Blinn's late TD stuns Fort Scott

PITTSBURG — Make no mistake, this was one for the ages.

Top-ranked Fort Scott saw its national football title hopes come to a stunning end on Sunday in the Citizens Bank Bowl as Blinn College's Chad Froechtenicht returned a punt 84 yards for a touchdown with 15 seconds left to give the No. 2 Buccaneers a 31-26 victory and the NJCAA national title.

It is Blinn's second national championship in five years under coach Brad Franchione, who grew up in Pittsburg.

"Winning it here, where my dad coached, and in the town I grew up in... there were some feelings running through my body that I hadn't felt in a long time," Franchione said. "You set goals for yourself in life, but you can never imagine something like this."

Franchione's father, Dennis, coached at Pittsburg State from 1984-89 before going on to coach at New Mexico, TCU, Alabama and Texas A&M.

Sunday, however, was all about the son and his team's amazing comeback. Trailing 26-10 in the third quarter, Blinn (11-1) scored the final 21 points after watching a 10-0 lead in the first quarter slip away thanks to the Greyhounds' attacking defense and the gutsy play of Fort Scott running back Jasmin Hopkins, who took home offensive MVP honors after running for 188 yards on 35 carries.

"What's this feel like? Like I'm still dreaming... there was no way possible I thought we could lose," Hopkins said. "It hurts, bad. We worked so hard to get to this point."

After Blinn jumped out to its early lead behind a 19-yard touchdown run from quarterback Cam Newton and a 37-yard field goal from Billy Greer, the Greyhounds stormed back with 26 straight points, including two touchdowns set up by turnovers — a Newton interception and a fumble — and a safety on an errant punt snap by the Buccaneers.

Fort Scott quarterback Dominque Davis' 12-yard touchdown run just over a minute into the third quarter — his third rushing touchdown of the game — put the Buccaneers in a 16-point hole.

"Even down like that, there was no point where I felt like we might lose this game," said Newton, who transferred to Blinn after backing up Tim Tebow last year at Florida. "I knew some way or another we'd find a way. We've made our mark this year by being resilient and this wasn't going to be any different."

Newton led the Buccaneers on back-to-back touchdown drives capped by touchdowns from running back Mike Hayes, the first going 74 yards over two minutes, and the second a masterful 14-play, 93-yard drive that cut Fort Scott's lead to 26-24 after Blinn failed on the two-point conversion.

The Fort Scott defense appeared to have made the game-winning stop with 2:06 left to play when a scrambling Newton came up short on a fourth-and-5 around midfield.

After Hopkins gained three yards on first down, Blinn stopped the clock with its final timeout, facing third-and-5. Hopkins was tackled for a six-yard loss and the Greyhounds rushed their punt team out when Fort Scott coach Jeff Sims saw Blinn having some personnel trouble with their return unit.

Froechtenicht was ready.

"When I caught the ball, I saw them overpursuing to the right so I hit that middle seam and just took off," Froechtenicht said. "Once I made the first wave miss, I wasn't going to stop until I got to the end zone. When I'm old, I guess this is something I can tell my grandkids about."

Davis' Hail Mary attempt from the Blinn 44 was batted down at the goal line as time expired. Fort Scott finished 11-1.

"I had to go in the locker room and tell them that, you know, this is life," Sims said. "It's tough. Sometimes you do everything right and it just doesn't go your way. I dare anybody to tell them not to be proud of what they accomplished this season.

"These kids come here with... nothing, and they build this up. They make their own traditions. I am so proud of this group. So proud."

Blinn (11-1) 10 0 8 13 — 31 Fort Scott (11-1) 7 12 7 0 — 26

B—Newton 19 run (Greer kick)

B—Greer 32 FG

FS—Davis 1 run (Halsey kick)

FS—Davis 1 run (Halsey kick)

FS—Safety

FS—Ericson 35 FG

FS—Davis 12 run (Halsey kick)

B—Hayes 14 run (Hayes run)

B—Hayes 9 run (Run failed)

B—Froechtenicht 84 punt return (Greer kick)

Individual Statistics

Rushing—Blinn, Hayes 18-112, Newton 14-99, Brooks 3-12, Team 1-(-36). Fort Scott Hopkins 35-188, Davis 8-46, Woods 10-25, Team 2-(-4).

Passing—Blinn, Newton 11-25-111-1, Rutherford 1-1-5-0. Fort Scott, Davis 6-12-61-1.

Receiving—Blinn, Froechtenicht 4-34, Merritt 3-40, Moore 2-20, Rutherford 1-13, Ominsanya 1-5, Hayes 1-4. Fort Scott, Fondren 4-48, Baker 1-9, Peake 1-4.

This story was originally published December 7, 2009 at 12:00 AM with the headline "Blinn's late TD stuns Fort Scott."