Bluejays hold off Builders for second straight KCAC victory

TCFBvsSWJustinVargasrunsbackpick566

TCFBvsSWJustinVargasrunsbackpick566

Tabor College pulled off its second win in a row, 17-13, over Southwestern on a blustery day, thanks to a tremendous effort from the defense that kept the Moundbuilders from scoring a winning touchdown with just minutes left in the game.

?Anytime you face a team that really likes to run the football a lot, you have to be able to take that away,? said coach Mike Gardner. ?I felt like we took away what they wanted to do.?

But, he added, they made it harder on themselves than they needed to.

The victory puts Tabor at 3-6 for the season and 2-6 in the Kansas Collegiate Athletic Conference.

Tabor put the first three points on the board when Anthony Pacheco nailed a 20-yard field goal with 2:16 left in the first quarter.

The points came after both teams recovered fumbles early in the first quarter, but failed to capitalize on the opportunity.

Southwestern came back at 14:18 in the second quarter, driving 57 yards and scoring on a nine-yard touchdown pass to senior tight end Adam Hilker. The extra point made it 7-3.

After the Bluejays could not make points out of a Spencer Brown fumble recovery, the Builders kicked a 38-yard field goal for a 10-3 lead with 3:21 remaining in the half.

Southwestern converted a 50-yard field goal with the wind on its first possession of the second half to bump the lead to 13-3.

Things were not looking good for the Bluejays, but at 11:22 Tabor got a break as Justin Vargas recovered a Builder fumble off a punt return at the Southwestern 48-yard line.

A few plays later it appeared Tabor would have to punt, but a roughing-the-kicker penalty gave the Bluejays a first down.

The running and passing of freshman quarterback Simon McKee moved the Jays into the red zone, where McKee broke free for a 14-yard touchdown run with 6:34 left in the third quarter. With the extra point, the score was 13-10.

With 5:36 remaining in the third period, Vargas again provided spark for the Bluejays, snagging an interception close to the Builder 20-yard line and running it in for a Bluejay touchdown. Pacheco kicked the extra point and just like that, the Bluejays led, 17-13.

?Vargas came up with a huge play with the interception for the touchdown,? Gardner said. ?A lot of the things we worked on in practice showed up and it gave them some confidence.?

Then Tabor?s defense took over when the team gave up two turnovers to Southwestern in the fourth quarter. The Builders took the second turnover, a fumble on a punt return, all the way back up the field.

Southwestern had a first-and-goal with 1:40 left in the game, but the defense stopped the visitors on a fourth-and-two situation to ensure a Bluejay victory.

Tabor?s defense held the Builders to just 265 yards of total offense and forced four turnovers.

Vargas was awarded KCAC Defensive Player of the Week honors for his solo tackle, two assists, a fumble recovery and an interception for a touchdown.

Travis Sanford set the pace with 11 solo tackles and a forced fumble. Chris Sanborn added nine tackles and Terach Antoine contributed seven, including a sack and a forced fumble.

?I was really happy with how our defensive line played,? Gardner said.

McKee led the offense, rushing for 122 yards on 27 carries and a touchdown. He threw for 27 yards on three completions on six attempts.

James Monroe added 47 yards on 13 carries to the ground game, with Nate Harrison contributing 27 yards on nine carries to help Tabor to its 210 rushing yards. The Bluejays had 271 yards of total offense.

?You hate to go through what we did at the end of the game, but our guys did learn a valuable lesson,? Gardner said, adding that it was good for his team to get a come-from-behind win.

?It just so happens we were able to make a mistake at the end and overcome it, and it didn?t cost us a ball game.

Coming?The Bluejays are scheduled to play Saturday at Friends University to complete their season.

?Our offense has got to play better than it has been,? said head coach Mike Gardner. ?We have to be able to adjust and adapt…They?ve got a really great running game and really great running back.?

Kick-off is at 1:30 p.m.

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