state title game between No. 1 Oroville (Calif.) Butte College and No. 2 Walnut (Calif.) Mt. San Antonio College just got a little more added weight as both programs top the latest JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 rankings.
Coast College will become the first program from the state of California to claim the national title after three years of NJCAA programs at the top.
Butte enters the game at 11-0 on the season and is the sole remaining undefeated team in the nation. Mt. SAC heads to the title game having lost only once during the season, a 44-38 triple-overtime setback to Cerritos College (7-4) in week nine of the season.
San Antonio snatched victory from the jaws of defeat on Saturday night when they took a one-point lead with 10 seconds to play in defeating previous No. 1 College of the Canyons to claim the Southern California championship. The Roadrunners from Butte will have had two weeks to prepare for the game after defeating Reedley College, 24-20, on November 22.
The NJCAA final had an entertaining finish over the weekend as No. 3 El Dorado (KS) Butler County College defeated No. 5 Ephraim (UT) Snow College, 37-30, in double overtime. Butler led 20-7 at halftime and 23-9 heading into the fourth quarter when Snow mounted a big comeback to send the game into overtime. In the second overtime, the Butler offense stalled at the 11-yard, and the Grizzlies lined up for a Logan Ortiz field goal. The kick was partially blocked and squirted into the end zone. A Snow player tried to recover the ball, but could not, allowing Butler’s Demonte Hill to fall on the ball. The officials conferred before ruling that since a Snow player had touched the ball first, it was again a live ball, and awarded the Hill and the Grizzlies the touchdown. Snow would still have its turn on offense, and on the very first play, quarterback Jon Eastman threw a pass that was bobbled by receiver Regan Buck. Butler linebacker Forlando Johnson grabbed the ball out of the air for an interception, ending the game and sending the Grizzlies sprinting to the middle of the field to celebrate the NJCAA national title.
Previous Dirty 30 national champions include Glendale College (AZ) in 2005; Blinn College (TX) in 2006, while 2007 had co-national champions with Butler County (KS) and Mississippi Gulf Coast.
The JCGridiron.com Dirty 30 Rankings (12/8/08)
1. Butte (Calif.) 11-0
2. Mt. SAC (Calif.) 12-1
3. Butler (KS) 10-1
4. Canyons (Calif.) 12-1
5. Snow (UT) 10-1
6. El Camino (Calif.) 10-2
7. Fullerton (Calif.) 10-2
8. Navarro (TX) 10-1
9. Mississippi Gulf Coast 10-2
10. Harper (IL) 10-1
11. Santa Rosa (Calif.) 8-3
12. Fort Scott (KS) 8-2
13. Reedley (Calif.) 7-4
14. Sierra (Calif.) 9-2
15. Blinn (TX) 8-3
16. Saddleback (Calif.) 7-4
17. Eastern Arizona 6-3
18. East Mississippi 8-2
19. Foothill (Calif.) 8-3
20. Palomar (Calif.) 8-3
21. San Joaquin Delta (Calif.) 8-3
22. Cerritos (Calif.) 7-4
23. Kilgore (TX) 6-4
24. Jones County (MS) 7-2
25. Phoenix (AZ) 7-4
26. Glendale (AZ) 7-2
27. San Francisco (Calif.) 7-4
28. Georgia Military 7-2
29. Iowa Central 7-3
30. Hutchinson (KS) 6-4
Others on the bubble: Ellsworth (IA) 8-2, Pearl River (MS) 8-3, Allan Hancock (Calif.) 7-4, Pasadena City (Calif.) 7-4, Trinity Valley (TX) 5-4, Rochester (MN) 8-2, Modesto (Calif.) 8-3, Dean (MA) 6-1, Sequoias (Calif.) 5-5, Shasta (Calif.) 9-2
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