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Greyhounds crack national top five; Butler No. 3
There's no way to be certain when Fort Scott Community College's football team was last ranked as high as it was tabbed in this week's NJCAA/jcfootball.com poll.
In Tuesday's release, the undefeated Greyhounds moved up four spots into the No. 5 position. The highest they had been ranked prior to this that the Tribune has been able to find was No. 7 in the Nov. 6, 2007 poll.
It's quite possible that, unless Jack Welch's teams of the early 1990's made it that high, that this is the highest Fort Scott has been ranked since competing for national championships in the late 1960's and early 1970's. The Greyhounds were national champions in 1970 and national runner-up in 1971 and 1972.
There are two national polls. The one cited in this publication each week is the NJCAA poll. The NJCAA, however, does not have any member schools in California. The JC Grid Wire poll includes those schools. Fort Scott is ranked No. 12 in that poll.
In 2001, Fort Scott upset then-No. 1 Garden City at Frary Field behind the effort of quarterback Bill Whittemore, who went on to play at the University of Kansas. The Greyhounds appeared in the next week's poll at No. 13 but lost their final three games, the first two at Coffeyville and at Butler. Whittemore was injured at the end of the Butler game and was unavailable for the first-round playoff game, a loss to Hutchinson. Fort Scott finished that season 5-4 .
Instead of that upset of Garden City becoming the beginning of a new grand era of Greyhound football, it became the beginning of one of the gloomiest periods in the history of the program. Beginning with the next week's loss to Coffeyville, Fort Scott would go 4-37 over its next 41 games. That was capped with the 24-game losing streak, which didn't end until Fort Scott beat Independence, 28-21, under then-head coach Rion Rhoades on Sept. 9, 2006.
Since ending the losing streak, Greyhound football has compiled a 21-6 record. Four of those losses are to Butler. The other two have come in bowl games. Current head coach Jeff Sims, who took over prior to the 2007 season, has a record of 14-3 at FSCC.
The Greyhounds appeared in the final four polls of the 2006 season. They premiered at No. 16 after beating then-No. 10 Garden City convincingly, 34-7, on Oct. 28. The next week, Fort Scott beat No. 7 Coffeyvile on the road in the first round of the Region VI Playoffs, 21-6, and moved up to No. 11. They stayed at No. 11 after falling to Butler in the championship game and fell to No. 12 in the final poll after losing to Kilgore (Texas) in the Heart of Texas Bowl.
It took four games before the Greyhounds were voted into the poll last year. They were tied for 19th in the Sept. 25 poll after beating Dodge City, 28-14.
The next week, Fort Scott moved up to No. 15 after beating Hutchinson, 34-14. They were promoted to 13th after beating Air Force Prep, 38-17, on Oct. 6.
Following a 45-8 loss at No. 2 Butler, the Greyhounds fell into a tie for 16th. They beat No. 13 Garden City on the road, 23-20, in the final game of the regular season. Both schools were tied at No. 10 in the poll before a rematch the following week at Frary Field for the first round of the playoffs. The Greyhounds won convincingly, 55-28.
That win put Fort Scott into the top 10 at No. 7. The 'Hounds lost to Butler in the Region VI Championship game, 35-22, and fell into a tie for ninth. They lost to No. 8 Mesa, Ariz., 47-31 in the Valley of the Sun Bowl and were placed at No. 13 in the final poll.
This season, Fort Scott was placed at No. 18 in the pre-season poll. After some upsets early in the season provided a major shake-up in the polls, the Greyhounds found themselves in the No. 12 position following their opening 40-20 win over pre-season No. 14 Kilgore on the road.
Fort Scott beat Coffeyville, 15-0, after a week off and remained at No. 12. On Sept. 20, the 'Hounds beat No. 14 Garden City, 31-24, and moved up to No. 11. They cracked the top 20 at No. 9 after beating Hutchinson on Sept. 27.
The JC Grid Wire Poll's history isn't quite as easy to trace. It can be harder to get into the poll and into the top 10 because of the number of California programs. In fact, while the NJCAA poll is only a top 20, Grid Wire's is a top 25.
"Next game" is this Saturday unless noted.
| Team | Record | Pts | Last week's ranking | Last week's result | Next game |
| 1. Navarro, Texas (7) | 5-0 | 140 | 1 | def. No. 12 Trinity Valley, 35-6 | at Northeastern Okla. A&M |
| 2. Snow, Utah | 6-0 | 132 | 2 | def. Scottsdale, Ariz., 35-7 | vs. New Mexico Military |
| 3. Butler | 5-1 | 127 | 4 | def. Hutchinson, 35-17 | Oct. 18 at Independence |
| 4. Georgia Military | 4-1 | 112 | 5 | def. Troy JV, 49-32 | vs. Valdosta State JV (Thu.) |
| 5. Fort Scott | 5-0 | 111 | 9 | def. Independence, 35-0 | at Dodge City |
| 6. Blinn, Texas | 4-1 | 108 | 8 | def. Tyler, 52-3 | at No. 17 Trinity Valley |
| 7. Pearl River, Miss. | 5-1 | 100 | 10 | def. No. 3 Jones County, 26-22 | vs. Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) |
| 8. Jones County, Miss. | 5-1 | 84 | 3 | lost to No. 10 Pearl River, 26-22 | vs. Southwest Mississippi |
| 9. Central Lakes-Brainerd, Minn. | 6-0 | 81 | 11 | def. Minnesota Tech, 21-7 | at Minnesota West |
| 10. Glendale, Ariz. | 4-1 | 80 | 13 | def. Arizona Western, 30-13 | at No. 13 Eastern Arizona |
| 11. Harper, Ill. | 5-1 | 64 | 15 | def. N.D. Sch. of Science, 35-27 | vs. North Iowa Area |
| 12. Iowa Central | 4-1 | 63 | 6 | lost to DuPage, Ill., 41-29 | vs. William Penn JV |
| 13. Eastern Arizona | 4-1 | 51 | 16 | def. Pima, Aiz., 56-0 | vs. No. 10 Glendale |
| 14. Ellsworth, Iowa | 4-1 | 48 | 17 | def. Joliet, Ill., 47-15 | at Grand Rapids, Mich. |
| 15. Mississippi Gulf Coast | 4-2 | 41 | 7 | lost to Copiah-Lincoln, 37-31 (OT) | vs. East Central Mississippi |
| 16. East Mississippi | 5-1 | 37 | 20 | def. Coahoma, Miss., 47-20 | at Northeast Mississippi |
| 17. Trinity Valley, Texas | 4-1 | 29 | 12 | lost to No. 1 Navarro, 35-6 | vs. No. 6 Blinn |
| 18. Dean, Mass. | 5-0 | 11 | NR | def. Globe Tech, N.Y., 42-8 | vs. Alfred State, N.Y. |
| 19. Garden City | 4-2 | 9 | NR | def. Coffeyville, 27-20 | at Highland |
| 20. Phoenix, Ariz. | 3-2 | 8 | 18 | lost to N.M. Military, 34-31 (OT) | at Pima, Ariz. |
Others receiving votes: Minnesota West, 5-1, 7 (NR); Nassau, N.Y., 3-2, 5 (NR); Rochester Tech, Minn., 4-2, 5, NR; Lackawanna, Pa., 4-1, 4, (14); DuPage, Ill., 4-2, 4 (NR); Erie, N.Y., 3-2, 2 (NR); Mississippi Delta, 4-2, 1 (19); Kilgore, Texas, 3-2, 1 (NR).
| Team | Record | Last week's ranking | Last week's result | This week |
| 1. Mount San Antonio | 4-0 | 1 | idle | at Citrus |
| 2. College of the Canyons | 5-0 | 2 | def. Allan Hancock, 42-21 | vs. No. 21 Moorpark |
| 3. Navarro | 5-0 | 4 | def. No. 19 Trinity Valley, 35-6 | at Northeastern Okla. A&M |
| 4. El Camino | 5-0 | 3 | def. Riverside, 27-24 (OT) | vs. Chaffey |
| 5. Sierra | 5-0 | 5 | def. No. 16 San Mateo, 30-27 (OT) | idle |
| 6. Foothill | 5-0 | 6 | def. De Anza, 31-7 | idle |
| 7. Snow | 6-0 | 7 | def. Scottsdale, Ariz., 35-7 | vs. New Mexico Military |
| 8. Blinn | 4-1 | 8 | def. Tyler, 52-3 | at No. 24 Trinity Valley |
| 9. Butler | 5-1 | 9 | def. Hutchinson, 35-17 | idle |
| 10. Butte | 4-0 | 10 | def. San Joauin Delta, 24-17 | idle |
| 11. Fresno City | 4-1 | 12 | def. Los Medanos, 51-14 | idle |
| 12. Fort Scott | 5-0 | 14 | def. Independence, 35-0 | at Dodge City |
| 13. Pearl River | 5-1 | 18 | def. No. 11 Jones County, 26-22 | vs. Copiah-Lincoln (Miss.) |
| 14. Jones County | 5-1 | 11 | lost to No. 18 Pearl River, 26-22 | vs. Southwest Mississippi |
| 15. Santa Rosa | 4-1 | 20 | def. Mendocino, 57-7 | idle |
| 16. Georgia Military | 4-1 | 17 | def. Troy JV, 49-32 | vs. Valdosta State JV (Thu.) |
| 17. East Mississippi | 5-1 | 23 | def. Coahoma, 47-20 | at Northeast Mississippi |
| 18. San Mateo | 4-1 | 16 | lost to No. 5 Sierra, 30-27 (OT) | idle |
| 19. College of the Desert | 4-1 | 22 | def. Citrus, 28-7 | vs. Riverside |
| 20. Fullerton | 4-1 | 24 | def. Orage Coast, 34-27 | idle |
| 21. Moorpark | 3-1 | 25 | idle | at No. 2 Coll. of the Canyons |
| 22. Eastern Arizona | 4-1 | NR | def. Pima, 56-0 | vs. No. 23 Glendale |
| 23. Glendale | 4-1 | NR | def. Arizona Western, 30-13 | at Eastern Arizona' |
| 24. Trinity Valley | 4-1 | 19 | lost to No. 3 Navarro, 35-6 | vs. No. 8 Blinn |
| 25. Reedley | 3-2 | NR | def. Diablo Valley, 56-13 | idle |
Others to watch: New Mexico Military (4-1), Garden City (4-2), Chaffey (4-1), Palomar (4-1), Mississippi Gulf Coast (4-2), Saddleback (3-2), San Joaquin Delta (4-1), Long Beach (3-1), Grossmont (3-2), College of the Sequoias (3-2), Ventura (3-2), San Francisco (3-2), Phoenix (3-2), Central Lakes-Brainerd (6-0), Kilgore (3-2), Allan Hancock (3-2), Southwestern (3-2), Pasadena (3-2), Harper (5-1), Glendale, Ariz., (4-1), Ellsworth (4-1), Minnesota West (5-1), Iowa Central (4-1), Santa Ana (3-2), Monterey Peninsula (4-0), Glendale, Calif. (3-2).