(BY STEVE CARPENTER)
(HUTCHINSON CC SPORTS INFORMATION)

HUTCHINSON, Kan. – The Hutchinson Community College football team maintained its No. 1 ranking coming out of its bye week, while the Butler Grizzlies stayed at No. 2 setting up Jayhawk Conference battle of the season on Saturday at Gowans Stadium.

The 4-0 and top-ranked Blue Dragons take on the 5-0 and second-ranked Grizzlies at Noon Saturday. This will be the second time Hutchinson and Butler will meet in a 1 vs. 2 matchup. Back in 2010, also at Gowans Stadium, the teams played as the top two teams in the nation. The Blue Dragons were No. 2 in the past meeting.

While the Blue Dragons had a bye last Saturday, Butler remained undefeated with a 31-10 home win over Dodge City.

The Blue Dragons actually picked up one extra point in this week’s rankings. Last week, the Dragons had a four-point advantage over Butler. This week, the Dragons have a 314-309 advantage. Hutch carried 10 first-place votes to Butler’s six, the same as last week’s poll.

The top six teams in the rankings all remained the said. Northwest Mississippi was third, Mississippi was fourth and defending national champion East Mississippi was fifth. Lackawanna College was sixth, but there were several changes after that.

Garden City climbed four spots to No. 14 after defeating previously ranked Iowa Western. Fort Scott moved back into the rankings after defeating Independence. The Pirates are still receiving votes. The other major fall came to Iowa Central, which fell eight spots to No. 15 after losing decisively to now No. 12 Snow College.

Hutchinson has now been ranked in 15 consecutive polls.

The Blue Dragons are also ranked in the JC Gridwire Dirty 30 has a bit of different take on Saturday’s matchup. The Dirty 30 has Butler at No. 2 and Hutchinson at No. 3. Those rankings also included California junior colleges.

Information Box

NJCAA FOOTBALL RANKINGS
	Record	Points	Last Week
1. Hutchinson (10) 2. Butler (6) 3. Northwest Mississippi 4. Mississippi Gulf Coast 5. East Mississippi 6. Lackawanna 7. Kilgore 8. Blinn 9. Monroe College 10. Georgia Military 11. Copiah-Lincoln 12. Snow 13. Trinity Valley 14. Garden City 15. Iowa Central 16. Hinds 17. Jones 18. Fort Scott 19. Nassau 20. Mesabi Range	4-0 5-0 4-0 4-0 3-1 3-0 4-1 4-1 3-0 4-1 3-1 3-2 3-1 3-1 3-2 3-1 2-2 3-1 3-1 5-0	314 309 287 271 249 234 216 200 174 167 163 139 134 108 93 85 63 50 27 23	1 2 3 4 5 6 10 12 11 14 8 16 9 18 7 19 13 RV RV RV
Others Receiving Votes: Cisco (3-1, 13); East Central (3-1, 13); ASA Brooklyn (3-1, 8); Independence (2-2, 5); Iowa Western (1-3, 3); Navarro (2-3); Itasca (4-1). -1, 13); ASA Brooklyn (3-1, 8); Independence (2-2, 5); Iowa Western (1-3, 3); Navarro (2-3); Itasca (4-1).