Football 10/31/2024 9:47:00 PM

Blinn's playoff push continues with conference road trip to No. 14 Kilgore

The Buccaneers need to win their final two games of the regular season to qualify for the conference tournament

Football 10/31/2024 9:47:00 PM

Blinn's playoff push continues with conference road trip to No. 14 Kilgore

The Buccaneers need to win their final two games of the regular season to qualify for the conference tournament

Blinn College football's three-week to-do list got a little shorter in Week 9.

On Saturday, the Buccaneers hope to whittle it down a bit more. Blinn travels to 14th-ranked Southwest Junior College Football Conference rival Kilgore College needing a victory to continue its late-season playoff push. The two teams face off at 3 p.m. in Kilgore, Texas, with their postseason futures at stake.

Blinn (4-3 overall, 2-3 SWJCFC) hosted Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College in Week 9 to kick off a stretch of three must-win conference games and prevailed emphatically 42-20. To have their best chance of qualifying for the four-team conference playoffs this season, the Bucs must continue to win out. A victory over Kilgore and a season-ending triumph over Cisco College – the current fourth seed in the SWJCFC standings – would punch Blinn's ticket.

In another scenario, Blinn could still qualify with only a win over Cisco, but depending on other results within the conference, such a situation could create a muddled six-team tiebreaker for both third and fourth place. Head coach Ryan Mahon and the Bucs aren't keen on leaving anything to chance.

"We need to handle our own business and not worry about anything else," Mahon said. "We are in the situation we're in and we understand that, and I think our performance against Northeastern Oklahoma proved it. Now we just need to stay motivated and continue to respect what's at stake for us while also keeping our focus on Kilgore."

Blinn played what coach Mahon called its "first complete game of the season" in its home win over Northeastern Oklahoma on Oct. 26.

The Bucs' passing attack produced three touchdowns under the command of sophomore quarterback Rylan Wooten, while their potent backfield churned out 327 yards – including 100-yard-plus performances for running backs Martavious Boswell and Kelton Weathers – to go with three touchdowns. Blinn also finished with zero turnovers.

"It was a big relief to see our offense finally click like that, and it was the product of a really good game plan going into the game," said freshman wide receiver Rae'G Dailey, who hauled in all three of Wooten's TD passes. "Rylan, our offensive line, and our coaches put us in the best position to make plays. Now our confidence is at an all-time high and we feel like we are a totally different team than we were the first half of the season."

Not to be outdone, the Bucs' defense continued its tremendous campaign with another dominant effort against the Norsemen. Blinn pitched a first-half shutout before making some substitutions after halftime. The Bucs also tallied up four sacks, four QB hits, and forced two fumbles.

"In the week leading up to the Northeastern game, our entire team held a meeting and put everything on the table in terms of what we wanted out of the rest of this season," said sophomore defensive end Justin Garza, who had 1 1/2 sacks against the Norsemen. "What you saw last week was the culmination of everything coming together and getting on the same page."

A repeat effort against Kilgore could be key for the Bucs, as the Rangers have taken their bumps this season while still fighting their way to a 5-2 overall record. Kilgore is currently in second place in the conference standings, but like Blinn, could see its situation change quickly.

The Rangers are 1-2 in their previous three SWJCFC tilts, including a tight 16-13 road loss to conference leader Tyler Junior College last week.

Wooten may be especially looking forward to this weekend's matchup after his collegiate debut came against the Rangers in the 2023 regular-season finale. Though the Bucs fell 38-28, Wooten made a splash with 232 passing yards and two touchdowns to go with 105 yards on the ground and another score.

At 32.3 and 31.7 points per contest, respectively, the Bucs and Rangers are the second- and third-highest scoring teams in the SWJCFC this fall and are separated by just four total points (226 to 222).
Kilgore operates out of a balanced spread offense that has produced 177 pass yards and 153 rush yards per game.

On the other side of the ball, the Rangers have played relatively stingy against the pass with just 172 yards allowed per game. The Bucs may again rely on their rushing attack to open up opportunities for Wooten, but face a stiff challenge as Kilgore's 4-2-5 defense is bottling up opposing running games at a clip of 49 yards per outing.

"They are a good football team and (head) coach Willie Gooden does a great job with them," Mahon said. "They have great players at every position, so it's going to be on us to make sure we play a clean game of football where we make tackles, limit our mistakes, make sure we stay ahead of the chains, and continue to practice good ball security."

Blinn has competed in intercollegiate athletics since 1903 and captured 49 national championships since 1987.

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