There is an old football cliche that describes a low scoring game as a "defensive struggle." That's not what happened when TVCC faced Northeastern Oklahoma A&M Saturday afternoon.
It was more of a defensive domination.
The Cardinal defense completely throttled the Norsemen and the offense came alive for just long enough in the second quarter to give TVCC a 20-7 win in its regular season finale. It also clinched the Cards' first undefeated conference record since 2014.
As regular season champions, the fourth-ranked Cardinals earned the No. 1 seed in the upcoming conference playoffs. TVCC will face Kilgore in the SWJCFC semifinal 5:30 p.m. Nov. 12 at Bruce Field.
Saturday, the Cardinals were led by a swarming, capitalistic defense that shut down NEO completely. The Norsemen were able to generate just 80 yards of offense for the game.
NEO quarterbacks completed just nine of 26 passes for 25 yards and the Norsemen ran the ball 42 times for 55 yards.
Those numbers were helped by four runs totaling 53 yards, which means the other 38 carries went for just 2 yards.
The Cardinals also had four takeaways with a fumble recovery by Nathan Sims and interceptions by Dabari Hawkins, Rashad Onezime, Ravonte Blowe.
NEO's lone score came on a drive that started on the TVCC 15 yards line after a Cardinal fumble.
The Cardinal's offense wasn't much more effective against a very good NEO defense. TVCC rushed for just 42 yards on 35 carries.
TVCC was able to put together two scoring drives in the second quarter lasting 3:55 of game time. The two drives were powered through the air with quarterback Darion Peace going 6-of-9 for 147 and two touchdowns during that time. He completed an 18-yard TD pass to Kelby Williams and a 41-yard TD pass to Jared Jackson.
Peace finished the game 16-of-30 for 222 yards, two TDs and an interception.
Jake Gaster added a pair of field goals (41, 39) for the Cardinals.
SCORING SUMMARY
- TVCC - 1Q, 0:14 - Jake Gaster 41-yard field goal. -- 3-0
- NEO - 2Q, 7:52 - Dayron Triche 13-yard run. Cole Thompson kick good. -- 7-3
- TVCC - 2Q, 4:57 - Darion Peace 18-yard pass to Kelby Williams. Jake Gaster kick good. -- 10-3
- TVCC - 2Q, 0:17 - Darion Peace 41-yard pass to Jared Jackson. Jake Gaster kick good. -- 17-3
- TVCC - 3Q, 0:29 - Jake Gaster 39-yard field goal. -- 20-7
(Story courtesy of Michael V. Hannigan/Hannigan Media)
