ATHENS, Texas — Looking for their third straight Southwest Junior College Football Conference championship, the No. 14 rated Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals entertain the Northeastern A&M College Golden Norsemen at 3 p.m. Saturday during homecoming and hall of fame festivities at Bruce Field.
Coach Brad Smiley's Cardinals are riding a six-game winning streak and have won 18 of their past 20 games. Last week the Cards demolished Arkansas Baptist College 63-17 in a non-conference game at Little Rock.
Entering the final game of the regular season the Cardinals are tied with No. 6 rated Tyler Junior College for the conference lead with a 4-1 record. Tyler is 7-1 on the season while Trinity Valley is 6-2 overall.
The Apaches travel 30 miles Saturday to conclude the regular season against arch-rival Kilgore College (2-3 and 4-4). With a victory, the Apaches would win the conference title outright because they defeated Trinity Valley 71-64 on Sept. 24 in Tyler.
There is only one scenario where NEO (2-3 and 4-4) could earn one of the four post-season playoff spots in the conference. If the Golden Norsemen (2-3 and 4-4) win at Trinity Valley and both Kilgore and Blinn College (2-3 and 5-3) lose Saturday, NEO would finish third in the SWJCFC.
By virtue of a prolific passing game, the Cardinals lead the nation both in total yards per game (687.4) and scoring (63 points per game).
Riding the arm of the nation's leading passer, sophomore Jerod Evans, the Cardinals are generating 463.6 yards per game through the air. Evans has completed 179 of 287 passes for 3,164 yards with 38 touchdowns and only three interceptions.
"Evans is a special quarterback," NEO head coach Ryan Held said. "He has the uncanny ability to find the open receiver.
"He puts your defense in a lot of compromising positions by getting a lot of guys wide open," Held said. "He takes advantage of guys on defense that aren't doing their job."
Seventeen different players have touched the football via a pass from Evans.
Three sophomores lead the Cards receiving corps led by Derrick Willies. With 40 receptions for 1,020 yards and 13 touchdowns, Willies ranks second in the nation by averaging 127.4 yards per game.
Veteran wide out Andre Wilson ranks fifth in the nation with 11 touchdowns while recording 35 catches for 655 yards.
Sophomore wide receiver Emmanuel Harris has made 27 receptions for 468 yards and four TDs.
"They're going to get yards and they're going to score points," Held said. "The thing is, you have to limit the big plays and make them drive the ball."
Trinity Valley has had 19 different players score, including 36 points from five separate defenders.
Defensively, the Cards are allowing an average of 392.4 total yards per game and 38.9 points per contest.
Seven of Trinity Valley's top 10 defenders are sophomores led by defensive back Jamal Jones with 20 unassisted tackles and 33 assists.
Linebackers Jacorey Whitaker and MarQuaveon Jones rank second and third on the team in overall tackles.
Whitaker leads the team with 6.5 tackles behind the line of scrimmage while posting 23 solo tackles and 25 assists.
MarQuaveon Jones has made 18 unassisted tackles and 26 assists.
Sophomore defensive end Jonathan Taylor freshman end Brahma Haugh are tied for the lead with 4.5 quarterback sacks each. Taylor has made 14 solo tackles and 15 assists while Haugh has posted eight unassisted tackles and 10 assists.