West Texas Win: TJC Apaches blank Cisco
Article Courtesy of Phil Hicks, Tyler Morning Telegraph
CISCO — With Chesley Field decorated in black & gold for the local Loboes high school team, the Apaches felt right at home on Saturday in West Texas.
Tyler Junior College looked like the home team in a stellar performance, pitching a shutout at host Cisco College, 17-0, in a Southwest Junior College Football Conference game.
The Apaches, dressed in white jerseys, black numbers and gold pants, fell comfortable in their surroundings and did not allow the Wranglers, who were averaging 38.0 points per game, to even sniff the end zone until late in the third quarter and later with under two minutes left in the game.
And the Apaches rose up and completed the shutout, holding the Wranglers four times inside the 10 for their first league shutout since blanking Cisco 38-0 in 2001. They did shutout Kilgore in non-conference games in 2004 and 2005.
"It was a great team win," said TJC coach Thomas Rocco, whose club improves to 4-4 on the season and remains in contention for a playoff berth with a 3-3 league mark. "The defense played outstanding. The line blocked well and we rushed the ball. ... And we kicked a field goal. It was a great overall performance."
TJC held the Wranglers, who were averaging 430.3 yards a game, to just 224 yards and only 57 rushing.
Cisco falls to 5-3 and 3-3.
Both clubs are in need of wins next week to earn postseason berths. TJC is hosting Kilgore at 3 p.m. Saturday, while CC will travel to Miami, Oklahoma to meet Northeastern Oklahoma A&M the same day.
For the second straight week, the Apaches used their massive offensive line and talented running backs to fuel the offense, which garnered 244 yards rushing.
K'Vonte Jackson led the way with 81 yards on 13 carries, while former Brownsboro standout Kevon Thompson had 70 yards on seven carries, including a back-breaking dash down the sideline in the fourth quarter for a 54-yard TD.
Trenton Kennedy added 50 yards and a 6-yard TD on 10 totes.
Yovannie Garcia added a 22 field goal and two PATs.
The offensive line of center Isaiha Peralta, guards Demetri Jordan and Dondrick Collins and tackles Marcus Harry and Sha'corey Young opened the holes up front.
TJC had two interceptions — one each by former JT standout Javontavius Mosley, his second of the year, and Jeremiah Garner.
The Apaches applied a tremendous pass rush on Cisco QB Blain Kruemcke. Chris Sanders, Levi Russo-Bell, Blaine Hoover, O'Tay Baker, Maureese Wren, Derrick McClendon and company made the game uncomfortable for Kruemcke, who threw for 167 yards, far short of the 242 passing average by the Wranglers.
TJC QB Colby Kizzee started and played most of the game before leaving with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. David Johnson and Nate Overholt were both under center with Overholt running for 29 yards late in the game to basically seal the win.
The teams battled a swirling wind throughout.
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Tyler JC 17, Cisco 0
Tyler 7 3 0 7 — 17
Cisco 0 0 0 0 — 0
First Quarter
TJC — Trenton Kennedy 6 run (Yovannie Garcia kick), 6:31
Second Quarter
TJC — FG Garcia 22, :29
Fourth Quarter
TJC — Kevon Thompson 54 run (Garcia kick), 13:25
EST. ATT. — 1,100.
TJC CC
First Downs 15 16
Rushes-Yards 40-244 26-57
Passing Yards 62 167
Com-Att.-Int 6-14-0 17-34-2
Punts-Ave. 5-41.0 6-41.8
Fumbles-Lost 1-0 0-0
Penalties-Yards 9-79 9-82
Individual Statistics
Rushing — Tyler, K'Vonte Jackson 13-81, Kevin Thompson 7-70, Trenton Kennedy 10-50, Nate Overholt 2-29, David Johnson 4-11, Colby Kizzee 2-5,
Team 2-(-2). Cisco, Greg Garner 15-37, Donovan Davenport 2-13, Blain Kruemcke 8-6, Ronnie Hart 1-1.
Passing — Tyler, Colby Kizzee 4-8-0-42, Nate Overholt 1-2-0-11, David Johnson 1-4-0-9. Cisco, Blain Kruemcke 17-34-2-167.
Receiving — Tyler, Jamir Whitelow 2-26, Greg Howell 2-16, Deon Collins 1-11, Kevon Thompson 1-9. Cisco, Gabe McCook 8-72, Greg Garner 3-7, Tyrin Smith 2-50, Zach Rasmussen 2-23, Donovan Marshall 1-10, Donovan Davenport 1-5.