Northwest sits on top heading into spring season

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 in December. The Rangers 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.

Fast-forward the clock close to 3.5 months and now we have another 25 squads about ready to kick off what will be the first-ever spring season for teams in the Jayhawk, Iowa, Southwest JCFC, along with a handful of Independents. Can any of them make enough of a run to catch Northwest for the 16th JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 National Title? We’ll have to wait and see.

One thing is for certain, this year’s champion will be remembered as the program that won during the year of COVID. Unlike any other year when we announce a champion in December, the 2020 champion likely won’t be crowned until at least late May. It isn’t likely to be a program from California, as only five lower-tier programs are playing out west this spring after missing the entire fall schedule. With the field cut in half, who will survive the grind and call themselves Dirty 30 Champions?

This was the rankings when we finished the fall schedule. Many of the teams from the Golden State will fall out throughout the next couple of months when their seasons are officially lost for good.

Most of the country is set to kick off spring ball in late March. Some will have their schedules significantly modified as a result of programs shutting down within their own conference/league. Smaller conferences and Independent programs have been scrambling to find other programs that want to play.

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.

For those looking for the history of JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 Champions, here it is.