By MIKE MONTFORT
Trinity Valley, NMMI and Navarro have clinched SWJCFC playoff berths, and the outcome of Saturday's Tyler-Navarro game here will determine the fourth qualifier and postseason seeding.
Breathe easy for the final regular-season game, assured that the Bulldogs will be involved in semifinal-round play for the first time since the 2019 campaign when they won the SWJCFC Championship as a No. 3 seed.
Trinity Valley (7-1/6-1) is the regular-season champion and will be the No. 1 seed with homefield advantage throughout the playoffs. Sherrard Poteete's fourth-ranked Cardinals, with consecutive wins over Navarro, Kilgore and NMMI, are unbeaten in four games at Bruce Field this season.
Add now the importance of Saturday's Navarro-Tyler game, since Tyler (5-3/4-2) upset reigning conference and NJCAA champion NMMI 20-12 at Rose Stadium on October 8.
NMMI (7-2/5-2) would become the No. 2 seed if Tyler loses, or the No. 3 seed with a TJC win.
Navarro would be the No. 3 seed with a win over Tyler or the No. 4 with a loss to TJC. A win would put the Bulldogs at 5-2 but they lost the head-to-head with NMMI at Roswell, 40-35. A Navarro loss to TJC would put the 'Dawgs at 4-3, with a head-to-head advantage over Kilgore, provided that KC beats Blinn its final game and goes 4-3.
Last week, Kilgore secured head-to-head advantage over Tyler with a 31-14 conference victory.
So by Saturday night, Tyler could be a No. 2 seed, a No. 4 if Kilgore loses, or out of the postseason entirely -- a wild card, indeed.
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NAVARRO NOTES: Dane Jentsch leads the NJCAA in passing efficiency with a rating of 180.9 and his 70-percent completion percentage ranks second. Grandview's former two-way star is 56-of-75 for 996 yards and nine touchdowns over his last four games….Jemtsch has thrown touchdown passes in seven straight games….Sophomore OT Lysander Moeolo announced Monday on his Twitter account that he has committed to Syracuse University…..The Bulldogs have 26 first downs via penalties this season. Half of them have occurred in wins over Kilgore (8) and Cisco (5). Last Saturday, consecutive penalties against Cisco enabled Navarro to convert a fourth-and-17 situation into a first down….Linebacker Marcus Tillman's three forced fumbles rank third nationally, and his two recoveries also rank among the Top 10…..Five defenders amassed 10 or more tackles Saturday against the Wranglers: DE Nick Potts and NG Clifton Mosley (12 each), DL Rico Griffin (11), DE Viontay Robinson and LB C.J. Johnson (10)….Ten players accounted for catches during a 19-for-26 performance from three quarterbacks last week….Team-leading WR Brandon Hawkins was part of Navarro's longest play from scrimmage Saturday – a 60-yard pass play from Jentsch…. Hawkins has caught passes in 10 straight games….Whether third seed or fourth, Navarro will have to travel some to reach the SWJCFC Championship game, but the Bulldogs have done it three times in 26 seasons: 1998 (at NEO), 2014 (v. Kilgore), and 2019 (v. NMMI).
