Downs 21 15
Rushes-Yards 43-192 48-265
Passing Yards 197 108
Comp.-Att.-Int. 17-38-0 9-20-1
Punts-Avg. 7-32.7 8-33.9
Fumbles-Lost 3-0 2-1
Penalties-Yards 10-85 12-105
INDIVIDUAL STATISTICS
RUSHING—Navarro, Wright 27-161, Earp 8-27, Washington 5-8, Mitchell 3-(-4). TJC, Dobbins 25-169, Price 12-73, Taylor 7-28, Sanders 1-2, Carraway 1-(-3), Team 2-(-4).
PASSING—Navarro, Earp 17-38-0 197. TJC, Price 9-20-1 108.
RECEIVING—Navarro, Steward-Gillespie 5-64, Lauderdale 3-15, Wright 4-78, Collins 2-19, Greer 1-9, Mims 1-7, Carter 1-5. TJC, Reynolds 4-67, Carroway 3-27, Franklin 1-13, Taylor 1-1.
Article courtesy of www.etfinalscore.com: http://www.etfinalscore.com/ET-TJC/187380/apaches-stay-unbeaten-take-down-navarro