By Benny Rogers/TVCC Sports Information
The third-ranked and unbeaten Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals have accepted an invitation to play in the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl in Copperas Cove on Saturday, Dec. 6.
The Southwest Junior College Football Conference champion Cardinals will face the 10th-ranked Coffeyville Community College Ravens. Game time at Bulldawg Stadium is 11 a.m.
“We are looking forward to playing in the Heart of Texas Bowl again,” said TVCC athletic director/head football coach Brad Smiley, who was the SWJCFC Coach of the Year for a second straight year. “Last year was a great experience in Copperas Cove and we are excited to play a highly-ranked and very good Coffeyville team there this year.”
The Cardinals, coming off a dominating 73-46 victory against Tyler in the SWJCFC regional title game Saturday, will carry an 11-0 record into the game and have won 11 straight.
Coffeyville, an 84-21 winner against Garden City in its last outing, is 9-2 on the season, which is the most wins in a season for Ravens since the 2005 season.
Smiley believes the game is a final chance for the Cardinals to make a statement to the NJCAA poll committee before the final rankings are released.
“It’s a chance to show the (poll) committee we have done everything we can do to deserve a share of the national title,” Smiley said. “We would have beaten eight nationally-ranked teams at that point.”
Going into the bowl game, the Cardinals are 7-0 against teams ranked in the NJCAA Top 20 at least once during the season. In those games, they scored 420 points, averaging 60.0 points.
The Cardinals will be making their 20th bowl appearance and third in four years. They are 9-9 in bowl games and have won seven of their last eight.
The Cardinals’ also appeared in the HOT bowl in 2002 and last year.