TJC’s Man in the Mirror winner Nicolas McTear, left, is shown with Apaches assistant coach Brady Davis.

TJC, led by a golden arm quarterback and a beast-mode linebacker, is the only Lone Star State team in the NJCAA’s final football rankings.

Tyler Junior College, coached by Thomas Rocco, finished the season ranked No. 12 in the nation after a 7-5 season that included a runner-up finish in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference plus a bowl victory. Thus, claiming the top team in Texas title.

Quarterback General Booty, a freshman from Allen, was No. 2 in the nation by averaging 284.2 yards per game. He was also tied for fourth in the country with 27 TD passes.

Linebacker Xavier Benson, a first-team All-America selection, was one of the top tacklers in the nation, averaging 10.0 tackles per game. The sophomore from Texarkana Pleasant Grove has signed with Oklahoma State. He was the SWJCFC Defensive Player of the Year.

Apache placekicker Matthew O’Brien, a freshman from New Braunfels, was also first-team All-America after scoring 98 points for his team.

Defensive back Kobe Savage, a sophomore from Paris, earned second-team All-America. He has signed with Kansas State.

TJC won the 19th TIPS-C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl, a 28-7 victory over Coffeyville (Kansas) on Dec. 4 in Commerce. The Coffeyville Red Ravens were the Kansas Jayhawk Conference regular season champion.

SWJCFC winner New Mexico Military Institute finished No. 1 after winning the NJCAA national championship over No. 2 Iowa Western. The Broncos won the national championship game 31-13 on Dec. 17 in Little Rock, Arkansas.

NMMI was 12-1 and IWC was 10-1.

Rounding out the Top 10 were: 3, Hutchinson (Kansas), 9-2; 4, Northwest Mississippi, 9-3; 5, Snow (Utah), 7-2; 6, East Mississippi, 9-1; 7, Iowa Central, 9-2; 8, Jones (Mississippi), 8-2; 9, Garden City (Kansas), 8-3; and 10, Monroe (New York), 10-1.

The remainder of the poll includes: 11, Independence (Kansas), 8-2; 12, Tyler, 7-5; 13, Hinds (Mississippi), 8-4; 14, Mississippi Gulf Coast, 7-2; and 15, Coffeyville (Kansas), 6-3.

TJC BASKETBALL

The TJC basketball teams will be in action on Thursday.

The Apaches (8-5) will be hosting No. 10 College of Southern Idaho (12-3) at 3 p.m. on Thursday at Wagstaff Gymnasium.

Southern Idaho is making a trip through Texas. The Golden Eagles defeated Panola 75-72. After playing TJC on Thursday, CSI plays at Paris Junior College at 2 p.m. Friday.

The No. 11 Apache Ladies (10-2) were scheduled to play No. 9 Jones (Mississippi) but the game was canceled due to COVID-19 problems in the Jones program. TJC will now play Coahoma (Mississippi) in Bossier City, Louisiana. The contest is scheduled for 5 p.m. at Bossier Parish Community College. The Lady Tigers are 7-1.