No. 2 Navarro Prevails over No. 1 Blinn 23-20
November 2, 2009
By Rob Ludwig
Special to the Daily Sun
CORSICANA - If much of athletics is built around muscle memory, then Cam Newton's muscles are going to remember Navarro College's defensive line for a while.
Navarro's harassing defensive front caused the usually accurate Blinn quarterback into a slew of incompletions and doubled his interception total for the year as the No. 2 Bulldogs knocked off the top-ranked Bucs, 23-20, on Saturday at Tiger Stadium in the regular season finale.
The Bulldogs (9-0 overall, 6-0 in the SWJCFC) will now have homefield advantage throughout the conference postseason, starting with next Saturday's 3 p.m. contest against Kilgore, which earned a playoff berth with a win over Cisco.
Navarro will enter the postseason as the No. 1 team in the nation for the second year in a row after scoring on its first two possessions and then holding on in the final minutes in an eerily similar finish to last year's 24-21 win in Brenham. Navarro had a 21-0 lead in that game before fending off the Bucs. This time, the Bulldogs led 23-7 early in the fourth quarter and had to withstand a Blinn rally in the last nine minutes of the game.
"The kids remembered what happened last year not just in the regular season, but also how they lost to Blinn in the championship game on this field," said Navarro Coach Nick Bobeck, who is now 19-1 in two seasons. "They have a chip on their shoulder and they are focused on the goal of winning a national championship."
The Bulldogs took a big step in that direction on Saturday, using a stiff pass rush to force Newton into mistakes. A 68 percent passer entering the game, Newton was sacked three times, picked off twice and hit countless times as he released passes. Newton was 19 of 40 for 258 yards and two touchdowns, but he also fumbled twice and misfired on five of his final six attempts.
Navarro appeared in complete control of the game after quarterback Roddy Green found J.J. Hayes on a 13-yard fade for a touchdown on the second play of the fourth period for a 16-point lead.
Newton responded with a 22-yard scoring toss to Darrin Moore and then a 16-yarder to Jarod Jarozewski with 5:39 left to close the gap to 23-20.
Navarro's offense, which compiled 504 total yards, had a three straight three-and-outs during that span, but their defensive compatriots picked them up. Linebacker Reggie Dunigan intercepted Newton near midfield and the Bulldogs forced four straight incompletions on Blinn's final series.
Running back Derrick Hall paced Navarro's offense with 169 yards on 17 carries and a touchdown. Green, who took every snap for the first time this season, completed 15 of 31 passes for 175 yards and two scores and gained 68 yards on the ground.
Blinn's defense had allowed only 696 yards on the ground entering the game, but yielded 329 yards to Navarro.
"(Garrett) and I are slip and slide out there," Hall said. "He slips tackles inside and I slide outside. Our offensive line was sliding its feet and making things happen for our running game."
Navarro's point total could have been much larger, but DePauldrick Garrett (92 yards, 19 carries) fumbled twice inside the 10 and receiver Marcus Jackson dropped two perfectly place Green passes in the end zone.
"We left a lot of points on the field," Bobeck said. "It was a good thing our defense was playing as well as it did."
Navarro struck twice in the first six minutes of the game for a 14-0 lead, taking advantage of Hall's legs and a rare Blinn turnover.
Navarro marched 73 yards on only six plays on its initial drive of the game, with Hall rambling 51 yards through the heart of Blinn's defense for a 51-yard score.
Newton fumbled while scrambling on Blinn's ensuring possession and safety Dominic Maddox pounced on it at the Navarro 28.
Navarro needed 10 plays to cover the distance for a 14-point advantage. Green, who completed 9 of 18 passes for 115 yards in the first half, found Jahmai Coleman on a skinny post route through the heart of Blinn's cover two secondary for 24 yards and his seventh TD pass of the year.
Newton and Hayes had their moments in the first half. Newton completed 9 of 16 passes for 95 yards and ran for 62 yards, and Hayes added 54 yards rushing.
Blinn running back Michael Hayes scored on a 1-yard run with 3:23 to go in the first period, cutting Navarro's lead in half.
Blinn drove to the Navarro 20 on its next drive, but Newton misfired on two straight passes and Billy Greer's 42-yard field goal clanged off the left upright.
Navarro had two more chances to score in the second quarter, receiving a 23-yard field goal from Juve Sanchez, but then fumbled away an opportunity inside the Blinn 10.
Defensive end Brandon Joiner accounted for two of the sacks and he planted Newton on the Tiger Stadium turf with regularity.
"We knew we had to put pressure on the quarterback the entire game and (Newton) hasn't been hit very often this season," Bobeck said. "When a quarterback is hit that much, it's going to effect his passing."
And on Sunday morning, it will likely affect the rest of his body.
