Hornets and Busters share Dirty 30 Title

The 2016 season came to a close on Saturday in Yorba Linda, California, with Fullerton College defeating American River College in the California state title game. With the win, the Hornets earned a share of the JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 national title with Garden City College.

Fullerton outlasted American River on Saturday, 29-27, to win its first state title in 33 years. The Hornets started playing football 100 years ago and won its first national title in the Junior Rose Bowl when legendary Fullerton coach Hal Sherbeck guided the Hornets past Henderson, Texas, 20-15. That was back when it was decided on the field, as it should be. It’s a shame we can’t get Fullerton and Garden City together to decide things on the field, but for now those decisions are left to guys like me sitting behind a computer.

Nonetheless, both squads are very deserving. Garden City won its first Jayhawk title in 15 years and went on the road to beat a solid Arizona Western program in the NJCAA title game when they drove the length of the field (into a howling wind) with under two minutes remaining to beat the Matadors with 30 seconds on the clock. It was ultra-impressive given that the Busters had developed the reputation as a defensive-minded team.

The California title game had a similar twist. Fullerton came into the game as an offensive juggernaut, averaging 51.6 points-per-game entering the title game on Saturday. In the end, it was the Hornet defense that salted away the game when Taj Jones picked off ARC quarterback Griffin Dahn with 1:15 on the clock to ice the game. It was 1-of-5 interceptions on the day for Fullerton, a program known for its offense.

On paper, both teams had impressive resumes to brag about. Garden City beat seven teams that appeared in the JCGridiron Dirty 30 throughout the course of the year with the highest ranked team being No. 5 Arizona Western in the NJCAA title game. Fullerton lost one game to No. 11 Saddleback in mid-October (27-30), but beat seven teams of their own in the top-30 during the course of the season. The Hornets didn’t have a win against a top-5 in the final voting, but had five wins against top-15 teams, which may be a first in Dirty 30 history.

One thing is for certain, it was one of the more intriguing years we have ever had in the history of JUCO football. The season started in August with the release of “Last Chance U” on Netflix, where total chaos led to a crippling decision against the East Mississippi program and forced them to start the 2016 campaign with 30 players. The Lions dropped the opener on a stifling, hot night by two points and never recovered in the NJCAA rankings. As a result, they weren’t given a chance at the NJCAA title and dropped to No. 3 in the Dirty 30 Rankings.

Defending champ City College of San Francisco was also stunned on opening night when upstart Laney College shocked the Rams, 18-13. Just for good measure, the two teams were matched with one-another in a bowl game last week and Laney again prevailed, 49-35. CCSF finished at No. 29 with Laney coming in at No. 22.

The Mississippi ranks finished with six of its 14 programs in the top-30 to finish the season, led by EMCC. In addition, they had two more on the bubble making them the most dominant conference in JUCO football.

The “Road Warrior Award” this season goes to Iowa Western, who went to just about any length for a game. The Reivers traveled 4,608 miles this season, starting in Grand Junction, Colorado, and making four trips to Kansas. The schedule seemed to wear down Iowa Western, who finished 6-6 and ranked No. 41 on the bubble.

The big story today, however, is the JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 national title. Congrats to both Garden City and Fullerton for sharing the 12th annual award. It was the third time the award has had a split champion. The first was in 2007 when Mississippi Gulf Coast shared the title with Butler County. The most recent was East Mississippi and Butte in 2013.

Congrats Broncbusters and Hornets!

The rest of the Dirty 30 Rankings follow with past champions listed at the bottom. Just a reminder, the JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 Rankings do not recognize games against Club Teams or Prep Schools.

* = forfeited game