By John Mesh
The No. 3-ranked Hutchinson Community College football team is Georgia-bound.
The Blue Dragons (9-1) are the third seed in the NJCAA Playoffs and will play No. 2-ranked Georgia Military College (10-1) Sunday, Dec. 8, at Davenport Field in Milledgeville, Ga.
It is the first matchup ever between the two schools.
Kickoff for the HutchCC-GMC game is 3:30 p.m. Eastern time/2:30 p.m. Central time.
The Blue Dragons earned their fourth all-time appearance in the NJCAA Division I Football Playoffs.
This will be Hutchinson’s third-straight national semifinal appearance. The Blue Dragons defeated Coffeyville 38-7 in the 2022 semifinals. In 2023, HutchCC were upset by East Mississippi 29-27.
HutchCC bids for its third national championship in the past five seasons. HutchCC defeated Snow College 29-27 in the 2020/2021 championship game but lost 31-0 to Iowa Western 31-0 in 2023. Both games were played in Little Rock, Ark.
HutchCC is making its 28th bowl/national playoff game in program history. The Blue Dragons are 16-9-2 all-time in postseason play (not counting KJCCC/Region 6 playoff games).
This will be the second time HutchCC has played a team from Georgia. The Blue Dragons lost 42-37 to Middle Georgia in the 1995 Mineral Water Bowl in Excelsior Springs, Mo.
The Hutch-GMC game will feature the Nos. 2 and 3 rushing teams in the NJCAA.
Hutchinson is third in the country in rushing at 265 yards a game. HurtchCC’s Waymond Jordan Jr. Jayhawk Offensive Player of the Year. Jordan leads the Jayhawk Conference with 1,331 yards rushing and 18 touchdowns.
The GMC Bulldogs are second in the country in rushing at 275.9 yards a game. Four players have rushed for 490 yards or more. Keenan Phillips has rushed for 827 yards and 18 TDs.
Iowa Western Community College (10-1) is No. 1 in the NJCAA Division I poll released on Monday. Northwest Mississippi Community College (10-1) is the No. 4-ranked team.
Iowa Western will host Northwest Mississippi in the other NJCAA semifinal at 8 p.m. Eastern time/7 p.m. Central time on Friday, Dec. 6.
The semifinal winners will play for the NJCAA Division I Football Championship on Wednesday, Dec. 18, at West Texas A&M University in Canyon, Texas.
Both semifinal playoff games will be televised on ESPN+.
Brian-Schaeffer Stadium also will host the NJCAA Division I football championship in 2025, 2026 and 2027.
In the latest NJCAA Division I football poll, Coffeyville Community College (9-2) is ranked 7th, Butler Community College (7-4) is ranked 13th and Dodge City Community College (6-4) is ranked 15th.
Grunwald honored as finalist for NMSA award
Glen Grunwald of Eagle Radio, Hutchinson, is a finalist for the 2024 National Sports Media Associations Sportscaster of the Year.
Grunwald is the longtime voice of Hutchinson High School Salthawk sports. He retired after the 2023-24 season as the longtime voice of Hutchinson Community College men’s and women’s basketball.
The other four finalists are Mike Kennedy, Wichita State Sports Network; Mike Manns, KMAJ Radio, Topeka; Pat Strathman, ESPN Radio, Wichita; and Wyatt Thompson, Kansas State Sports Network, Manhattan.
“I am deeply honored to be a finalist for the National Sports Media Association Kansas Sportscaster of the Year for the second consecutive year, being mentioned alongside esteemed broadcasters such as Patrick Strathman, Mike Kennedy, Michael Manns and Wyatt Thompson,” Grunwald said on his social media pages. “Congratulations to all.”
Gowans Stadium to host three state football championships
Hutchinson’s Gowans Stadium will be the site for three Kansas high school state football championships next weekend.
The Kansas Class 2A state championship featuring Nemaha Central (11-1) vs. Southeast of Saline (12-0) will be played at 6 p.m. Friday.
Hayden (11-1) plays Andale (12-0) at noon Saturday at Hutchinson’s Gowans Stadium in the Kansas 3A state championship.
Centralia (11-1) plays Conway Springs (12-0) for the 1A state title at 5 p.m. Saturday.
Emporia State University’s Welch Stadium will host the state championship games for Classes 6A, 5A and 4A.
Kiowa County High School in Greensburg will host the Eight-Man I, Eight-Man II and Six-Man state championships.
Class 6A
Manhattan (12-0) vs. Gardner-Edgerton (11-1)
Friday, Nov. 29, 2 p.m., Welch Stadium in Emporia
Class 5A
Hays (8-4) vs. St. Thomas Aquinas (12-0)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m., Welch Stadium in Emporia
Class 4A
Andover Central (11-1) vs. Bishop Miege (5-7)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 1 p.m., Welch Stadium in Emporia
Class 3A
Saturday, Nov. 30, Noon, Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson
Andale (12-0) vs. Topeka Hayden (11-1)
Class 2A
Friday, Nov. 29, 6 p.m., Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson
Southeast of Saline (12-0) vs. Nemaha Central (11-1)
Class 1A
Conway Springs (12-0) vs. Centralia (11-1)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 5 p.m., Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson
8-Man Division I
Hoxie (12-0) vs. Central Plains (10-2)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 7 p.m., Kiowa County High School in Greensburg
8-Man Division II
Victoria (12-0) vs. Axtell (12-0)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 11 a.m., Kiowa County High School in Greensburg
6-Man
Weskan (12-0) vs. Cunningham (11-0)
Saturday, Nov. 30, 3 p.m., Kiowa County High School in Greensburg
HutchCC women remain at No. 1 in NJCAA Division I poll
The Hutchinson Community (8-0), the defending national champions with a 45-game winning streak, remained at No. 1 in the latest NJCAA Division I women’s poll.
Dodge City Community College (7-1) is ranked No. 6. Butler Community College (6-0) is ranked 23rd. Coffeyville Community College received votes.
The Barton Community College men’s basketball team, the defending national champions, stayed at No. 1 in the latest men’s poll with a 7-0 record.
The Cougars withstood a challenge from Hutchinson Community College last Wednesday before beating HUtchCC 94-89 in overtime.
Butler Community College (6-1) dropped from No. 6 to No. 11. Cowley College (7-1) improved from 24th to 19th in the latest poll.
Cloud County Community College is among the men’s basketball programs that received votes.
Florida SouthWestern State wins third Consecutive NJCAA Division I volleyball title
For the third straight year, Florida SouthWestern State captured the NJCAA Division I volleyball title.
The NJCAA Division I volleyball championship was played Wednesday through Saturday at the Dunn Center in Clarksville, Tenn.
The Bucs dominated through the tournament, finishing their strong season with a record of 26-1. Their only loss came from the runner-up, Miami Dade, earlier in the year.
Despite an impressive post-season run, Miami Dade came up short for the third year in a row. The Sharks finish their season with a 25-3 record.
The third-place spot was claimed by Colby. The Trojans had an incredible tournament performance, becoming the second runner-up as the 13th seed. Colby posted a 29-5 record.
Colby defeated Barton Community College 25-17, 22-25, 29-27, 25-18 in the third-pace match. Barton, the No. 6 seed, finished the season with a 33-4 record.
The Bucs’ victory earns them their third national championship title in as many years. Their previous titles came in 2022, 2023 and 2024. This dominant program has made its mark and will continue to for years to come.
The Bucs finished the year 26-1.