After Saturday's 53-36 road win at Dodge City, Butler football remained ranked 14th but gathered more votes in this week's NJCAA Top 20 poll.
The Grizzlies (5-2 overall, 3-1 KJCCC) received 63 votes, an increase of seven from the previous week. Butler remained the highest-ranked two-loss team in the poll for the fifth straight week.
There was minimal change within the top 10 of this week's poll, as the top seven stayed intact for the second consecutive week. For the eighth straight week, East Mississippi retained the No. 1 spot in the poll, receiving 197.5 votes and six first-place votes. Iowa Western remained ranked second with 196 votes, but received an extra first-place vote, giving the Reivers two. Mississippi Gulf Coast was third, while Trinity Valley, Texas and Hutchinson stayed at fourth and fifth, respectively. Trinity Valley grabbed the last first-place vote.
Scottsdale, Ariz., and Snow, Utah held steady in the 6-7 spot, while Central Lakes-Brainerd moved up two spots to eighth. Nassau, N.Y., and Arizona Western both moved down one spot to ninth and 10th.
For the fourth consecutive week, three KJCCC teams - Hutchinson, Butler and Coffeyville - were ranked this week's poll. Neither of the three teams moved in the rankings. Hutchinson demolished Garden City in a 44-14 home victory, while 17th-ranked Coffeyville had no problem with Bethel College JV in a 72-8 road blowout. Highland (5-2), who has won four straight games, received 6.5 votes and just missed the top 20 rankings by 9.5 votes.
Butler will host Coffeyville this Saturday, with the kickoff from BG Products Veterans Sports Complex starting at 7 p.m. The Red Ravens (5-2 overall, 2-1 conference) had a season-opening 57-35 road loss to Iowa Western, then fell to No. 5 Hutchinson in a 42-35 thriller in Coffeyville back on Oct. 4. The Grizzlies have won 23 straight games over Coffeyville, who hasn't won a game against Butler since 1997.
| 2014 NJCAA TOP 20 FOOTBALL POLL | ||||
| Oct. 14, 2014 | ||||
| Rank | Team | Record | Points | Prev. |
| 1. | East Mississippi (6) | 6-0 | 197.5 | 1 |
| 2. | Iowa Western (2) |
7-0 | 196 | 2 |
| 3. | Mississippi Gulf Coast | 7-0 | 190.5 | 3 |
| 4. | Trinity Valley, TX (1) | 7-0 | 176 | 4 |
| 5. | Hutchinson | 7-0 | 166.5 | 5 |
| 6. | Scottsdale, AZ | 6-1 | 152 | 6 |
| 7. | Snow, UT |
6-1 | 142.5 | 7 |
| 8. | Central Lakes-Brainerd, MN | 7-0 | 131 | 10 |
| 9. | Nassau, NY | 6-0 | 127 | 8 |
| 10. | Arizona Western | 7-1 | 124 | 9 |
| 11. | Tyler, TX | 6-1 | 106.5 | 11 |
| 12. | Kilgore, TX | 6-1 | 96 | 12 |
| 13. | Dakota-Bottineau, ND | 6-1 | 70.5 | 13 |
| 14. | Butler | 5-2 | 63 | 14 |
| 15. | Navarro, TX | 5-2 | 61.5 | 15 |
| 16. | ASA, NY | 4-1 | 60.5 | 18 |
| 17. | Coffeyville | 5-2 | 50 | 17 |
| 18. | Hudson Valley, NY | 6-0 | 42 | 19 |
| 19. | Copiah-Lincoln, MS | 5-2 | 26.5 | RV |
| 20. | Blinn, TX | 4-2 | 24 | 16 |
Other schools receiving votes: Highland (5-2, 6.5); Dean, MA (5-2, 2).
Dropped from rankings: Jones County, MS (20).
