Northwest leaps into top spot

The Northwest Rangers jumped into the top spot in the JCGridron.com Dirty 30 Rankings with a dominating win in the Mississippi state title game on Saturday. Northwest beat previously top-ranked Gulf Coast, 40-13, winning the big prize in the Magnolia State and making a statement for the Dirty 30 title.

The year 2020 has been a mess for community college football, but Northwest has come through it unscathed and now will have to sit and wait to see if they can win the Dirty 30 title. With uncertainty on how many programs will play during the spring, they could have to wait as many as five or six months, depending on who plays. It seems unlikely that any of the teams will play out west, but with Kansas, Texas, Iowa and programs in the Northeast still on hold, much will depend on the viability of play during the spring.

Northwest dominated from start to finish on Saturday, opening up a 16-0 lead at the half and never looking back. Gulf Coast turned the ball over five times during the game and was just 4-of-15 on third down conversions facing a defense that was aggressive and opportunistic. Northwest had a balanced attack on offense as quarterback Michael Hiers finished 16-of-29 for 213 yards and one touchdown pass while running back Jaquerrious Williams rush for 109 yards and a score of his own. The defense finished with five sacks and five quarterback hurries, forcing Gulf Coast into a ton of third-and-long situations. In the end, Northwest looked like the far better team on Saturday in a rematch from the 2019 state title game.

In other action on Saturday in Arizona in the Hohokam Junior College Athletic Conference (HJCAC), Gila River defended its title with a 40-6 win against Maricopa. The Hawks moved up to No. 30 in the rankings with the win, becoming the first HJCAC program to ever make it on to the big board. The Papago Pumas defeated Sonoran Sidewinders, 35-14, in the other matchup.

The rest of the JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 Rankings follow. Just a reminder, the Dirty 30 Rankings do not include games against club teams, non-CCCAA, non-NJCAA or non-HJCAC programs in its rankings.