TJC has had a season with the words “since …” associated with about every game.
A couple milestones for the football squad have been the Apaches have won their first conference championship since 2000.
And, the Tribe has its first undefeated regular season since 1960.
Now, Tyler Junior College would like another phase that says the team has won its first national championship since 1960.
There are still two huge hurdles before that last sentence can come true.
First up is the NJCAA national semifinals on Friday.
The Apaches (11-0) are ranked No. 3 in the nation and are seeded No. 3 in the NJCAA national playoffs. They will face No. 2 Iowa Western (10-1) in Council Bluffs, Iowa. Kickoff is set for 6 p.m. at Titan Stadium (TV/Streaming: ESPN+; Radio: The Team 92.1-FM, Tyler-Longview).
The other semifinal has No. 1 Hutchinson (Kansas) (10-0) hosting No. 4 Northwest Mississippi (10-1) at 6 p.m. Saturday (TV/Streaming: ESPN+).
The semifinal winners will play for the national championship on Wednesday, Dec. 17 at Bain–Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium on the campus of West Texas A&M in Canyon.
Coach Tanner Jacobson, the former standout at Southlake Carroll High School and at BYU who is in his fourth season as Chief Apache, never looks ahead and enjoys the journey. One of his favorite quotes after each game, “The best thing about being 11-0 is we have the opportunity to be 12-0.”
The weather forecast for Council Bluffs, which is across the Missouri River from Omaha, Nebraska, is a high of 38 on Friday with a low of 20. But there is no snow in the forecast.
As for Friday’s matchup, both teams feature high-powered offenses. The Reivers average 40.9 points per game while the Apaches average 33.2.
TJC is led by quarterback Tre Guerra, who is second in the nation in yards passing per game at 253.8. He has hit on 211 of 338 passing attempts for 2,792 yards 24 TDs and 11 interceptions.
Malachi Marshall leads the Reivers at QB. He is seventh in the nation at 223.5 yards per game, hitting 174 of 261 for 2,458 yards with 30 touchdowns and six interceptions.
Several running backs for each team see action.
TJC has a backfield that includes Bryce Burgess (9 games, 98 carries, 563 yards, 3 TDs), James Lee (10 games, 71 carries, 439 yards, 4 TDs) and Ashton Haynes (9 games, 70 carries, 339 yards, 2 TDs).
The Apaches are led upfront by three first-team all-conference players in freshman lineman Leroy Woolridge (6-3, 280, Cedar Hill), redshirt freshman lineman Vea Moala (6-5, 295, Kennewick, Washington) and sophomore center Jamon Lee (6-2, 300, Westgate HS/New Iberia, Louisiana).
For Iowa Western, Daniel Swinney leads with 723 yards on 142 carries with eight TDs.
TJC’s top receiver and playmaker Gentz Hilburn, who was also Co-MVP of the SWJCFC, is questionable with an ankle injury. He led the team with 53 receptions for 638 yards and five TDs. Other Apache leaders are Elijah Baesa (47-841, 9 TDs), Amari Henry (33-558, 4 TDs), Lonnie Johnson (27-353, 5 TDs) and Jamari Evans (23-224, 2 TDs).
The top receivers for IWCC are Tre Brown (30-403, 3 TDs) and Jaivyn Moore (29-630, 12 TDs).
Defensively, Iowa Western gives up 14.5, while Tyler allows 17.4.
The Apaches are led defensively by all-conference first-teamers in sophomore tackle Emmanuel Lawton (6-1, 290, Tompkins HS/Katy), sophomore linebacker TJ Williams (6-2, 210, C.E. King HS/Dallas), sophomore defensive back Justin Cottrell (6-1, 180, Columbia HS/West Columbia) and sophomore cornerback Janard Lockhart (6-2, 190, Mergenthaler HS/Baltimore, Maryland).
Reivers linebacker Taylor Schaefer is second in the country in tackles at 9.7 per game.
TJC defeated Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 33-14 to win the Southwest Junior College Football Conference championship.
The Reivers are champions of the Iowa Community College Athletic Conference. They have a nine-game winning streak after dropping their second game of the season to Hutchinson 30-27 in Kansas.
TJC and IWCC have two common opponents — Dodge City (Kansas) and Snow (Utah). TJC defeated Dodge City 27-7 on Aug. 23 in Tyler, while IWCC won over the Conquistadors 31-7 in Dodge City on Sept. 20. Tyler downed Snow 26-12 on Sept. 4 in Ephraim, Utah and the Reivers won 40-15 over the Badgers, also in Utah.
This the fifth year of the final four concept in the juco playoffs. The Reivers have participated each year, winning two national titles and finishing runner-up twice.
The previous seedings: 2021 — No. 1 Iowa Western; No. 2 New Mexico Military; No. 3 Northwest Mississippi; No. 4 Snow (Final: NMMI 37, Iowa Western 14 in Little Rock, Arkansas); 2022 — No. 1 Hutchinson; No. 2 Northwest Mississippi; No. 3 Iowa Western; No. 4 Coffeyville (Kansas) (Final: Iowa Western 31, Hutchinson 0 in Little Rock); 2023 — No. 1 Hutchinson; No. 2 Iowa Western; No. 3 Kilgore; No. 4 East Mississippi; (Final; Iowa Western 61, East Mississippi 14 in Little Rock); and 2024 — No. 1 Iowa Western; No. 2 Georgia Military; No. 3 Hutchinson; No. 4 Northwest Mississippi (Final: Hutchinson 28, Iowa Western 23 in Canyon).
