[ By STEVE CARPENTER ]
[ BLUE DRAGON SPORTS INFORMATION ]
HUTCHINSON, Kan. — The top eight teams in the NJCAA Football Rankings stayed exactly the same when the new poll was released on Tuesday.
That means the Hutchinson Community College football team remained No. 4 after a hard-fought 24-14 victory on Saturday at Coffeyville.
The Blue Dragons have won five games in a row and are now 7-1 overall, which matches the team’s best start to a season since 2014. The Blue Dragons are 5-0 in the Jayhawk Conference. No. 2 Garden City is 6-0 overall and 4-0 in the Jayhawk.
The Blue Dragons have been listed in every poll this season since starting in the receiving votes column. The Dragons entered the ranking at No. 11 in the first regular-season rankings.
East Mississippi, for the fourth-straight week, received all 17 first-place votes and remains a solid No. 1. Garden City is No. 2, followed by Iowa Western, Hutchinson and Northwest Mississippi. East Mississippi, Garden City and No. 6 Lackawanna are the only remaining unbeaten teams in the NJCAA this season.
Butler is No. 13 this week and Highland is No. 14.
The Blue Dragons travel to Dodge City on Saturday for a 1 p.m. kickoff at Memorial Stadium in Dodge City.
NJCAA FOOTBALL RANKINGS
Record Points Last Week
1. East Mississippi (17) 7-0 370.00 1
2. Garden City 6-0 339.52 2
3. Iowa Western 6-1 310.18 3
4. Hutchinson 7-1 286.68 4
5. Northwest Mississippi 6-1 281.23 5
6. Lackawanna 7-0 250.79 6
7. Jones 6-1 231.62 7
8. Snow 6-1 217.69 8
9. Eastern Arizona 6-1 205.74 10
10. Arizona Western 5-2 175.26 11
11. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 5-2 169.72 13
12. Kilgore 5-2 138.37 14
13. Butler 5-2 133.49 16
14. Highland 4-2 97.68 18
15. Copiah-Lincoln 5-2 93.89 20
16. Blinn 5-2 75.58 9
17. Monroe College 4-1 69.00 12
18. Pima 4-1 67.68 19
19. Mississippi Gulf Coast 5-2 50.83 RV
20. North Dakota SCS 6-1 14.00 15
Others Receiving Votes: Mesabi Range (6-1, 10.0); Scottsdale (4-3, 9.0); Arkansas Baptist (5-1, 3.0); Cisco (4-3, 3.0); Hinds (4-3, 1.3); Central Lakes (5-2, 1.0); Nassau (5-2, 1.0); Navarro (5-3, 1.0); Northland (5-1, 1.0); Holmes (3-4, 0.9).