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September 3, 2009

CISCO (0-1) at TVCC (1-0): Cards hope to wrangle win No. 2

By Jayson Larson Editor

They’re not in Kansas anymore.

And the Trinity Valley Community College are just fine with that.

TVCC opens the home portion of the 2009 schedule Saturday with a 7 p.m. kickoff against the Cisco Wranglers at Bruce Field. The game is a non-conference matchup for the Cardinals, although they open Southwest Junior College Football Conference action Sept. 26 at Cisco.

The game comes a week after Head Coach Brad Smiley’s Cardinals went on the road to Dodge City (Kan.) Community College and returned home with a 27-13 win.

Smiley, who warned his team last week not to take Dodge City lightly, might find himself giving the same speech this week against a Cisco team that went 2-7 last season.

The Wranglers wrestled with Kansas powerhouse Garden City last week and lost in a 19-7 contest that was a five-point contest until midway through the fourth quarter.

“Garden City is usually one of the premier teams in the Jayhawk Conference,” Smiley said. “If there was one score that surprised me Saturday, it was that one.”

Wrangler running back Kataraus Stanton was a big reason for Cisco’s success. The sophomore rushed 28 times for 140 yards and also caught four passes on his way to being named SWJCFC Offensive Player of the Week.

TVCC has a pretty stout running game, too. Chad Winbush, a preseason All American pick, ran for 114 yards and a touchdown and freshman Josh Johnson ran for 105 yards. Winbush was named TVCC’s Offensive Player of the Week.

All told, TVCC racked up 420 total yards — of which 231 came on the ground. Smiley said the Cardinals will have to continue to run the football well to have success early in the season.

“It’s no secret we rely on our offensive line and our running game to take some pressure off our quarterback and off our receivers.”

Smiley said he was pleased with the Cardinals’ defensive effort — which held Cisco to a conference-low 214 total yards last week. Brandon Rashad and Tyler Francis were named TVCC’s co-Defensive MVPs.

The Cards’ special teams unit snatched up its opportunity to shine with a number of big plays last week, as well. Johnson ran for a first down on a fake punt early and also had a 41-yard return, while Jared Pickett and Kris Greene each blocked punts on their way to being named special teams players of the week. Pickett also scored a touchdown when he scooped up the punt blocked by Greene.

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