STEVE CARPENTER
HutchCC Sports Information
With two-straight victories, one over a Top 10 team, the Hutchinson Community College football team has returned to the NJCAA national rankings.
After three weeks out of the rankings, the 2-2 Blue Dragons re-entered the national rankings at No. 13.
Ranked No. 1 in the preseason, the Blue Dragons quickly tumbled out of the national rankings after consecutive losses to start the season to Now-No. 8 Coffeyville and Butler. Since then, Hutchinson has evened its record at 2-2 with a 55-6 win over Fort Scott on September 25 at Gowans Stadium and Saturday’s 24-16 come-from-behind victory at then-No. 8 Garden City.
The 13th-ranked Blue Dragons will play a nationally ranked opponent when No. 3 Independence (5-0) comes to Gowans Stadium for a Noon kickoff on Saturday. Despite a 31-0 win over Fort Scott last Saturday, the Pirates were jumped in the rankings by Jones Community College.
Hutchinson is one of four Jayhawk Conference teams in the rankings or receiving votes this week. Independence is No. 3, Coffeyville is No. 8 and the Blue Dragons are in the rankings. Garden City is still receiving votes.
Snow College is the No. 1-ranked team for the fourth-straight week. The Badgers received 4 of 6 first-place votes. The Top 5 has Snow, Jones, Independence, Iowa Western and Trinity Valley.
The last time the Blue Dragons entered the national rankings after being unranked the week before was September 6, 2018. That started 38-straight polls the Blue Dragons were in the national rankings.
NJCAA FOOTBALL RANKINGS
Record Points Last Poll
1. Snow (4) 4-0 84 1
2. Jones (2) 5-0 81 5
3. Independence 5-0 77 2
4. Iowa Western 4-0 74 3
5. Trinity Valley 5-0 72 4
6. East Mississippi 5-0 61 6
7. New Mexico Military 5-0 52 7
8. Coffeyville 4-0 49 9
9. Mississippi Gulf Coast 4-1 39 11
10. Iowa Central 4-1 36 12
11. Lackawanna 3-1 20 15
12. Monroe 3-0 18 15
13. Hutchinson 2-2 16 NR
14. Coahoma College 4-1 14 NR
15. Kilgore 3-2 10 10
Receiving Votes: Northwest Mississippi, Hinds, Garden City