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Trinity Valley Cardinals Beat Northeast Mississippi Tigers |
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MT PLEASANT, TX - With the temperature hovering at 75 degrees and the wind gusting to 20, the Trinity Valley Community College Cardinals never gave up and left Mount Pleasant with the Pilgrim's Pride Bowl Classic winner's trophy. When the final gun sounded, it was Trinity Valley Community College 24 and Northeast Mississippi Community College 14. The game was played before approximately 6,000 at Mount Pleasant Independent School district's Sam Parker Field in Mount Pleasant, Texas. Trinity Valley, the Southwest Junior College Football Conference Champion, came into the game ranked 8th in the nation and ends the season with an 9-3 record. Northeast Mississippi, ranked 11th, ends its season with a 7-2 record, having had their season shorted by two games by Hurricane Katrina. After a defensive first quarter, the Cardinals struck first just seven seconds into the 2nd quarter when Sinisa Vrvilo nailed a 35-yeard field goal. With 4:47 left in the second quarter, Trinity Valley's freshman quarterback Ben McMahan managed a 1-yard quarterback sneak for the game's first touchdown. Vrvilo tacked on the extra point to give the Cardinals a 10-0 advantage. Late in the first half, Cardinals tail back Cameron Montgomery fumbled the ball on his own 24-yard line and the Tiger's Michael Ricks recovered to set up a first down with under two minutes to go. Two plays later, sophomore quarterback Bruce Hall hit Ralph Curtis with a 23-yard pass to set up first and goal on the one-yard line. Two plays later Montgomery ran in from two yards out to put the Tigers on the board. Jay Roberts added the extra point and Northeast trailed by only three points at the half. Ransom fumbled on the Cardinals opening series in the third quarter and Northeast took advantage of the error. Montgomery gave the Tigers the lead with a one-yard score and with the extra point added by Roberts, Northeast led by 14-10 with 12:46 left in the third quarter. Trinity Valley answered back on their next series taking 3:30 minutes and 8 plays to go 67 yards to take back the lead. McMahan hit Derrick Williams with a 26-yard touchdown pass and Vrvilo's PAT was good to give the Cardinals a 17-14 lead. The Tigers had the opportunity to regain the lead after marching 79 yards to the Cardinal 1-yard line. Three consecutive plays resulted in no gain before Northeast elected to go for the lead instead of a short game-tying field goal. The entire Cardinal defense surged forward and knocked Tiger quarterback Bruce Hall for a 2-yard loss. The Cardinals then took the ball 97 yards in six plays for the final score in the game. McMahan hit Torey Degrate for 33 yards to move the ball into Tiger territory before connecting with Brandon Frazier on a 31-yard touchdown pass. Vrvilo's extra point was good giving the Cardinals a 24-14 lead with 14:47 left in the game. Trinity Valley's McMahan and Ransom were named co-MVP's for the game by Fox Sports Southwest, who televised the game. "There's just no quit in this team, " said Cardinals coach Mark Sartain. "We fought with a really good Northeast Mississippi team for four quarters and we're worthy of a championship." He added, "I'm proud of my young men. I'm proud of my coaches. It's been a fantastic year." While Saturday afternoon's game may have been the highlight of the Pilgrim's Pride Bowl Classic, it was not the only activity planned for the players by the Bowl Committee, made up of employees from Mount Pleasant Independent School district and Pilgrim's Pride Corporation. On Thursday evening, both teams and their coaches along with college officials were treated to an East Texas Luau with all the trimmings including a real country western band and some two-step dancing lessons offered by several of the Mount Pleasant High School Cheerleaders. The players feasted chicken, brisket, sausage and wild hog, took pictures of themselves with cameras provided by the committee and had the opportunity to see Radar, which as 19.75 hands is the world's tallest horse. On Friday, when not practicing, players visited four schools in the Mount Pleasant Independent School District. Trinity Valley players spent part the morning at Mount Pleasant Junior High School and P.E. Wallace Middle School talking to students about the importance of studying and staying in school. Friday afternoon, Northeast Mississippi players visited Frances Corprew and Vivian Fowler Elementary Schools to interact with the kindergarten through 4th grade students at those two schools. Friday night, players and coaches were treated to a banquet, featuring chicken, vegetables, refried beans, tortillas and pralines. Northeast Mississippi head coach Andy Greening and Trinity Valley's head coach Mark Sartain each showed highlight tapes of their team's seasons and introduced their players, coaches and trainers to the 400 folks gathered to honor the teams and players. On Saturday morning, while the teams worked out, cheerleaders from both schools joined Pilgrim 's Pride Chairman Bo Pilgrim and the Pilgrim's Pride Chicken on the Bowl Classic float as part of the Mount Pleasant Rotary Club Christmas parade. Pre-game activities featured high school and junior high school band members, drill teams, dance teams and cheerleaders from northeast Texas. A highlight of the pre-game was a flyover by the Flight of the Phoenix Escadrille, a precision formation flying team of T-6 World War Trainers from Gilmer, Texas.
Trinity Valley Community College 24
Scoring Summary
Passing Receiving |
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