Category: TVCC

By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN

CORSICANA — Call them the Red Menace.

The Cardinal D has been on fire to start the 2017 season and Saturday night the defense was the key to a 25-19 SWJCFC win over Navarro Bulldogs. The Cardinals also added three more takeaways to bring their total to eight for the first eight quarters of the year.

Saturday night it was Pat Peek and Cassius Grady with interceptions and O’Shea Jackson with a fumble recovery.

“We preach that every day,” said Defensive Coordinator Will Reed.

The Cardinals needed the defense to step up against Navarro with the offense beset with injuries and struggling against a very good Bulldog defense.

“You could hear them on the sideline saying, ‘Hey let’s just stay the course. Let’s just keep playing keep doing what we need to do and everything will be alright and that’s how we ended up where we ended up tonight,'” said Reed.

TVCC sprinted out to a 17-0 first quarter lead, but the Bulldogs exploded in the second quarter and the score was 19-17 at the half. It was the worst quarter of the year for the Cardinals, who have given up a combined 6 points over the other seven quarters.

“They did a great job of trying to speed it up on us,” said Reed, “and our guys understood that we were the ones who were responsible for allowing them to climb back in this thing.”

Reed said he thought his group missed some tackles in the second quarter that also allowed Navarro to move the ball.

“I think that’s what kind of hurt us in the first half,” he said. “We didn’t do a great job of tackling. In the second half we did a much better job of tacking.”

The Cardinals never stopped grinding, however.

“We knew the whole time, they don’t score they don’t win,” said Peek, who made a great play on special teams to pin Navarro deep in its own territory to go along with his interception. “We knew we were going to get in the end zone one more time. We trusted our offense and we trusted everybody out here.”

The big moment came with about three minutes left when Grady stripped the ball away from the Bulldog running back to give TVCC possession in the red zone.

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“That was the best feeling in the world,” said Peek. “I knew we had the game won from that point. Everything on our shoulders just lifted off.”

“We knew we were going to get the job done because we’ve been (in these spots) three for times last year,” Peek said. “Nobody was panicking, nobody was freaking out. We knew we had it, we just had to play our assignment.”

That’s the secret to the Cardinals defensive success so far this season.

“Guys just keep going and keep going,” said Reed.

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By Michael V. Hannigan/HCN

CORSICANA — Give the Cardinals credit. At the crucial moment, they weren’t the ones who blinked.

“Part of the plan to win is don’t flinch,” said Coach Brad Smiley.

TVCC didn’t flinch and they are now 2-0 on the season and 1-0 in SWJCFC play after an improbable 25-19 win over Navarro at Tiger Stadium Saturday night.

After struggling offensively for nearly three quarters, the Cardinals were down 19-17 with just 3 minutes left in the game. Navarro had the ball on their own 20 with a first down and were ready to bleed the clock. Things looked bleak.

But that all changed in an instant when defensive tackle O’Shea Jackson stripped the ball away from the Bulldog running back and gave the offense another chance. The offense held up its side of the bargain and Khalil Banks scored on a three-yard run and Jaylon Henderson ran for the two-point conversion to put TVCC up for good.

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This may have been one of the ugliest wins I’ve seen while covering TVCC, but it was also one of the most impressive. There’s no doubt the Cardinals have one of the most talented rosters in the country, but Saturday night they proved they also have one of the toughest.

“It just wasn’t a great night for us on the road,” said Smiley. “I couldn’t be more proud of this team. We were in some tough spots.”

In honor of the gritty win, here’s seven awards doled out from the sidelines.

– The I’ve Got A Hot Date Award — The press box announcer at Tiger Stadium, who called on the Navarro band to play the National Anthem before either team was on the field. I’m not sure I’ve ever seen that before.

– The Fast Start Award — Tristen Wallace has three TD receptions and a punt block in the first two games of the season, all in the first quarter.

– The Jesse James Award — The TVCC defense, which has eight takeaways over the first eight quarters of the season. Jesse James took whatever he wanted, wherever he was; terrified citizens knew nothing was safe when he was around. Opposing offenses should feel the same about the Cardinal defense.

– The Noah’s Ark Award — These players stacked big plays in pairs Saturday night. Pat Peek had an interception and a huge effort on special teams to pin the Bulldog offense inside their 10 yard line. O’Shea Jackson blocked an extra point and came up with the fumble recovery that swung the game. And the above mentioned Tristen Wallace, who had a punt block and another TD reception.

– The John Madden ‘Boom!’ Award — Tevan McAdams, who leveled Navarro quarterback Harry Woodberry in the fourth quarter with a hit that made the crowd go crazy. It also helped the defense force a field goal attempt that missed.

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– The Head Cheerleader Award — Coach Brad Smiley, who fired up the fans between the third and fourth quarters. That was key as the team seemed to feed off the invigorated crowd throughout the final possessions.

– The Next Man Up Award — The entire Cardinal team, which has been hit with a rash of early season injuries and is still 2-0, 1-0. Smiley always preaches about the benefits of using so many players in game situations and we’ve seen him proven right as this season begins.