Photo by Becky Rodriguez TOUCHDOWN! — Kilgore College wide receiver Darius Perkins (13) a freshman from Elysian Fields, caught a fourth-quarter touchdown from Shane Fry on Saturday to help KC beat Arkansas Baptist in Little Rock, 21-7. Perkins and the Rangers visit Tyler Junior College at Rose Stadium this Saturday, a 3 p.m. kickoff. The date was September 6, a hot Saturday night. The setting: a physical, hard-fought junior college football game between homestanding Kilgore College and archrival Tyler Junior College.

Only one touchdown was scored between the teams in the first half, and KC went to the locker room leading. The Rangers came out in the second half and scored three touchdowns in the third quarter, going on to a rout over the Apaches.

And things haven't gone much better for TJC since.

The Rangers (3-2 overall) and the Apaches (2-3) meet again this weekend, a 3 p.m. Saturday kickoff, in a game that will count this time in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference standings. TJC is reeling, coming off a 52-3 loss to Blinn, that after a 47- 13 loss to Trinity Valley the week before.

Kilgore College, meanwhile, has somewhat righted a ship that was rocky a bit based on some inexperience problems on offense. The Rangers were 1-2 at one point, having lost the season opener to Fort Scott (Kan.) and the SWJCFC opener at Corsicana to Navarro. Those losses don't look nearly as bad now -- Fort Scott leads the Jayhawk Conference and Navarro is the No. 1 team in the nation.

KC beat then-No. 1 Blinn Sept. 27 in a 20-17 closer-than-thatsounds triple-overtime contest here. Then the Ranges handed Arkansas Baptist its fourth straight loss last week, 21-7, as TJC dealt with a still-angry Blinn.

Neither KC nor TJC have been burning it up offensively. The Rangers got three touchdown passes from freshman quarterback Shane Fry last week, two in the fourth quarter, and are averaging right at 319 yards per game, and TJC is below that, netting just 303 yards a game.

One area the Rangers have been great is third-quarter scoring, as was evident against Tyler that week. The Rangers have outscored their opponents 48-14 in the five games played so far. KC has been outscored, though, 30-24 in the fourth quarter.

Tyler has been a fast-starter, scoring 42 first-quarter points on the season, and then falling off as the games wear on, outscored 40- 20 in the fourth quarter.

Fry has shared time with Lane Johnson, another freshman, and had his best game of the season so far last week. Fry went 12-of-20 for 192 yards and three touchdowns, showing some of the athleticism that made him hard to beat at Hallsville. Kendrick Johnson caught the final score, an insurance touchdown that put KC in front of ABC by two touchdowns. Also making touchdown grabs in the game were Darius Perkins and tight end Woody Mc- Clendon, still working his way back from a hand injury.

For the season, Fry is 44-of-88 for 603 yards, five touchdowns and seven interceptions. Johnson played less time last week, but on the season is 15-of-32 for 298 yards, two scores and four picks.

Cortez Smith leads a very talented receiving corps, maybe the deepest position on the team. Smith has 17 catches, four of them touchdowns, for 334 yards. Ed Victorian has seven catches for 126 yards and a score, Kendrick 126 yards and a score, Kendrick Johnson has six catches for 141 yards and a score, and fullback Frank Rodriguez of Leander also has six catches, three of them coming against ABC last week.

Coach Danny Palmer at TJC has played two quarterbacks this year, as well: Steven Schwark and Vince McNeil. Neither has thrown for a touchdown. McNeil has gotten most of the playing time. He's completed 18- of-35 passes for 223 yards. Schwark is just 16-of-29 for 80 yards and an interception.

Teric Williams is the Apaches' leading receiver with 10 catches for 82 yards and is also a weapon on special teams on both kick and punt returns.

The KC rushing game hasn't had its best game yet. In fact, both KC and ABC played outstanding rush defense last weekend, with Cornelius Shackelford and LaRon Elmer both totaling less than 80 yards on the ground. For the season, Elmer, a sophomore from Mesquite, leads the Rangers with 366 yards and a touchdown on 67 carries. Shackelford has 221 yards and two scores on 48 carries.

TJC is led by Ira Duckworth, the conference's third-leading rusher and

dangerous player. Duckworth has 499 yards and two touchdowns on 76 carries, and averages 6.6 yards per carry.

KC kicker Rico Casas is quietly having a nice year, among the conference's scoring leaders, and punter Ruben Ramirez is averaging 38.2 yards per kick.

Defensively, KC has talent everywhere, and is led in tackles by defensive back Victor Carmichael (38) and linebacker L.T. Gaston (33). The Rangers have the conference's leader in interceptions (defensive back Jimmy Anderson, who had one last week to give him five on the season) and are ranked in the middle of the pack of the conference defensively, giving up just 284 yards per game. The conference defensive leader is Navarro, allowing a skimpy 204 yards per game. It's just a good defensive conference. Tyler, by the way, allows 321 yards each game.

The Apaches are led by linebacker Bradley Bullitt, who belongs on the all-name team to be sure. Bullitt had 11 tackles, a sack and a caused fumble last week in the loss to Blinn. Also, Jacolby Reed leads the team with 43 tackles.

The Kilgore College broadcast of the game is available in a few places: on the radio on 105.3-FM, KZQX, and on the internet on the Texas Sports Radio Network site on tsrnsports.com.