TVCC shuts down Tyler Junior College, 31-23
(Korey King slips a tackle Saturday against Tyler. — Photo by Travis Tapley via TVCC Sports Twitter)
Trinity Valley Community College shut down the top passing offense in the nation Saturday night on its way to a 31-23 win over Tyler Junior College Saturday.
The seventh-ranked Cardinals improved to 4-0, 2-0 with the win while the Apaches slipped to 2-2, 1-1.
After a pair of fumbles ruined the Cardinals' chances to put the game away early, Tyler scored 13 straight points to take a 16-13 lead in the third quarter.
The TVCC defense kept the game close by holding Tyler to three field goals when the Apaches got inside the Cardinal 10 yard line.
TVCC QB Bronson McClelland led the fourth-quarter charge for the Cardinals, scoring on a 4-yard run and hitting Kordell David for an 80-yard touchdown to take a 31-16 lead.
McClelland threw for 366 yards and two touchdowns. David had a huge game for the Cardinals, catching nine passes for 207 yards and two touchdowns.
Tyler tried to answer with QB General Booty moving the team down to the TVCC 14 yard line, but Rashad Onezime intercepted The General at the goal line.
The Apaches added one more touchdown to provide the final score, 31-23.
The Cardinals will be home again next week to take on Cisco, 3 p.m. Saturday. The Wranglers were off this weekend and will bring a 1-2 record with them when they come to Bruce Field.
DID YOU NOTICE
-- This is the fourth straight week for a Rashad Onezime takeaway. He returned a fumble for a touchdown, had an interception, returned a blocked extra point for a 2-point conversion, and had this week's interception. The freshman is everywhere.
-- The TVCC defense held Tyler QB General Booty -- who came into the game leading the nation in yards and touchdowns -- to just 50 yards passing in the first half.
-- When Tyler got the ball back with 2:08 left and one last chance to tie the game, the Cardinals dialed up the pressure on General Booty. First, TVCC got a sack from Caleb Williams. Then on 3rd and 6 and 4th and 6, the entire Cardinal front got after the QB forcing incompletions.
-- Eight of General Booty's 22 completions went to running back Denizquez Dunn. Dunn sometimes lined up in the slot, but the fact that more than one-third of his completions went to a running back tells me a little something about just how good the Cardinals' coverage was against the wide receivers.
-- The Cardinal offense converted 3-of-4 third downs on their opening drive for a touchdown, and the one time they failed they converted on fourth down. The score came on a third down.
-- TVCC converted 53 percent of its third downs and scored twice on third down. The Cardinals were 2-for-2 on fourth down.
-- The Cardinal averaged 4.5 yards on first down, which was a big factor in the game.
-- The Cardinal offense can present so many different looks. Saturday night they lined up with an empty backfield, four wide, the pistol, two tight ends condensed, two tight ends wide, two running backs, and the three RB diamond formation. And those are just the ones I recognized.
-- Another advantage for TVCC is how much the ball is spread around. The Cardinals had 13 players either run the ball or catch a pass. Tyler had just seven players involved.
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SCORING SURVEY
TVCC (1Q 9:13): Bronson McClelland 11-yard pass to Kordell David. Jack Gaster kick good. -- 7-0
TYLER (1Q 3:31): Matthew O'Brien 21-yard field goal. -- 7-3
TVCC (1Q 1:44): Cameron Collier 7-yard run. Jake Gaster kick good. -- 14-3
TYLER (2Q 4:35): Matthew O'Brien 29-yard field goal. -- 14-6
TYLER (2Q 0:32): General Booty 10-yard pass to Kelly Akharaiyi. Matthew O'Brien kick good. -- 14-13
TYLER (3Q 13:09): Matthew O'Brien 25-yard field goal. -- 16-14
TVCC (3Q 8:10): Jake Gaster 25-yard field goal. -- 17-16
TVCC (4Q 14:38): Bronson McClelland 4-yard run. Jake Gaster kick good. -- 24-16
TVCC (4Q 11:41): Bronson McClelland 80-yard pass from Kordell David. Jake Gaster kick good. -- 31-16
TYLER (4Q 4:37): General Booty 27-yard pass to Kelly Akharaiyi. Matthew O'Brien kick good. 31-23.