Bucs come back late, beat Rangers, 20-9

OUCH! - Kilgore College defensive lineman Kelcie Oliver (92) puts a hit on Blinn quarterback Brad Guidry as Guidry tries to get rid of the ball. Blinn normally throws the ball more than 20 times per game, but changed up their game plan against KC, rushing for over 250 yards and escaping with a 20-9 win last Saturday. The Rangers (1-1 in conference play) go to West Texas on Saturday to face former conference rival Ranger. If good fortune was sold at a department store, the Kilgore College Rangers would certainly go fill their shopping carts with it.

KC was bitten by a late kick return for a touchdown and lost to the Blinn Buccaneers, 20-9, last Saturday night.

The loss dropped the Rangers to 1-3 overall, but two of those losses don't count in the conference standings. KC is 1-1 in Southwest Junior College Football Conference play, and won't get a win or a loss on that mark this Saturday - they go out of conference, and about eight hours west, to face non-conference opponent Ranger. Kickoff will be at 3 p.m.

As it did against Tyler, KC played well for three quarters, and trailed 7-6 (with a pair of field goals - by former Tatum standout Martin Vasquez) headed into the fourth quarter.

That's when the wheels came off for KC in the contest.

Vasquez' last field goal, a 42-yarder, came just 10 seconds into the fourth quarter and gave KC the lead, 9-7. But on the very next play, Blinn's Ryan Mouton took it away, going 92 yards for the touchdown on the kickoff.

"I honestly think we had the game won until then," said KC head coach Jimmy Rieves on Monday afternoon. "...We were feeling good about ourselves until that kickoff return."

The Rangers took possession at their own 6-yard-line on the kickoff following the Blinn score, and three plays later, the Buccaneers (4-0) scored again, this time when KC quarterback Jarred Wallace was sacked in the end zone by Alex Cook, resulting in a Blinn safety (two points).

The most telling statistic of the night was probably this one: Blinn, normally a pass-happy team that very rarely runs the ball, ran 43 times for 267 yards on KC. The Bucs only threw it 12 times, completing 5 passes of 12 for just 35 yards and two interceptions. The bulk of that rushing total - 253 yards - came on the legs of running back Bernard Scott.

Blinn was the fourth opponent for KC this season, and all have been ranked in the NJCAA top 10 when KC faced each one.

Against Blinn, Wallace finished 8 of 23 for 149 yards and two interceptions. His longest pass of the night was a 52-yarder to Deandre Wallace - Deandre Wallace caught three passes for 73 yards. Lewis Milbry made two grabs for 28 yards, and Keith Demby, Kendrick Holloway and Billy Martin each caught a pass.

Keith Smith was the Rangers' leading rusher, collecting just 60 yards on 13 carries.

Defensively, Avery Norris and Errik Ejike, both defensive backs, were the Rangers' leading tacklers. Norris had 12 tackles, Ejike 11. Linebacker Giorgio Majors had eight tackles. Defensive tackles Adrian Johnson and Willie Green and defensive ends Anthony Degrate and Marcus Smith each had four tackles. Linebacker Chris Mitchell also had a good game, Rieves said.