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Montgomery County schools have highest positions
Independence’s football team, a/k/a “Last Chance U,” and Coffeyville’s volleyball team earned the highest positions of Kansas Jayhawk Community College Conference teams when the National Junior College Athletic Association released its pre-season polls Wednesday.
Coffeyville’s volleyball team is the defending KJCCC-Eastern Division, Region VI-District M and, most importantly, NJCAA Division II national champions. The Red Ravens finished 43-2 after upsetting top-seeded Owens, Ohio (40-1) in the national championship game last season. Owens has moved down to NJCAA Division III this season.
Coming off that, the Red Ravens were given the No. 1 ranking in the pre-season poll with Parkland and Lincoln Land, both Illinois schools, ranked second and third, respectively. KJCCC-East members Cowley and Neosho County also earned pre-season accolades in positions four and 19, respectively. An “others receiving votes” list was not provided so it is not known if Fort Scott’s team, 26-10 last season, received any consideration.
In addition to the Jayhawk Conference teams, Fort Scott also has No. 7 Central-Columbus, Neb., No. 14 Northeastern Oklahoma A&M, and No. 17 Northeast, Neb., on its schedule at least once each. They also play in a tournament at Illinois Central in which they could end up facing the No. 16 Cougars. As of now, there are nine matches against ranked teams on the Greyhounds’ schedule.
The top five teams in the pre-season football poll appear in the same order as in last season’s final poll. Defending national champion East Mississippi received 11 first-place votes to claim the No. 1 spot with Iowa Western in second with six first-place votes. They’re followed by Arizona Western at No. 3, Snow, Utah at No. 4 and defending KJCCC champion Independence (9-2 last season) at No. 5.
Garden City is ranked No. 10 while Butler is tied for 13th with Hinds, Miss.. Coffeyville and Hutchinson both received votes. With the KJCCC’s scheduling agreement with the Iowa schools continuing into this season, that means Fort Scott will face four pre-season ranked teams this season. They play at Independence Sept. 22, at home against Garden City Sept. 29, at Butler Oct. 20 and at Iowa Western, Oct. 27.
Every team that appeared in last season’s final poll appears in the pre-season poll although the order varies from No. 6 through No. 20. The poll differs significantly from the JCGridwire poll, which includes California schools.
NJCAA Pre-season Football Poll
Bold — Jayhawk Conference school.
Italics — Non-conference school on Fort Scott’s schedule.
| Team | 2017 Record | 2017 Final | Pts | Season opener |
| 1. East Mississippi (11) | 11-1 | 1 | 295 | vs. No.13 Hinds, Miss., Aug. 30 |
| 2. Iowa Western (6) | 11-1 | 2 | 288 | at Coffeyville, Aug. 23 |
| 3. Arizona Western | 9-1 | 3 | 270 | vs. New Mexico Military, Aug. 24 |
| 4. Snow, Utah | 10-1 | 4 | 247 | at No. 7 Trinity Valley, Texas, Aug. 25 |
| 5. Independence | 9-2 | 5 | 230 | at Dodge City, Aug. 23 |
| 6. Northwest Mississippi | 8-3 | 7 | 217 | vs. East Central, Miss., Aug. 30 |
| 7. Trinity Valley, Texas | 9-3 | 6 | 213 | vs. No. 4 Snow, Utah, Aug. 25 |
| 8. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M | 9-3 | 8 | 184 | vs. Arkansas Baptist, Aug. 30 |
| 9. Jones County, Miss. | 8-2 | 9 | 172 | at Coahoma, Miss., Aug. 30 |
| 10. Garden City | 8-4 | 13 | 144 | vs. Dodge City, Sept. 1 |
| 11. Blinn, Texas | 6-4 | 12 | 131 | vs. Texas A&T, Aug. 25 |
| 12. ASA-Brooklyn | 9-1 | 14 | 130 | at Nassau, N.Y., Aug. 25 |
| 13. Butler | 8-3 | 15 | 108 | at Iowa Central, Aug. 25 |
| tie. Hinds, Miss. | 6-3 | 11 | 108 | at No. 1 East Mississippi., Aug. 30 |
| 15. Georgia Military | 8-2 | 18 | 98 | at Navarro, Texas, Aug. 23 |
| 16. Itawamba, Miss. | 6-3 | 10 | 90 | at Pearl River, Miss., Aug. 30 |
| 17. Lackawanna, Pa. | 7-2 | 19 | 54 | at ASA-Miami, Sept. 1 |
| 18. Navarro, Texas | 6-4 | 17 | 41 | vs. Kilgore, Texas, Sept. 1 |
| 19. Louisburg, N.C. | 7-0 | 16 | 35 | at Southern Sports Academy, Sept. 1 |
| 20. Eastern Arizona | 8-4 | 20 | 22 | vs. Pima, Ariz., Sept. 1 |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
| Team | 2017 Record | 2018 Final | Pts | Season opener |
| College of DuPage, Ill. | 7-3 | RV | 7 | vs. Wisconsin-Whitewater JV, Sept. 2 |
| Coffeyville | 4-7 | NR | 6 | vs. No. 2 Iowa Western, Aug. 23 |
| Hutchinson | 7-5 | NR | 4 | vs. Ellsworth, Iowa, Aug. 23 |
| Holmes, Miss. | 6-3 | RV | 3 | vs. Copiah-Lincoln, Miss., Aug. 30 |
| Central Lakes, Minn. | 8-2 | NR | 2 | vs. Minnesota West, Sept. 1 |
| Mississppi Gulf Coast | 5-4 | NR | 2 | vs. Mississippi Delta, Aug. 30 |
| Monroe-New Rochelle | 8-2 | NR | 1 | vs. New Jersey Warriors, Sept. 1 |
NJCAA Pre-season D-II Volleyball Poll
Bold — Jayhawk Conference school.
Italics — Non-conference school on Fort Scott’s schedule.
| Team | 2017 Record | 2018 Post-season | Pts | vs. Fort Scott |
| 1. Coffeyville | 43-2 | National champion | 20 | at Coffeyville, Sept. 19 |
| 2. Parkland, Ill. | 50-3 | National 4th place | 19 | No |
| 3. Lincoln Land, Ill. | 37-7 | National 3rd place | 18 | No |
| 4. Cowley | 40-7 | National 5th place | 17 | at Fort Scott, Aug. 29 |
| 5. Mesa, Ariz. | 24-11 | National 6th place | 16 | No |
| 6. Pasco-Hernando, Fla. | 25-9 | National 7th place | 15 | No |
| 7. Central-Columbus, Neb. | 36-11 | National 9th place | 14 | at Northeast, Neb., Tournament, Sept. 1; at Johnson County Tournament, Sept. 28 |
| 8. Grand Rapids, Mich. | 27-3 | Eliminated in districts | 13 | No |
| 9. Iowa Central | 32-11 | National 10th place | 12 | No |
| 10. Sauk Valley, Ill. | 33-11 | National 8th place | 11 | (a) |
| 11. South Mountain, Ariz. | 17-16 | Eliminated in districts | 10 | No |
| 12 McHenry County, Ill. | 30-17 | Eliminated in districts | 9 | No |
| 13. Catawba Valley, N.C. | 28-9 | Eliminated in districts | 8 | No |
| 14. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M | 23-12 | National tourn. qualifier | 7 | at Fort Scott, Sept. 17; at Miami, Okla., Oct. 25 |
| 15. Mott, Mich. | 29-9 | Eliminated in districts | 6 | No |
| 16. Illinois Central | 29-10 | Eliminated in districts | 5 | (a) |
| 17. Northeast, Neb. | 19-16 | National tourn. qualifier | 4 | at Northeast, Aug. 31; at Central Tournament, Oct. 6 |
| 18. Glendale, Ariz. | 15-9 | Eliminated in districts | 3 | No |
| 19. Neosho County | 28-12 | Eliminated in districts | 2 | at Chanute, Sept. 10 |
| 20, Muskegon, Mich. | 26-17 | Eliminated in districts | 1 | No |
OTHERS RECEIVING VOTES
None listed.
(a) — The teams could meet at the Illinois Central Tournament Oct. 12 & 13. The schedule was not known at press time.
Note: Defending national runner-up Owens, Ohio., has moved down to Division III.