Hutch clinging to the top

With just a handful of games remaining, the amount of teams with a chance to capture the JCGridiron Dirty 30 National Title is dwindling. Top-ranked Hutchinson College has a narrow lead on Riverside City College after escaping against Iowa Western this past weekend.

Hutchinson came up with a big play when it needed it on Saturday, blocking a punt and returning it for a touchdown in the final three minutes to defeat Iowa Western. The Blue Dragons were not at their best for most of the day, but managed to survive.

However, their lead on Riverside City College is razor thin after RCC finished the regular season 10-0 after bludgeoning an outmanned Chaffey squad, 49-14. The Tigers will end up being the No. 1 seed in the Southern California Regional Playoffs, which start on November 26. Pairings for the regional are expected this week.

Northwest Mississippi saw its opportunity to win a national title take a big hit this past weekend when they lost against East Mississippi in the MACCC title game, 36-28. The Rangers were never at the top of their game, getting outgained 508-289 for the day. Northwest made a late run to make things interesting, but EMCC iced the game in the final seven minutes when Eli Anderson found Duke Miller for a 24-yard score and an eight point advantage. Northwest fell to No. 7 in the rankings with the loss while East Mississippi rose to No. 12.

The Southwest JCFC title game will have No. 10 New Mexico Military versus No. 14 Kilgore this weekend. Top-seeded Trinity Valley had a nightmare day on Saturday when it committed eight turnovers in falling to Kilgore. The Cardinals fell to No. 16 in the rankings as a result. New Mexico Military blocked a field goal in the final seconds to survive a battle with Navarro.

Lackawanna jumped up to No. 11 in the rankings after beating Georgia Military 42-11. The Falcons will finish against No. 9 Snow in a game that could have NJCAA playoff implications.

Here is the rest of the JCGridiron Dirty 30 Rankings. Just a reminder, the Dirty 30 Rankings do not include games against club teams, prep schools, non-CCCAA, non-NJCAA or non-HJCAC programs in its rankings/records.