The 2017 season is off and running and through 3-4 weeks the race to the top has been chaotic. Fullerton takes over the top spot after a third impressive win.
Fullerton was the co-champions a year ago along with Garden City and the Hornets have been roughing up opponents and taking numbers. The latest victim was College of the Canyons, who came in ranked in the top-30 but fell short by a count of 42-28. Fullerton had too much offense for the Cougars, rolling up 562 yards despite turning the ball over four times. The Hornets now get a heavyweight bout with No. 5 Mt. San Antonio, who has been winning by an average of 29+ points-per-game. The winner will be the early favorite for the top seed in the Southern California playoffs down the road.
The other co-champion from a year ago, Garden City, has now dropped two straight games after falling to Hutchinson, 31-28. The Busters won all their close games a season ago but have seen the tables turned in 2017. Hutchinson forced three turnovers during the game and now sits at No. 12 in the rankings with a home date with No. 26 Highland this weekend. Garden City drops to No. 24 and gets an extra week to think about it with a bye on tap.
Don’t look now, but East Mississippi is starting to take its old form and moved back up to No. 2 in the rankings. The Lions manhandled another opponent on Saturday when they blasted Northeast Mississippi, 59-0. East Mississippi started the season slowly with a ho-hum, 47-34 win over Jones County. Since then they have taken apart two opponents to the tune of 108-10. This week they get a solid test when they host No. 36 Itawamba on Thursday night.
Previous No. 1 Iowa Western saw its undefeated hopes washed away on a trip to Kansas when they lost a close battle with Butler, 21-19. The Reivers turned the ball over four times and committed 135 yards in penalties, which is too much against a solid squad like Butler. Iowa Western gets another road trip to Kansas in an attempt to right the ship when it heads to No. 46 Coffeyville this weekend.
Trinity Valley was another that fell from the unbeaten ranks as the previous No. 2 team was stunned by Blinn in the final quarter, 31-27. The Cardinals had some opportunities after falling behind by four with just over 10-minutes remaining, but couldn’t figure out the Buccaneer defense in the final minutes. Blinn is now the favorites to win the SWJCFC after beating Navarro and Trinity Valley in back-to-back weeks. The Bucs rose all the way to No. 6 in the rankings and will travel to No. 45 Kilgore this weekend. TVCC dropped to No. 11 in the rankings and will get a breather this weekend when they host independent Arkansas Baptist.
The rest of the Dirty 30 Rankings follow. Just a reminder, the Dirty 30 Rankings do not include games against prep schools or non-affiliated programs in the team records.
