(BY STEVE CARPENTER)
(HUTCHINSON CC SPORTS INFORMATION)

The Hutchinson Community College football team took a collective sigh of relief on Monday when the latest NJCAA Football Rankings were released.

Hutchinson’s first-ever run at No. 1 ended at five weeks after Saturday’s 29-27 upset loss at No. 20 Highland. The Blue Dragons slipped three spots to No. 4 this week.

The Blue Dragons are 5-1 overall heading into Saturday’s Jayhawk Conference matchup vs. Coffeyville at Gowans Stadium.

The new Top 5 has Mississippi Gulf Coast (6-0) at No. 1. Northwest Mississippi moves from No. 7 to No. 7 with a decisive victory over former No. 3 East Mississippi last Thursday. Lackawanna College is No. 3 at 5-0 and receive one first-place vote. Lackawanna’s lead over Hutchinson for the No. 3 spot is a scant .37 points. Kilgore is No. 5.

Gulf Coast and Northwest Mississippi do not meet in the regular season, but could meet in the Mississippi playoffs.

The Blue Dragons are one of three Jayhawk Conference teams in the Top 10 and five league schools in the Top 20.

Butler drops five spots to No. 9 after a second-straight loss. The Grizzlies were defeated on the road by Independence. Garden City moves up two spots and back into the Top 10 at No. 14. Highland was the big league winner after toppling No. 1 Hutch on Saturday, the Scotties are No. 14 this week, up six spots. Independence returns to the poll this week after hits 49-20 win over then-No. 4 Butler. The Pirates are No. 17. Fort Scott and Iowa Western are both receiving votes.

The Blue Dragons have been ranked in 17 consecutive polls.

Information Box

NJCAA FOOTBALL RANKINGS
	Record	Points	Last Week
1. Mississippi Gulf Coast (15) 2. Northwest Mississippi 3. Lackawanna (1) 4. Hutchinson 5. Kilgore 6. Hinds 7. Monroe College 8. East Mississippi 9. Butler 10. Garden City 11. Trinity Valley 12. Jones 13. Snow 14. Highland 15. Georgia Military 16. ASA Miami 17. Independence 18. Mesabi Range 19. East Central 20. Blinn 4-2	6-0 5-1 5-0 5-1 6-1 5-1 5-0 4-2 5-2 5-2 4-2 4-2 3-2 4-2 5-2 4-1 3-2 6-0 4-2 4-2	371.50 315.39 309.40 309.03 303.53 244.01 238.04 221.47 198.96 198.58 151.33 151.28 132.41 123.73 116.23 477.0 75.65 59.65 47.86 45.00	2 7 5 1 6 11 8 3 4 12 10 14 13 20 16 17 RV 18 RV 9
Others Receiving Votes: Fort Scott (3-2, 38.0); Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (3-3, 20); Copiah-Lincoln (3-3, 8.2); ASA Brooklyn (4-2, 6.0); Iowa Western (3-3, 5.0); North Dakota SCS (5-1, 4.0); Rochester (5-1, 3.0); Nassau (3-2, 2.0). *25.0 percent of the NJCAA football rankings are comprised of the NJCAA Football Computer Rankings. The remaining 75.0 percent is derived from individual votes conducted by a 16-member committee featuring the seven members of the NJCAA Football Committee, two annually rotating at-large selections, and a representative from each of the six NJCAA football conferences and a representative from the independent schools.