STEVE CARPENTER
HutchCC Sports Information
With Week 1 of the junior college football season kicking off this week, the NJCAA released its preseason national rankings on Monday.
The defending national champion Hutchinson Community College football team is, for the second-straight season, the preseason choice to win the 2021 national championship, which will ultimately be decided for the first time by a four-team playoff in December.
The Blue Dragons went 8-0 in the pandemic-altered season of 2020-21, defeating No. 1 Snow College 29-27 in the NJCAA Championship Game on June 4 in Little Rock Arkansas. That team also started the season as the No. 1 preseason team. These are the only two preseason No. 1 rankings for the Blue Dragons their now-90-year history.
The top five teams in the 2021 preseason poll are Hutchinson, Snow College, Northwest Mississippi, Iowa Western and Garden City. The Blue Dragons garnered all five first-place votes.
The Blue Dragons were also selected to repeat as Jayhawk Conference champions on July 28 in Wichita at the Jayhawk Conference’s annual Football Coaches Media Day.
The Blue Dragons return eight starters on offense, five on defense and one special teams starter.
Of the eight returning starters on offense, four are on the offensive line and all four were all-conference selections last season. That group paved the way for a stable of running backs that set a Blue Dragon team record for season rushing and yards per carry as All-American and Championship Game MVP Tye Edwards and second-team all-KJCCC performer Anwar Lewis helped Hutchinson rush for 273.5 yards per game and 6.4 yards per carry. The Dragons also return all-conference receiver Cortez Braham and.
Defensively, five starters return with defensive tackles Demeco Roland and Jaylon Bass and defensive end Davion Westmoreland – all three were all-KJCCC players last season. There will be three new starting linebackers, but the defensive backfield will see the return of Marquise Gilbert – he had a team-high three interceptions last season – Emmanuel Mann and Daquan Wilson.
The road between Saturday night’s 2021 season opener at Coffeyville and a potential berth in the national playoffs will be tough and different.
This season, the Blue Dragons have just seven regular-season games, no non-conference matchups, with three teams on the schedule also in the preseason Top 15: No. 15 Butler on September 11 at Gowans Stadium, No. 5 Garden City on October 2 at Garden City and No. 10 Independence on October 9 at Gowans Stadium.
After the regular season, the eight KJCCC teams will be seeded for the Region VI Playoffs where the Blue Dragons will have to win three games against three teams they have already played in order to reach in the semifinal semifinals.
The Blue Dragons open the season on Saturday at Coffeyville in a 7 p.m. kickoff and open at home on September 11 against Butler.
NJCAA PRESEASON FOOTBALL RANKINGS
Points
1. Hutchinson (5) 75
2. Snow 70
3. Northwest Mississippi 61
4. Iowa Western 60
5. Garden City 58
6. Kilgore 50
7. Mississippi Gulf Coast 41
8. Trinity Valley 32
9. Lackawanna 30
10. Independence 29
11. Iowa Central 28
12. Georgia Military 25
13. Hinds Community 20
14. New Mexico Military 13
15. Butler 7
Others Receiving Votes: Monroe College