ATHENS, Texas — After having won four consecutive Southwest Junior College Football Conference regular season championships, coach Brad Smiley's No. 5 ranked Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals entertain No. 21 ranked Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College at 3 p.m. Saturday in a conference semifinal game on Bruce Field.
Under Smiley the Cardinals finished 6-1 in the conference and 8-1 overall. Last Saturday the Cardinals thumped Cisco, Texas, 72-28 in the regular season finale out west at Cisco.
During his nine-year tenure as the Cardinals head coach, Smiley has led Trinity Valley to seven SWJCFC semifinal games — 2008, 2010, 2011, 2013, 2014, 2015 and 2016 — along with three SWJCFC crowns 2010, 2013 and 2014.
The Cardinals have placed 80 players on either the first or second all-SWJCFC teams, 18 NJCAA all-Americans, 17 NJCAA national players of the week and eight conference players of the year — three overall conference MVP's, three offensive MVP's and two defensive conference MVP's.
Ironically, Smiley's coaching staffs since 2010 have included two former Golden Norsemen football players that have gone on to be head coaches at their alma mater.
Current NEO head coach Clay Patterson served as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach during during a three-year stint with Smiley.
In his third season with the Cardinals, Patterson was at the helm of one of the most prolific offenses in NJCAA history.  The 2014 Cardinals broke two NJCAA records for total offense in a season with 7,778 yards at a rate of 648.2 yards per game.  
The Cards 4,343 passing yards led the nation and their 3,435 yards rushing ranked 2nd nationally.  The Cardinals also led the nation in points scored (704), points per game (58.7), touchdowns (96), passing touchdowns (52) and yards per carry (7.6).
Trinity Valley's offense also ranked second nationally in passing yards per game (368.6), rushing yards per game (289.5) and were third nationally in rushing touchdowns (43).  Also, 10 of 12 2014 games ranked among the Top 35 highest scoring games of all time in Trinity Valley Football history.
No stranger to the SWJCFC, Patterson played tight end at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M in 1999 and 2000 before finishing his playing career at Southeastern Oklahoma State University in 2001 and 2002.
Replacing Patterson as offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach was former NEO player and head coach Sherard Poteete.
Under Poteete's one-year reign at NEO in 2013, the Golden Norsemen finished fifth in the SWJCFC with a 1-5 record and a 3-6 overall mark. 
"Over the years NEO has always been a place that helps athletes get an opportunity to advance to the next level," NEO athletic director Dale Patterson said. "That has also happened at the coaching level which is the case in this situation." 
Poteete, who succeeded Patterson as NEO head coach, was no stranger to the NEO campus in Miami. He played quarterback for NEO and Patterson on the Golden Norsemen's Southwest Junior College Football Conference and Red River Bowl championship squad in 1998.
Averaging 572.1 yards per game and 51 points per contest, the Cardinals offense is led by the quarterback duo of redshirt freshman Michael Curtis and sophomore Rayjohn Austin-Ramsey.
Curtis has completed 133 of 229 passes for 1,746 yards and 18 touchdowns with only five interceptions. He has rushed for 422 yards on 65 carries with two TDs.
Austin-Ramsey has completed 41 of 76 passes for 589 yards and five TDs with two interceptions.
Alternating at tailback in the Cardinals backfield are sophomores Adam Berryman and Cedric Battle.
Berryman has rushed for 626 yards on 70 carries with nine touchdowns in eight games. He also has four catches for 43 yards.
Battle has gained 575 yards on 73 carries with eight TDs in nine games.  He has 12 receptions for 111 yards.
Redshirt freshman Jalen Guyton leads the TVCC receiving corps with 30 catches for 716 yards and 10 touchdowns.