The Cardinals exploded for 34 points in the second half Saturday afternoon to beat SWJCFC rival Navarro, 41-24.

The win improved the Cardinals' conference record to 3-1, while the Bulldogs fell to 3-2. The Cardinals are 5-1 overall.

Saturday's game was a battle for three-and-a-half quarters.

"(It was) heavyweight fighters just kind of trading punches," said TVCC Coach Sherard Poteete. "Our defense played a great game, created some turnovers, got some big stops when they had to."

The Cardinals led 27-24 with under eight minutes remaining in the game after Navarro quarterback Dane Jentsch scored on a seven-yard run.

The Cardinals answered, driving 56 yards on five plays, finishing on a five-yard touchdown run by Hymond Drinkard to push the lead to 34-24.

Jentsch quickly got the Bulldogs down to the TVCC 12, and it looked like Navarro would cut the lead to one score again, but Cardinal defensive lineman Quardale Patt recovered a Navarro fumble.

Three plays later, Drinkard took a short pass from Darion Peace 91 yards for a score to put the game out of reach.

"What an impact player he is for us," said Coach Poteete.

After struggling for most of the game, the Cardinal offense scored touchdowns on its last three possessions, not counting kneel-downs to run out the clock.

Before that, the Cardinals leaned on their defense, and the unit was up to the challenge.

In addition to his fumble recovery, Quardale Patt had another takeaway early in the fourth quarter when he intercepted Jentsch with one hand while chasing him across the field.

"He's a big dude and he just finds a way to find the ball," said Coach Poteete. "You just got to love it for that kid because he plays with a great motor."

The Cardinals also got interceptions from Joe Sniffin and Larell Howling.

The defense also held the dangerous Jentsch to just 65 yards on 17 carries.

The Cardinal offense was led by Peace who threw for 243 yards and two touchdowns while completing 12 of 28 passes.

The Cardinals led 7-3 at the half.

TVCC is scheduled to travel Saturday to Kilgore for a 3 p.m. contest.

(Story courtesy of Michael V. Hannigan of Hannigan Media.)

SCORING SUMMARY

  TVCC -- 1Q, 3:29 -- Darion Peace 12-yard pass to Kaleb Johnson. Ty Powers kick good. -- 7-0

  NAVARRO -- 2Q, 5:17 -- Eric Acosta 27-yard field goal. -- 7-3

  TVCC -- 3Q, 12:57 -- Ty Powers 40-yard field goal. -- 10-3

  NAVARRO -- 3Q, 9:37 -- Dane Jentsch 2-yard run. Eric Acosta kick good. --10-10

  TVCC -- 3Q, 7:08 -- Ty Powers 29-yard field goal. -- 13-10

  TVCC -- 3Q, 4:09 -- Quincy Thompson 29-yard run. Ty Powers kick good. -- 20-10

  NAVARRO -- 4Q, 14:50 -- Dane Jentsch 7-yard pass to Shawn Brown. Eric Acosta kick good. -- 20-17

  TVCC -- 4Q, 13:04 -- Darion Peace 6-yard run. Ty Powers kick good. -- 27-17

  NAVARRO -- 4Q, 7:46 -- Dane Jentsch 7-yard run. Eric Acosta kick good. -- 27-24

  TVCC -- 4Q, 5:52 -- Hymond Drinkard 5-yard run. Ty Powers kick good. -- 34-24

  TVCC -- 4Q, 2:49 -- Darion Peace 91-yard pass to Hymond Drinkard. Ty Powers kick good. -- 41-24