Race for Dirty 30 title is tight

The 2024 football season has proven to be great one. With a handful of games remaining, as many as eight programs still have a chance to grab the 20th annual JCGridiron Dirty 30 championship.

The California ranks narrowed its list to four as No. 6 College of San Mateo will host No. 8 Modesto Junior College in the Northern California title game this weekend while No. 1 Mt. San Antonio will host No. 3 Riverside City College in the Southern California title game. The winners will move on to play for the 3C2A state title on December 14.

San Mateo rolled through the opening round of the playoffs with a 41-7 thrashing of American River. The Bulldogs had a 31-0 lead heading to the fourth quarter, allowing the Beavers just eight first downs for the day. Lolo Mataele led the ground attack for San Mateo with 95 yards and two scores.

Modesto had to go two overtimes to defeat a gritty No. 18 Fresno City College team, 31-28. Luke Weaver passed for 361 yards and three scores in leading the Pirates to the Northern California finals. Manuel Duran kicked a 36-yard field goal to win the game in the second overtime.

Riverside City had the most improbable of wins on Saturday. The Tigers rallied from a 30-0 deficit midway through the third quarter to defeat No. 19 San Diego Mesa College 37-30. The Tigers had 533 yards and 30 first downs, with Brady Jones throwing for 402 yards through the air.

Mt. San Antonio received a tough test from No. 28 El Camino College but proved to be too much for the Warriors down the stretch. The Mounties scored the final 24 points of the game, including a 17-0 advantage in the second half. Devin Miles led the attack with 176 yards and three scores on the ground.

The NJCAA ranks have determined a final four, which will be played on Friday and Sunday of this weekend. The Friday matchup will see No. 4 Northwest Mississippi traveling to No. 2 Iowa Western while the Sunday matchup has No. 5 Hutchinson traveling to No. 7 Georgia Military. The winners will face off in Commerce, Texas, on December 18.

The rest of the Dirty 30 Rankings follow. 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.

JCGRIDIRON DIRTY 30 RANKINGS

Dirty 30 Rankings (12/2/24)

Others on the Bubble: East Mississippi 5-4, North Dakota SCS 8-1, Bakersfield (CA) 6-5, Jones (MS) 5-4, Allan Hancock (CA) 6-5, Sierra (CA) 6-5, Pasadena City (CA) 11-0, Dodge City (KS) 6-4, Long Beach City (CA) 6-5, De Anza (CA) 10-0, Mt. San Jacinto (CA) 6-5, Sequoias (CA) 6-5, Kilgore (TX) 4-4, Fullerton (CA) 5-5, Monterey Peninsula (CA) 10-0, Pearl River (MS) 4-5, Iowa Central 5-6, Citrus (CA) 5-5, Diablo Valley (CA) 5-5, Cerritos (CA) 5-5

No	School	City	Rcd.	Next

1	Mt. San Antonio	Walnut, CA	11-0	v #3 Riverside City
2	Iowa Western	Council Bluffs, IA	10-1	v #4 Northwest (FR)
3	Riverside City	Riverside, CA	10-1	@ #1 Mt. SAC
4	Northwest	Senatobia, MS	10-1	@ #2 IA Western (FR)
5	Hutchinson	Hutchinson, KS	9-1	@ #7 GMC (SU)
6	San Mateo	San Mateo, CA	10-1	v #8 Modesto
7	Georgia Military	Milledgeville, GA	9-1	v #5 Hutchinson (SU)
8	Modesto	Modesto, CA	9-2	@ #6 San Mateo
9	Butte	Oroville, CA	9-1	v #30 Foothill
10	East Central	Decatur, MS	8-3	Finished
11	Golden West	Hnt. Bch., CA	9-2	Finished
12	Snow	Ephraim, UT	6-2	Finished
13	Gulf Coast	Perkinston, MS	8-2	Finished
14	Coffeyville	Coffeyville, KS	8-2	v #16 Navarro
15	Lackawanna	Scranton, PA	6-3	Finished
16	Navarro	Corsicana, TX	8-2	v #14 Coffeyville
17	Holmes	Goodman, MS	7-3	Finished
18	Fresno City	Fresno, CA	8-3	Finished
19	San Diego Mesa	San Diego, CA	8-3	Finished
20	Ventura	Ventura, CA	8-3	Finished
21	Canyons	Santa Clarita, CA	8-3	Finished
22	Saddleback	Mission Viejo, CA	8-3	Finished
23	Itawamba	Fulton, MS	6-3	Finished
24	American River	Sacramento, CA	7-4	Finished
25	Copiah-Lincoln	Wesson, MS	5-4	Finished
26	DuPage	Glen Ellyn, IL	10-1	v Louisburg
27	Butler	El Dorado, KS	7-4	Finished
28	El Camino	Torrance, CA	7-4	Finished
29	Tyler	Tyler, TX	7-4	Finished
30	Foothill	Los Altos Hills, CA	7-3	@ #9 Butte