Garden City finds championship opponent with defense just as impressive

When Arizona Western College resurrected the El Toro Bowl and landed the de facto NJCAA national championship football game five years ago, the host Matadors lost a 55-47 shootout to East Mississippi as the teams combined for nearly 1,000 yards.

Anything remotely similar would be a major surprise when Jayhawk Conference champion and top-ranked Garden City (10-0) plays No. 2 Arizona Western (11-0) for the national title at 2 p.m. Central on Saturday in Yuma, Ariz.

The nation’s top two scoring defenses will gather as Garden City tries to become the first NJCAA football champion from Kansas since Butler won consecutive titles in 2007-08. The Broncbusters, No. 1 in the weekly poll since Oct. 17, have allowed an average of 7.8 points. Arizona Western is right behind at 8.0.

Garden City, which capped an unbeaten regular season with a 27-6 victory over Fort Scott on Nov. 12, placed seven defensive players on the All-Jayhawk Conference first team. Sophomore cornerback Mike Hughes was the defensive player of the year.

The Busters, who posted shutouts against Butler and Iowa Central, rank fifth nationally in average yards allowed at 200.6.

“We definitely have a lot of guys with experience, a lot of older guys and people who can take charge and set the tempo whether it’s physically or mentally,” said sophomore linebacker Alex Figueroa, a former Miami (Fla.) player and first-team selection from Stafford, Va. “We have people who can talk to you and show you how things are done.”

Hughes, a North Carolina transfer, has deterred opponents from throwing his way. He has just two interceptions, but has shown versatility with three punt-return touchdowns and two TD receptions as a receiver. The rest of the secondary is formidable with sophomore cornerback Rashaun Croney (six interceptions) and all-conference first-team safeties BJ Blunt (seven interceptions) and Eddie Williams.

Talent permeates the Busters’ front seven, as well. Figueroa’s fellow linebacker and Arizona commit Delshawn Phillips leads the team with 84 tackles. Sophomore defensive tackle Jeremy Faulk was the NJCAA’s defensive player of the year last season, while defensive end Jamie Tago, who has committed to Kansas, has registered 21 tackles for losses.

“The first thing about our defense is there’s a lot of really good football players that, at times, different guys rise up and make the plays that are necessary to make,” Garden City coach Jeff Sims said. “I think it’s really interesting because if we took a team vote for the defensive player of the year, it could be Alex, it could be BJ, but then we go to the conference meeting and Mike Hughes wins.

“I would tell you that if we line up our 11 guys on defense, we’re pretty good at every spot.”

So, too, is Arizona Western.

Under longtime defensive coordinator Jerry Dominguez, who played in the mid-1990s at Bethany and later served as a Swedes assistant, the Matadors have forced an NJCAA-best 43 turnovers. They also rank second nationally in average yards allowed (139.9), passing yards allowed (80.8) and sacks (66).

Arizona Western’s defensive standouts include sophomore linebacker Patrick Macon, who ranks fifth nationally with 117 tackles, and sophomore Keisean Nixon, who, like Hughes, is a shutdown cornerback. Nixon leads the Matadors with six interceptions and has received scholarship offers from more than 20 FBS programs.

The Matadors are equally stout up front with 310-pound defensive tackle Craig Evans, a Michigan State transfer who helped the Spartans win the Big Ten title last season. Evans is part of a deep group of defensive linemen that have helped limit opponents to an average of 59.1 yards on the ground.

“It’s going to come down to turnovers,” Arizona Western coach Tom Minnick said. “Both defenses rely on getting turnovers and if we don’t turn the ball over and they don’t turn the ball over, it’s going to be a tie score and we’ll both be national champions.”

The winner will satisfy a long wait for a championship. Garden City is 0-2 in title games, losing 49-13 to Trinity Valley (Texas) in the 1997 Red River Bowl and 13-10 to Glendale (Ariz.) in the 2000 Valley of the Sun Bowl.

Arizona Western won its lone title in 1972, defeating Fort Scott 36-8 in the El Toro Bowl before Yuma’s annual postseason game went on hiatus from 1974-2010.

“I feel like we’re built for opportunities like this,” Figueroa said. “We work hard every day and every moment. We try to take advantage of every opportunity that we’re given, so it’s just part of our lifestyle.”

This story was originally published December 2, 2016 at 3:35 PM with the headline "Garden City finds championship opponent with defense just as impressive."