LBCCfootball

LBCCfootball

The Long Beach City College Vikings football squad was honored nationally this week when it was named the number one team in the country according to JCGridiron.com. The announcement came just one week after the Vikings were named the top team in California.

With an undefeated record of 7-0, the Vikings’ season stands just six victories away from a potential California Community College Athletic Association (CCCAA) state title, and with its latest climb in the rankings, a national championship could also be on the horizon. The last time the Vikings were able to accomplish that feat was in 1995.

In a statement, third-year head coach Brett Peabody said it was flattering to be ranked so high, but acknowledged the season is not over yet.

“I’m really proud of where we are at,” Peabody said. “But at the same time, like I said it’s very flattering, but it means nothing. The final ranking that we are worrying about is after Week 13.”

The Vikings were on a bye last week but were the beneficiaries of a huge upset when previously undefeated Butler Community College (Kansas) was beaten 25-20 at home by a Garden City College team that previously had just one victory.

The team will be tested immediately off of their week of rest as they travel to 23rd-ranked Riverside City College Saturday at 6:00PM. They will try to avenge last year’s 27-21 home loss to Riverside, where the Vikings out-gained the Tigers in total yardage and controlled the ball for over 31 minutes, but committed three turnovers and had a blocked field goal returned for a touchdown.

The team will close out the season with a home contest against Citrus College and an away game against El Camino College. The two-game Southern California playoff system includes four teams from the south with the winner of both games playing their counter part from Northern California for the state title. If LBCC wins out and heads to the championship game it could very well face 9-time national champion San City College of Francisco, the team that is currently ranked 2nd in the nation behind the Vikings. 

LBCC’s ascension to the top spot makes it the first school from the state to hold the number one ranking this season. It joins four other schools from California (San Francisco, Golden West, Cerritos and Modesto) ranked in the top 10. JCGridiron’s rankings includes 12 colleges from the Golden State in its top 30 teams in the country.

Jason Ruiz covers City Hall and politics for the Long Beach Post. Reach him at [email protected] or @JasonRuiz_LB on Twitter.