Navarro Bulldogs Lay Claim to No. 1 Ranking in NJCAA / JC Football.com Top 20

Dramatic Weekend Results in Navarro and Fort Scott Taking Over Top of This Week's Poll

COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. - The regular season in the Southwest JC Football Conference and the Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference came to a climactic end as the top four teams in the country took the field against one another. After the dust settled Navarro (Texas) and Fort Scott (Kansas) emerged with their undefeated records in tact to claim the top two spots in this week's NJCAA JC Football.com Top 20 Poll.

Navarro (9-0) defeated previous No. 1 Blinn (Texas) 23-20 Saturday to win the SWJCFC regular season title, which is the second straight for Navarro. The win also gives the Bulldogs the top seed and home field advantage heading into the league's playoffs, which start this Saturday where Navarro will host Kilgore (Texas) and Blinn will host No. 14 Tyler (Texas).

The Bulldogs controlled most of the game, holding a 23-7 lead heading into the fourth quarter. However, Blinn fought back like a No. 1 team does, and closed the gap to 23-20 and had a chance to take the lead but the Navarro forced an interception in the final minutes to seal the victory.

The Bulldog defense pressured Blinn's top ranked quarterback Cam Newton all day, forcing two interceptions, two fumbles while also collecting three sacks. The Navarro offense racked up 504 yards with running back Derrick Hall pacing the Bulldogs with 169 rushing yards on 17 carries and a touchdown.

Blinn had held the No. 1 ranking in the poll for the last eight weeks while Navarro had been in the No. 2 spot for the last seven weeks.

Navarro received 139 total poll points and six of seven first place votes from voters to take over the top ranking. Blinn received 116 poll points to slide down to No. 4.

Fort Scott (9-0) made history on Saturday with their 14-10 win over defending national champion Butler (Kan.) The Greyhound victory ended Butler's eight-year run as Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference champions (2001-08) and marks the first conference title for Fort Scott in 35 years. The win also gives Fort Scott the top seed and home field advantage in the Region 6 playoffs, which will begin Nov. 8 where the Greyhounds will host No. 17 Hutchinson (Kan.) in their first round game while Butler will host No. 16 Coffeyville (Kan.).

There was plenty of excitement heading into the game and both teams did not disappoint. With Fort Scott clinging to a 7-3 lead, Butler scored the go-ahead touchdown with 9:10 left in the fourth quarter on a 14-yard pass from Ross Dausin to Marcus Kennard to make the score 10-7. The Greyhounds then went on a 17-play, 92-yard drive that ate up nearly seven minutes. The drive included a fourth-down conversion and a 22-yard pass completion on third-and-19 to put the ball at the 3-yard line. Quarterback Dominique Davis scored on a sneak for the game-winning touchdown.

Butler got the ball back with 1:35 to go, but on third down, Dausin was hit from behind and fumbled, securing the win for Fort Scott.

The loss is Butler's first in conference play since a 43-29 loss at Highland (Kan.) on Oct. 28, 2006. Butler had won 20 conference games in a row. Fort Scott becomes the first team other than Butler to win an outright KJCCC championship since Garden City won the title in 2000.

The Greyhounds received 134 poll points and one first place vote to move up to No. 2 in the rankings. The loss for Butler, their second on the season, drops the Grizzlies to No. 8 in the poll.

Mississippi Gulf Coast (9-1) moves up to No. 3 following their 58-21 victory over Coahoma (Miss.) in the first round of the Mississippi Association of Community & Junior Colleges playoffs. The Bulldogs scored 35 unanswered points in the first half to cruise to their ninth win of the season. Running back Vick Ballard gained 103 yards and scored a touchdown while also setting a new Bulldog single season rushing record (1,457) with at least one game remaining.

The win advances Mississippi Gulf Coast to their third straight MACJC state title game and fourth in six years. The Bulldogs will travel to No. 7 East Mississippi (9-1) Saturday for this year's title game. The Lions advanced with their 26-16 win over then No. 19 Jones County (Miss.) in the other MACJC semifinal contest. EMCC will be making their first ever appearance in the MACJC Championship Game and enters the contest with a six game winning streak. The lone loss for the Lions this year was to Mississippi Gulf Coast, 43-26, back on Sept. 17.

Snow College (Utah) creeps up to No. 5 this week following their 48-20 win over Scottsdale (Ariz.). The Badgers are now 9-1 and are off next week before they face No. 9 Arizona Western (7-1) n a contest that will determine the champion of the Western States Football League.

In other playoff action last weekend Grand Rapids (Mich.) defeated Harper (Ill.) for the second time in as many weeks by the score of 35-0 in the Midwest Football Conference - East Division semifinals. The Raiders are tied for the No. 5 spot in this week's poll with a 9-0 record and will host Joliet (Ill.) in the MFC - East title game this Saturday.

The championship of the Minnesota College Athletic Conference will be an all South Division affair when No. 10 Rochester (Minn.) faces No. 12 Central Lakes (Minn.) this Sunday at St. Cloud State University in St. Cloud, Minn. Rochester improved to 10-0 with their 21-6 semifinal win over Mesabi Range (Minn.) while Central Lakes moved to 9-1 with a 36-30 victory over Vermilion in the other MCAC semifinal. The Yellow Jackets won the regular season contest between the two teams on Sept. 26, defeating the Raiders 27-6.