Sports: TVCC and Blinn renew rivalry
Oct. 6—Blinn brings a 3-2 record to Athens, with a 1-2 conference mark after a loss to Navarro last week.
TVCC was off last week and is 3-1, with the loss coming in the non-conference opener against Snow.
Blinn upset the 4th ranked Cardinals, 21-14, last October, in a game dominated by the defenses. Blinn stifled TVCC's ground game, holding them to 20 yards and knocked down a pass the quell a late Cardinal threat and preserve the victory.
Blinn and Trinity Valley have staged some good games since Willie Fritz took over a woeful Buccaneers program in the early '90s. Fritz, who now is head coach at Tulane, won two national titles at Blinn and guided Sam Houston State to a 14-1 record in his long career.
Blinn was at the helm when TVCC traveled to Brenham in 1994 and staged a come-from-behind 34-27 win over the Bucs. Fritz recalled that he had to bring in portable bleachers to handle the crowd at the Blinn stadium.
TVCC won the national championship that year, while Blinn only sustained two losses.
Probably the two best known Blinn Buccaneers in their history were quarterbacks. Cam Newton spent a year in Brenham in 2009 and threw for 2,833 yards, rushed for 655, and accounted for 39 total touchdowns.
The Buccaneers went 11-1, and won the NJCAA national championship — and yet Newton was only named honorable mention All-America. The following year, Newton led Auburn to the NCAA National Championship and won the Heisman Trophy.
Michael Bishop piloted the Buccaneers to back to back national titles in 1995 and 1996, before heading to Kansas State. He was a true dual threat quarterback. In 1995, Blinn came to Athens and defeated TVCC, 24-10, on the way to their first title. Bishop was drafted by the New England Patriots and played several years of Canadian football.
TVCC bounced back and won the national title in 1998, meaning the Cards or Bucs claimed the crown four times in a five year period.
