Published: October 10, 2008 08:24 am      

BLINN (4-1) at TVCC (4-1) - Another chance for Cards

Ask Brad Smiley what he most wants to see from his Trinity Valley Community College football team this week and it won’t take him long to answer. In fact, you probably won’t get a chance to finish the question.

“It’s all about intensity,” Smiley said earlier this week. “Blinn is the most intense team we will face this year,” Smiley said. “We must match their intensity.”

The 17th-ranked Cardinals (4-1, 2-1), who last week suffered their first loss of the season in a 35-6 setback to No. 1-ranked Navarro, get an opportunity to match the Blinn College Buccaneers’ intensity Saturday in a 3 p.m. homeoming kickoff at Bruce Field.

Sixth-ranked Blinn is 4-1 overall and 2-1 in Southwest Junior College Football Conference action after a 52-3 drubbing of Tyler last week. The Buccaneers’ lone loss was 20-17 to Kilgore in triple overtime two weeks ago.

“Kilgore matched Blinn’s intensity,” Smiley said. “That’s why they were able to win.

“Our guys have got to come out and match them from the start. Teams that have matched their intensity have has success agains them.

“When you get down to it, there’s not much difference talent-wise to teams like us, Blinn, Navarro, Tyler and Kilgore. We all have our share of talent and strengths. But the intensity with which Blinn plays gives them an edge.”

The second-year TVCC head football coach will also be quick to point out the Buccaneers are loaded with talent, starting with quarterback Terrance Cain.

“He’s the best at his position in the conference,” Smiley.

Through five games, Cain has completed 77-of-122 passes for 1,024 yards and seven touchdowns.

“Like us, they are very balanced offensively,” Smiley said. “They have a good running game.”

Blinn’s ground assault is led by Reginald Brown, the conference’s leading rusher with 662 yards. He’s averaging 7.9 yards per carry.

In addtion to have the top passer and rusher in the conference, Blinn also has the top receiver. Justin Jordan has caught 22 passes for 247 yards and a pair of touchdowns.

Smiley also said Jordan is “very dangerous” returning kicks.

Jordan also leads the conference in scoring with 42 points.

Defensively, Blinn is No. 1 in the conference, having allowed just 46 points. The Buccaneers are yielding 207.0 yards per game.

Jarred Price leads the Blinn defense. He has nine sacks.

“They are very fast on defense and fly around,” Smiley said. “They are very aggressive.”

Smiley said he wasn’t discouraged by the loss to Navarro, just disappointed.

“We had our chances,” Smiley said. “We had many, many opportunities to win the football game.

“We’re a good football team, but you can’t come out and play like we did against teams like Navarro and Blinn and expect to win.”

Smiley also mentioned he was appreciative of the fan support the Cardinals had in Corsicana against Navarro.

“Our fans really came out and supported us,” Smiley said. “It looked like we had more (fans) there than Navarro. We’re sorry we didn’t take advantage of it.

“We hope they’ll come back and give us another look and support this week.

“It’s been all about getting refocused for us this week.”

That ... and intensity.

NOTES — TVCC kicker Nestor Varona will likely be a game time decision, Smiley said. He missed last week’s game with a muscle pull ... Jason Thompson leads the TVCC defense with 33 tackles and five sacks ... Jonathon Blackshire also has five sacks ... In other conference games Saturday, Navarro is at NEO, Kilgore is at Tyler and Cisco is at Arkansas Baptist ... Saturday’s game will be broadcast by Palestine radio station KYYK (98.3 FM) ... The TVCC homecoming queen will be crowned at 2:30 p.m. and the inaugural Cardinal Hall of Fame class will be introduced at halftime ... The Cardinals travel to Kilgore next week.