From staff reports

sports@joplinglobe.com

MIAMI, Okla. — Teams in the Southwest Junior College Football Conference are chasing Navarro.

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M College is the latest team to have the opportunity to bring the Corsicana, Texas-based Bulldogs down to earth.

Navarro, ranked No. 1 by the NJCAA, visits the Golden Norsemen today with kickoff scheduled for 3 p.m. at Robertson Field.

Navarro, in its first year under Nick Bobeck, is 5-0 overall and 3-0 in the SWJCFC.

The Bulldogs finished 9-3 overall last season, ranked fourth nationally, postseason league champions and 24-21 winners against Georgia Military in the Pilgrim’s Pride Bowl.

NEO (2-3, 2-1), which has a two-game winning streak, is part of the logjam in second place.

Today’s other 3 p.m. league games are Kilgore (3-2, 2-1) at Tyler (2-3, 1-2), Blinn (4-1, 2-1) at Trinity Valley (4-1, 2-1) and Cisco (1-4, 0-3) at Arkansas Baptist (2-4, 0-3).

Navarro is coming off a 35-6 win against visiting Trinity Valley.

“Playing the No. 1 team in the nation is a great challenge for our team,” NEO coach Rob Green said.

“Last week on the bus ride back from Cisco (Texas), I asked one of our coaches ‘who do we play next week?’ That’s the kind of focus we have. We don’t ever look ahead until we start game-week preparation, no matter who’s the opponent.

“In essence, this is our bowl game because we’re on the hallowed ground of Robertson Field, in front of our hometown fans and playing the No. 1 team in the country. We’re fired up for this kind of challenge.

“Navarro is the most balanced team we will have faced,” Green said.

“They have an experienced, poised quarterback (sophomore Andre Bevil) who executes their offense almost flawlessly. The key element of their offense is the fact they don’t turn over the ball that much. Add their big-play capability and they are a very formidable team. They also are very opportunistic on offense.