NJCAA 2011 Football Season Wraps Up This Weekend With Seven Bowl Games - Updated 12/1
- Update 12/1: Top of Mountains Bowl to be video streamed live on NJCAA TV
Bowl slate highlighted by #1 Arizona Western vs. #2 East Mississippi in 2011 NJCAA Football Championship Game at the El Toro Bowl
COLORADO SPRINGS, Colo. (Nov. 30, 2011) – The 2011 NJCAA football season comes to an end this Saturday and Sunday as 14 teams take the field in seven sanctioned bowl games. The highlight of the weekend comes on Dec. 3rd in Yuma, Ariz., where No. 1 Arizona Western College takes on No. 2 East Mississippi Community College in the El Toro Bowl, which will serve as the 2011 NJCAA Football Championship Game.
The El Toro Bowl returns to the NJCAA bowl schedule after folding in 1972. Ironically, its last contest nearly 40 years ago was also for a national championship as AWC defeated Fort Scott Community College, Kan., 36-8 to finish the season undefeated. That victory sealed the 1972 National Championship for the Matadors.
The return of the bowl has just as much importance as it will serve as this year’s NJCAA Football Championship between No. 1 Arizona Western and No. 2 East Mississippi. Kickoff is slated for 2:30 pm (Mountain) on Dec. 3rd from Veterans Memorial Stadium and fans will be able to watch the action live on NJCAA TV (www.njcaatv.ihigh.com) thanks to the Matador Sports Network and iHigh.com.
Arizona Western (11-0) will be looking to capture just its second NJCAA Football Championship and first since that 1972 season. Highlights of the 2011 season for the Matadors include capturing the Western States Football League (WSFL) crown for the third consecutive season and the first 11-win season in school history. The Matadors boast one of the best rushing attacks in the country behind sophomore running back Damien Williams, who leads the NJCAA with 162.3 yards per game. AWC also ranks third in the nation in total defense (177.3 yards per game).
East Mississippi’s (11-0) 2011 season is also highlighted by many triumphs for the program. The Lions tied a school record by reaching 11 wins after their come-from-behind 42-17 victory over Mississippi Gulf Coast in the Mississippi Assn. of Community & Junior Colleges (MACJC) title game last Saturday. The victory also gave the Lions its second MACJC Championship in three years. EMCC has an explosive offense that averages more than 40 points per game. Leading that group is freshman quarterback Bo Wallace who recently shattered NJCAA single-season records for passing yards (4,118) and total offense (4,324) that have stood for over a decade.
In addition to the El Toro Bowl, four other NJCAA bowl games will take place on Saturday, Dec. 3rd across the country. In Sandy, Utah, No.16 Snow College, Utah (8-3) will take on No. 17 Eastern Arizona College in the eighth edition of the ZIONS Bank Top of the Mountains Bowl. The game will be held at Rio Tinto Stadium, home to the Real Salt Lake Soccer Club of Major League Soccer (MLS), for the fourth consecutive year. The Snow Badgers will be playing in their ninth-straight bowl game and their eighth in the Top of the Mountains Bowl. With a 5-3 conference record, Snow finished in a three-way tie for third place in the Western States Football League with the Gila Monsters of Eastern Arizona. The Gila Monsters are making their third ever bowl appearance. The two squads met during the regular season where the Gila Monsters defeated the Badgers 41-14. This year's Top of the Mountains Bowl can be seen live on NJCAA TV.
In the third edition of the Salt City Bowl, Kansas Jayhawk CC Conference (KJCCC) runner-up and No. 14-ranked Hutchinson Community College, Kan. (8-3) will host No. 19 Lackawanna College, Pa. (7-3) at Gowans Stadium in Hutchinson. The Blue Dragons will be making their fifth bowl appearance since 2003 and third-straight in the Salt City Bowl. The Falcons of Lackawanna finished third in the Northeast Football Conference (NFC), but ended their season with a convincing 44-24 win over Georgia Military on Nov. 13th. Fans not able to attend the game will can catch a delayed video stream of the contest at www.ihigh.com/hcc/. For additional information on the Salt City Bowl visit www.saltcitybowl.com.
The 11th edition of the C.H.A.M.P.S. Heart of Texas Bowl in Copperas Cove, Texas will feature a very unique matchup. 2010 national champion Navarro College, Texas (9-2) may not be able to defend their national title, but the Bulldogs have plenty to brag about this season. The Bulldogs won the Southwest Football JC Conference (SWJCFC) for the third time since 2007. The No. 6-ranked Bulldogs will face No. 12 New Mexico Military Institute (9-2) who finished second in the WSFL standings this season. The Broncos are a great fit for the Heart of Texas Bowl as many service men and women at nearby Fort Hood in Killeen, Texas, have ties to NMMI, which should add a very festive and patriotic atmosphere to the contest. A live audio broadcast will be available on NJCAA TV thanks to NMMI’s sports information department.
The oldest continuous NJCAA football bowl game, the Valley of the Sun Bowl, will for the third-straight year feature the Gauchos of Glendale Community College, Ariz. (8-3). The No. 18 Gauchos will take on No. 11 Dean College, Mass. (7-1) at Matt O. Hanhila Stadium in Glendale in the 31st edition of the bowl game. The two teams met in the 2009 Valley of the Sun Bowl where Glendale edged Dean 10-9. Dean won the NFC crown for the fourth time since 2007. Glendale finished in a tie for third place in the WSFL with a 5-3 conference record. They clinched a berth in the Valley of the Sun Bowl by having the highest finish in the WSFL among conference members from Maricopa County (Phoenix). A live audio broadcast of the Valley of the Sun Bowl will be available on NJCAA TV courtesy of Southwest Sports Network
Two other great matchups will take place in bowl games on Dec. 4th. The fourth edition of the Mississippi Bowl will feature No. 9 Mississippi Gulf Coast Community College (9-2) and No. 5 Blinn College, Texas (9-1). Mississippi Gulf Coast advanced to the MACJC title game for the fifth consecutive season and posted nine wins for the sixth-straight season. The Bulldogs will be making their sixth-consecutive bowl appearance and their third in the Mississippi Bowl (2008, 2010). Just a few weeks ago Blinn was the No. 1 team in the nation and was in a strong position to possibly win its second national championship in two years. However, as the season wore on the Bucs had trouble putting teams away and were upset in the first round of the SWJCFC playoffs by Tyler Junior College (Texas). The Bucs will be making their third appearance in the Heart of Texas Bowl and 12th overall in a bowl game. Live video streaming of the Mississippi Bowl will be available on NJCAA TV and on the bowl game’s official website: www.mississippibowl.com.
In one of the more intriguing matchups of the bowl season, No. 3 Butler Community College, Kan. (10-1) will face No. 10 Trinity Valley Community College, Texas (8-2) in the third edition of the Citizen’s Bank Bowl in Pittsburg, Kan. The Grizzlies won the KJCCC Championship for the ninth time in 11 years and will be making its 14th bowl appearance since 1996 and its 24th overall. After dropping their first game of the season to Navarro, Butler has won 10-straight and has held opponents to just 5.4 points a game during that stretch. Trinity Valley advanced to the SWJCFC playoffs where they fell to eventual champion Navarro in the first round. The Cardinals have one of the top quarterbacks in the country in Tucker Carter, who ranks seventh in the NJCAA with 267 passing yards a game. Carter did not play in the SWJCFC playoffs due to a concussion but should be on the mend to lead his team in Pittsburg. For more information on the Citizen’s Bank Bowl visit www.citizensbankbowl.com. Live audio of the game will be available at www.kfhradio.com.
Scores, stats and more will be posted on the NJCAA website and the NJCAA Football Bowl Games webpage as soon as it becomes available following the completion of each game.
In earlier NJCAA bowl action, No. 8 Iowa Western Community College (9-2) handled No. 7 Rochester Community & Technical College, Minn. (11-1), 62-0 in the feature game of the Graphic Edge Bowl on Nov. 20th in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. In game one of the event unranked Iowa Central Community College (6-4) defeated No. 17 Central Lakes College, Minn. (7-3) 42-12. Stats from the two games can be found at www.iccac.org/f/2011_Graphic_Edge_Bowl.php. Archive broadcasts of both contests can be seen on NJCAA TV.
ABOUT the NJCAA
The National Junior College Athletic Association (NJCAA) is the governing body of two-year college athletics, offering athletic and academic opportunities to college students. It is the second largest national intercollegiate athletic organization in the United States with over 500 member schools in 43 states. Each year over 60,000 student-athletes compete in one of 28 different sports and the organization sponsors 48 national championship events and nine football bowl games. For more visit http://www.njcaa.org.