Butler to face #13 Trinity Valley (TX) in Midwest Classic Bowl

For the second straight season, Butler football will head to Miami, Okla., to play in the Midwest Classic Bowl as the No. 7-ranked Grizzlies will battle No. 13 Trinity Valley (TX) on Sunday, Dec. 8.

Butler (9-3 overall) finished the regular season with a 34-27 home victory over No. 3 Garden City, which not only knocked the Broncbusters out of the national title race but from the bowl postseason all together. Trinity Valley (7-3) ended its regular season with a 26-24 regional semifinal loss to eventual Southwest Conference champion Navarro.

This will be the sixth meeting between the two programs, with the last meeting coming in the 2011 Citizens Bank Bowl at Pittsburg State University. Butler, which owns a 4-1 overall record against Trinity Valley, won the postseason contest 21-17 and finished No. 2 in the final NJCAA poll that season. The previous four meetings against Trinity Valley came in the regular season, as the two teams opened the season against each other from 2002 to 2005.

"It is always awesome to get to play in December, especially at this level. To extend our season, to give our guys more exposure, to let the recruiters come in and see our guys practice and then the amount of coaches that will be at the game. Not everyone gets this opportunity, and for us, playing in December is special – it gives our kids the opportunity to play together one more time – in the end, that's what's really important and memorable to them," Butler football coach Tim Schaffner said.

Butler will be seeking consecutive bowl victories for the first time since winning back-to-back NJCAA national titles in 2007 and 2008. The Grizzlies defeated Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 34-30 in last year's Midwest Classic Bowl, as the Grizzlies overcame an early two-touchdown deficit to beat the Norsemen.

"We are thrilled to be going back to Miami," said Schaffner. "We are excited to go back and represent the Jayhawk Conference and represent the whole Butler Community College family."

Trinity Valley will be making its 23rd bowl appearance and its sixth in the last nine years. This season, the Cardinals are averaging 34.7 points per game and has one of the top offenses in the NJCAA - averaging 459.7 total offensive yards and 275.9 passing yards per game.

"When you think football, you think Texas. That is what they are known for. They (Trinity Valley) are going to be loaded, they are going to be athletic on defense, they score a ton of points and it should make for a great matchup," commented Schaffner.

Trinity Valley has one of the nation's best juco quarterbacks in sophomore Jeremy Hunt, who has thrown for 2,227 yards, 20 touchdowns and completed 62 percent (179-of-287) of his passes in nine games this season. The Cardinals' receiving core has three receivers with 360 yards or more on the season, with sophomore Keonta Fiakpui leading the team in receptions (30) and touchdowns (5) while amassing 384 yards receiving. Sophomore receiver Deshon Moreaux leads Trinity with 431 yards receiving on 22 receptions and three touchdowns, while freshman Kishaun Fisher has 28 catched for 369 yards.

Defensively, the Cardinals are led by sophomore linebacker Race Moser, who has a team-high 119 tackles and has made seven tackles for losses. Other top tacklers include freshman linebacker Jaeden Ward (71 tackles, three sacks, five TFL's), sophomore defensive back Marques Williams (70 tackles, five TFL's, one interception) and freshman linebacker Jacob Berry (65 tackles, five TFL's). Sophomore defensive end Derrick Ray leads Trinity with 5.5 sacks, while freshman defensive tackle Kamauria Kenny has a team-high 13 tackles for losses.

The Cardinals' last bowl appearance came in the 2017 Heart of Texas Bowl, where they beat Garden City 48-41 to improve to 12-9 all-time in bowl games. Against KJCCC teams, Trinity Valley is 3-2 all-time.

Sherard Poteete (14-14 overall, 11-8 at Trinity Valley) is in his second season as Trinity Valley's head coach. He previously spent five seasons as the Cardinals' offensive coordinator (2010-12, 2016-17). Poteete was the head coach at Northeastern Oklahoma A&M during the 2013 season, then coached two seasons at Southeast Missouri State University, where he served as the offensive coordinator and quarterback coach.

Butler will be making its 29th bowl appearance - with 11 national championship appearances and six titles in their history.

Butler's offense will be led by quarterback Nick Davenport, who made his first start of the season in the win over Garden City. Davenport threw for two touchdowns on 5-of-13 passing for 107 yards, caught a 10-yard touchdown pass and ran another score while carrying the ball 16 times for 27 yards. Freshman running back Adarius Thomas will head the Grizzly ground attack, as he has 663 yards rushing on 132 attempts with three touchdowns. George Qualls is Butler's top receiver with 41 receptions for 693 yards and six touchdowns.

On defense, the Grizzlies are led by sophomore linebacker Charlie Gray, who has a team-high 75 tackles on the season. Defensive backs Alfahiym Walcott (65 tackles, three interceptions) and Kway'Chon Chisom (62 tackles, three interceptions) are Butler's top secondary players. Up front, Butler has a dominating tandum of Derick Newton (62 tackles, five sacks, 16.5 tackles for losses) and Josh Davies (53 tackles, 7.5 sacks, 11 TFL). 

Schaffner (41-17 in five years) will be coaching his third bowl game as head coach. He led Butler to the 2016 Salt City Bowl against Eastern Arizona. Serving as Butler's defensive coordinator from 2005 to 2014, Schaffner helped the Grizzlies to eight bowl games - including consecutive national championship wins in 2007 and 2008.

Other Butler bowl game notes:

- This is the 18th time in the past 22 years Butler has played in a postseason bowl game. Overall, this will be the 29th bowl game in school history. Butler is 15-13 all time in bowl games.
- This will be the second time Butler has played a bowl game in the state of Oklahoma. Butler has played bowl games in 11 different states. Other states include Kansas, Texas, Arizona, Utah, Iowa, Tennessee, Missouri, Idaho, New York and Georgia.
- Against SWJCFC teams, Butler is 5-3 all-time in bowl games.

Butler's bowl appearances:
1951 Coffey Bowl (Coffeyville) - Butler 12, Coffeyville 9
1981 Rodeo Bowl (Arkansas City) - Butler 21, NE Oklahoma A&M 14 * 
1983 Roaring Ranger Bowl (Ranger, Texas) - Butler 21, Ranger (TX) 11
1984 Garland Shrine Bowl (Garland, Texas) - Butler 27, Tyler (TX) 14
1985 Valley of the Sun Bowl (Phoenix, Ariz.) - Phoenix (AZ) 43, Butler 13
1986 Dixie Rotary Bowl (St. George, Utah) - Dixie State (UT) 36, Butler 33
1987 Texas Classic (Tyler, Texas) - Blinn (TX) 35, Butler 14
1989 R.C. Cola Bowl (Cedar Falls, Iowa) - Butler 24, Iowa Central 0
1990 East Bowl (Johnson City, Tenn.) - Butler 23, Lee's McRae (TN) 8
1993 Mineral Water Bowl (Excelsior Springs, Mo.) - Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 52, Butler 50
1996 Valley of the Sun Bowl (Phoenix, Ariz.) - Glendale (AZ) 45, Butler 26
1998 Real Dairy Bowl (Pocatello, Idaho) - Butler 22, Ricks (ID) 18 * 
1999 Dixie Rotary Bowl (St. George, Utah) - Butler 49, Dixie State (UT) 35 * 
2000 Cannon Empire Bowl (Garden City, NY) - Butler 30, Nassau (NY) 20
2001 Golden Isles Bowl (New Brunswick, Ga.) - Georgia Military 31, Butler 19 * 
2002 Dixie Rotary Bowl (St. George, Utah) - Dixie State 31 (UT), Butler 18
2003 Dixie Rotary Bowl (St. George, Utah) - Butler 14, Dixie State (UT) 10 * 
2004 Dalton Defender's Bowl (Coffeyville) - Pearl River (MS) 35, Butler 14 * 
2005 Top of the Mountains Bowl (Salt Lake City) - Snow (UT) 17, Butler 14
2006 Dalton Defender's Bowl (Coffeyville) - Butler 57, Vermilion (MN) 0
2007 Top of the Mountains Bowl (Salt Lake City) - Butler 56, Snow (UT) 27 * 
2008 Top of the Mountains Bowl (Salt Lake City) - Butler 37, Snow (UT) 30, 2OT  * 
2010 Citizen's Bank Bowl (Pittsburg) - Navarro (TX) 13, Butler 12 * 
2011 Citizen's Bank Bowl (Pittsburg) - Butler 21, Trinity Valley (TX) 17
2012 Graphic Edge Bowl (Cedar Falls, Iowa) - Iowa Western 27, Butler 7 *
2013 Graphic Edge Bowl (Cedar Falls, Iowa) - Iowa Western 6, Butler 0 
2016 Salt City Bowl (Hutchinson) - Eastern Arizona 39, Butler 38
2018 Midwest Classic Bowl (Miami, Okla.) - Butler 34, Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 30

*indicates NJCAA National Championship Game