Peter Dindinger – NMMI Sports Press

The New Mexico Military Institute Bronco football team has been presented with a unique opportunity to do something that's never been done in program history.

On Friday, Dec. 17 at 6 p.m. MST, the Broncos will take the grand stage at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas.

No. 2 NMMI (11-1) plays top ranked Iowa Western (10-0) for the NJCAA Division I national championship.

The Broncos have never played in a national title game for football.

In 1958, NMMI finished undefeated as the No. 1 team in the country in the final poll, despite not playing in the title game.

For the Reivers, this is their first national championship appearance since 2014. That year Iowa Western fell to No. 1 Eastern Mississippi.

Iowa Western's last national title came in 2012 when the top ranked Reivers defeated Butler 27-7.

Both teams last met on Sept. 1, 2012 in Pueblo, Colorado. Iowa Western and NMMI combined for 105 points.

>> HOW THEY GOT HERE:

The Broncos came away with a 49-30 win over third-ranked Northwest Mississippi in the national championship semifinals Sunday.

In the other semifinal, Iowa Western snuck past fourth-seeded Snow College 30-29 in overtime.

>> NMMI PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Running back Anthony Grant: 207 carries for 1,538 yards with 17 touchdowns … Grant ranks first in NJCAA Division I in yards and yards per rush (7.4) … He also is second in yards per game (139.8), touchdowns and rushing attempts … Grant sits third in the nation in all-purpose yards with 1,600 … His 102 points are fourth-best in the nation … Grant had a season-high 398 rushing yards and five touchdowns vs. Northwest Mississippi on Dec. 5.

Quarterback Diego Pavia: 108 completions out of 195 attempts for 1,607 yards with 19 touchdowns … Pavia has rushed for 603 yards on 102 carries for six scores … Pavia ranks ninth in pass efficiency (155.7) and 10th in touchdowns.

Wide receiver Malik Phillips: 27 catches for 483 yards and seven touchdowns … Phillips is the sixth-best kick returner in the nation … He has 21 returns for 575 yards.

Kicker William Testa: Testa has converted 57 of 58 extra points for a percentage of 98 … He has also made 12 of 16 field goals attempted … He ranks first in the nation in PAT's made, third in PAT attempts, fourth in field goals made and second in points (93).

Defensive back Joseph Norwood: Recorded 50 total tackles and 11 interceptions … Norwood ranks top in the country in interceptions.

As a team, NMMI ranks first in scoring (495), third in points per game (41.3), fourth in total offense (5,252), 10th in yards per game (437.7), first in rushing yards (3,494), first in rushing attempts (556), first in rushing yards per game (291.2), first in rushing touchdowns (39), second in first downs (272) and fourth in interceptions (18).

>> SOUTHWEST JUNIOR COLLEGE FOOTBALL CONFERENCE SUPREMACY:

There's no doubt that the SWJCFC has been one of the premier conferences in the nation.

Since 1956, six different conference schools have competed in eight national championships.

Northeastern Oklahoma A&M won five national titles, with the last one coming in 1991.

Navarro was the last team to represent the conference in the national championship back in 2010 as it won 13-12 over Butler as the second-seed.

One-year prior, with standout quarterback Cam Newton, Blinn College captured the title as the No. 2 ranked team with a 31-26 win over top seeded Fort Scott.

>> IOWA WESTERN HISTORY:

Since Iowa Western's inaugural football season in 2009, the Reivers have appeared in eight Graphic Edge Bowl's, winning seven.

The Reivers won three-straight Graphic Edge Bowl's on two occasions from 2017-2019 and 2011-2013.

Head coach Scott Strohmeier has been at the helm of the program since its creation.

This season, Iowa Western notched quality wins over current ranked opponents Iowa Central and Snow College.

Six of the Reivers' wins came on the road, which included a 17-14 battle with Snow and a 23-19 win over Georgia Military.

Iowa Western has held its opponents to 79.9 rushing yards a game while allowing 14 points per game.

The Reivers are ranked in the top 10 in passing first downs (100), first downs per game (20.9), field goals (11 for 13), field goal percentage (84.6), red zone touchdowns (27-52), fumbles recovered (17), interceptions (17), interception returns (17 for 257 yards), defensive touchdowns (4) and time of possession per game (31:31).

>> IOWA WESTERN PLAYERS TO WATCH:

Freshman quarterback Nate Glantz: Appeared in nine games, completing 141 passes out of 270 attempts … Glantz has tallied 1,837 yards through the air along with 16 touchdowns … He has also rushed for 55 yards with three scores.

Redshirt sophomore running back Milton Sargbah: Has carried the ball 112 times for 532 yards with eight touchdowns.

Redshirt freshman running back Moses Bryant: 77 carries for 448 yards and six scores.

Freshman wide receiver Ryan Flournoy: 32 receptions for 545 yards and five touchdowns.

Freshman kicker Noah Sauberan: Made 11 of 13 field goals … Field goal percentage of 85 … Made 39 of 43 extra points for a percentage of 91 … Longest field made was 46 yards.

Freshman linebacker Jacob Ellis: 71 total tackles … 6.5 tackles for loss … 5 interceptions … 2 pass breakups … 4 forced fumbles.

>> UTEP CONNECTION:

Both NMMI and Iowa Western have produced a quarterback that has gone down to El Paso, Texas to play for the Miners.

Hobbs native Gavin Hardison has helped lead UTEP to a 7-5 overall record this season and a postseason berth in the PUBG Mobile New Mexico Bowl.

Hardison has completed 186 of 332 passes for 2,966 yards and 17 touchdowns. Hardison played for NMMI in 2018, appearing in five games.

Kai Locksley, a former NJCAA All-American for the Reivers, starred under center for the Miners in 2018 and 2019, scoring 11 touchdowns and compiling 3,141 yards of total offense.

>> 2021 BOWL GAME SCORES:

• Salt City Bowl: No. 5 Hutchinson 66, No. 8 Hinds Community College 34
• Scooter's Coffee Bowl: No. 12 Garden City 53, Navarro 34
• TIPS-CHAMPS Heart of Texas Bowl: No. 15 Tyler Junior College 28, No. 11 Coffeyville 7
• Graphic Edge Bowl: No. 10 Iowa Central 35, No. 6 Monroe College 27

GAME INFO

>>WHEN: 6 p.m. MST Friday, Dec. 17.

>>VENUE: War Memorial Stadium, 1 Stadium Dr. in Little Rock, Ark.

>>TICKETS: General admission is $15/Club-level tickets are $45. Tickets can be purchased at njcaa.org/tickets.

>>LIVE STATS: https://www.njcaa.org/sports/fball/2021-22/div1/boxscores/20211217_eon2.xml

>>WATCH THE GAME: CBS Sports Network (DIRECTV Channel 221, DISH Network Channel 158, Spectrum Channels 24 & 315, TDS Channel 212, Sparklight Channel 139, AT&T U-verse Channels 643 & 1643 HD)