KC WINS — AND DROPS A SPOT | Believe it or not, Rangers slip to fifth in national poll; play at No. 6 Navarro on Saturday night
The Kilgore College Rangers won – and actually fell a spot, dropping to No. 5 in the NJCAA’s top 15 national rankings, two days after beating New Mexico Military Institute and moving to 2-0 on the season.
Coach Willie Gooden’s Rangers got a fairly well-rounded game – three huge kick returns, one for a score and two that set up touchdowns; a big day from the defense; two passing TDs and a 200-plus-yard rushing day – and defeated NMMI, 40-30 on Saturday.
The Rangers fell from fourth to fifth in the poll.
Hutchnson (Kan.), the No. 1 team in the poll since the beginning of the season, beat No. 2 Iowa Western on Saturday, 38-37. Western didn’t drop an inch – they remained No. 2. Snow College (Utah) remained third. Mississippi Gulf Coast vaulted KC, from fifth up to fourth, and KC dropped from fourth to fifth.
Looks like it’ll be winner-take-all – at least for the time being – this Saturday in Corsciana, because KC’s next opponent is none other than Navarro, ranked No. 6, right behind KC in the national poll. Navarro moved up a spot from seventh to sixth after beating Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO) last weekend.
KC (2-0) faces the Bulldogs (2-0) Saturday at 7 p.m. in a rematch of last year’s Southwest Junior College Football Conference championship game – and for the lead in the current season’s conference standings.
Rounding out the top 10 of the latest poll, released Monday: a blast from the past, Georgia Military, sits at No. 7. And GMC has a loss – they’re actually 3-1.
Highland (Kansas) Community College is ranked eighth. Copiah-Lincoln (Mississippi) is ninth, and KC and Navarro conference rival Trinity Valley, who lost at Tyler Junior College by a touchdown on Saturday, is 10th (TVCC is 1-1).
See the rest of the poll below.
NJCAA TOP 15 POLL
(Sept. 16, 2024)
| 1. HUTCHINSON (Kan.) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (3-0); 12 first-place votes; Last week: 1 |
| 2. IOWA WESTERN (2-1); Last week: 2 |
| 3. SNOW (UTAH) COLLEGE (4-0); Last week: 3 |
| 4. MISSISSIPPI GULF COAST COMMUNITY COLLEGE (3-0); Last week: 5. |
| 5. KILGORE COLLEGE (2-0); Last week: 4 |
| 6. NAVARRO COLLEGE (2-0); Last week: 7 |
| 7. GEORGIA MILITARY COLLEGE (3-1); Last week: 9 |
| 8. HIGHLAND (KANSAS) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (3-0); Last week: 11 |
| 9. COPIAH-LINCOLN (MISSISSIPPI) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (2-1); Last week: 15 |
| 10. TRINITY VALLEY COMMUNITY COLLEGE (1-1); Last week: 6 |
| 11. GARDEN CITY (KANSAS) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (2-1); Last week: 14 |
| 12. JONES (MISSISSIPPI) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (2-1); Last week: 10 |
| 13. LACKAWANNA (PENNSYLVANIA) COLLEGE (1-1); Last week: 13 |
| 14. BUTLER (KANSAS) COMMUNITY COLLEGE (2-1); Last week: 15 |
| 14. NORTHWEST MISSISSIPPI COMMUNITY COLLEGE (2-1); Last week: 7 |
| 15. IOWA CENTRAL COMMUNITY COLLEGE (1-2); Last week: 12 |