MGCCC vaults into No. 1 spot

PERKINSTON — As expected Monday, Mississippi Gulf Coast moved into the top spot of new NJCAA Football Rankings. Gulf Coast picked up 15 of 16 first-place votes.

It's the Bulldogs' first time at No. 1 since 2013 when they started the season there and stayed there until losing their fourth game of the season.

MGCCC travels to Decatur on Thursday to play No. 19 East Central, which is tied for first in the MACJC South with the Bulldogs. Gulf Coast is 6-0 overall, 3-0 division. The Warriors are 4-2, 3-0.

The 2019 season has been filled with upsets in the top 20, starting with the first week when No. 1 East Mississippi and No. 4 Jones lost. Last week's action saw No. 1 Hutchinson lose 29-27 to No. 20 Highland, No. 3 EMCC lose to No. 7 Northwest Mississippi 56-36 and No. 4 Butler lose 49-20 to Independence.

Gulf Coast, which was ranked 12th in the preseason poll, is the last unbeaten team in the MACJC, and there are only four undefeated teams in the NJCAA rankings. No. 3 Lackawanna is 5-0, No. 7 Monroe College is 5-0 and No. 18 Mesabi Range is 6-0.

Northwest Mississippi is ranked second, Hutchinson fell to fourth and Kilgore rounds out the top five. Other MACJC teams in the poll are Hinds (6th), East Mississippi (8th) and Jones (12th).

Gulf Coast remains ranked No. 1 in the Massey Ratings and moved up to third in the JCGridiron Dirty 30 of all community college teams in the country. Riverside City and San Mateo, from California, are in the top two spots.

For more information on MGCCC's 10 intercollegiate athletic teams, follow @MGCCCBulldogs on Twitter and MGCCCBulldogs on Facebook, and go to mgcccbulldogs.com.