GAME: Northeastern Oklahoma A&M at Navarro
KICKOFF: 1 p.m. CDT, Saturday, September 14
VENUE: Tiger Field at CNB&T Stadium, Corsicana, Tx
GAMEDAY WEATHER: Sunny to partly cloudy skies are anticipated here Saturday with afternoon high temperatures approaching 98 degrees, with south winds at 5 mph and occasional gusts to 10 mph. Humidity will be 37 percent with a dew point of 65. No precipitation is expected.
BROADCAST: Navarro Sports Live YouTube Channel will livestream Saturday's SWJCFC opener with Scott Batts on the play-by-play and Michael Busby with color commentary. Pre-game show begins online at 12:45 p.m. LINK: Football - Navarro vs Northeastern Oklahoma A&M
SERIES HISTORY: Saturday's meeting will be the 42nd since the series began in 1977 when the Bulldogs beat the Golden Norsemen, 35-28, at the inaugural Garland Texas JUCO Bowl at Homer B. Johnson Stadium. NEO leads the series 21-19-1, but hasn't won since 2021 when it bounced the Bulldogs, 39-16 at Red Robertson Field in Miami, OK. NEO's last won in Corsicana 35-3 in 2019.
LAST MEETING: Navarro looks for its third consecutive win, following up a 42-0 triumph iar Miami in 2023 and a 38-7 decision in 2022 at Corsicana.
COACHES: Ryan Taylor is 24-14 overall in five SWJCFC seasons and 13-9 in his third year at Navarro.. Taylor, a former offensive lineman at Denison High School,, Tyler Junior College and UCLA, picked up his first season-opening win at Navarro. NEO is coached by Zach Crissup, who was linebackers coach in 2010 and served as defensive coordinator on Zach Allen's 2018 conference-winner. The 23rd head football coach in NEO history is in his fifth season. A native of Helena, OK., Crissup played safety at Oklahoma State University. ,
NAVARRO'S OPENER: Navarro trailed 7-0 after two minutes, but the Bulldogs scored 34 unanswered points as quarterback Ryan Shackleton threw for 226 yards and Tim Burns caught touchdown passes of 80, 49 and 9 yards to beat Garden City, 34-20. Frustrated Garden City was penalized 17 times for 169 yards and
NEO'S 2 GAMES WITH KANSAS: Ryder Goodwin;s 34-yard field goal in overtime completed NEO's 26-23 season-opening upset of 15th-ranked Butler at El Dorado, KS, -- a rousing win that snapped a 10-game losing streak. The Norsemen controlled possession 37 minutes and generated 313 yards offense pm 80 plays behind quarterback Ike Owens (8-21-102-1) and running back Ethan Lawrence (35-154-1). NEO limited Butler to 202 yards offense and overcame a 13-0 deficit during the second quarter.... In Week 2, Independence's 22-7 win spoiled NEO's home debut at Miami, Ok. The Norse managed only seven first downs and 127 yards offense in the game. Owens completed 13-of-25 passes for 113 yards, including a 40-yard TD to Tre Morrow in the final period. Lawrence led NEO rusher with 21 yards on 15 carries. Independence, a 36-30 overtime loser to TVCC last week, held a 9-0 lead over NEO after three quarters Saturday.
NUMBERS: NEO averages 220 yards (103.5 rushing and 116.5 passing. The Norse defense yields 278.5 game, with an even rush-pass split of 139. The Bulldogs gained 375 yards (112 rushing and 263 oassing). Defensively, the 'Dogs were touched for 468 yards -- 292 rushing and 166 passing).
NORSE BACK ON COURSE?: Is NEO turning it around? Since 2018, the Golden Norsemen are 12-32 overall and 8-228 in conference play. While breaking a 10-game losing streak in the season-opener, they still have only one conference win in their last 13 games, dating back to the start of the 2022 season.
BULLDOG WATCH: QBs Ryan Shackleton and Mason Shorb, RB Clay Tevenin, RB D.T. McCoy, WR Tim Burns, Braylon Finney and Shawn Brown, LBs Aubrey Smith, Cormury Butts, Moses Madubuike, Jordan Ford, abd Jason Dominguez, DLs Taurean Crawford, Quenten McCarty, and Dallas Patrick Alo-Suifilo . DBs Kaleb Miles, Mata Tomas, Keiondre Lewis and Mumu Bin-Wahad, K-P Haden Tessier.
2024 RANKINGS: Navarro climbed from No. 13 to No. 7 with its win at Garden City. The Bulldogs are one of three SWJCFC teams among the NJCAA's Top 7 this week, joining (3) Kilgore and (5) Trinity Valley. NEO is not ranked.
SWJCFC v. KJCCC: In this unofficial year of the "Challenge." Kansas had a 4-3 advantage. Independence and NEO went 1-1 in their games; Kilgore and Blinn did not participate this season The leagues are making an effort to resurrect the challenge series that ran between 2006 and 2014. Programs then matched up based on previous year's standings or travel distance.
SWJCFC SATURDAY: Other conference games Saturday involve the other two Top-10 teams: New Mexico Military Institute at (3) Kilgore (3 pm) and (5) Trinity Valley at Tyler (7 pm, ESPN+ Broadcast)
EXTRA POINTS: The 2024 home and conference opener marks Game No. 800 in Navarro football history. Navarro is 499-290-10 all-time…. Tim Burns' 6-160-3 performance represented the highest single-game reception yardage figure since Karl Reymp;fd' 8-189-2 against Blinn at Midlothian ISD Stadium in 2021….Haden Tessier's 48-yard field goal equaled the longest by a Navarro kicker during the SWJCFC Era (since 1996). Patrick Sohrt in 2012 and Patrick O'Brien in 2014 also botted 48-yarders…..LB Aubrey Smith had seven solo tackles his team-high total of 10 against Garden City…..RB Clay Thevenin obtained a medical redshirt and led NC with 13-62-1 rushing against the Broncbusters.
