Northeastern Oklahoma A&M 2020 Football Season Preview
Written by Michael Gambill
Twitter: @MichaelGambil10
Golden Norse: Favorable playing schedule at home could help them capture the SWJCFC title in 2020
Despite the ongoing pandemic and the virtual shutdown of much of our daily lives including live sports, planning for the 2020 college football season marches on and if there is any way possible, there will be football come next fall. Northeastern Oklahoma A&M (NEO) is coming off of a tough 2019 season where they finished up a relatively disappointing 4-5 in the Southwestern Junior College Football Conference (SWJCFC.) Led by longtime assistant and now head coach Zach Allen, NEO continues to battle with other conference rivals for dominance. Coach Allen was a long-time recruiting coordinator for NEO and knows how to re-stock this storied football program and each year continues to recruit top high school players from around Oklahoma and surrounding states to make NEO competitive each year.
The challenges that football programs face as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic have meant that coaching staffs haven’t been able to work with players during the spring including strength and conditioning. All spring football games were cancelled and currently there is no clear sign that the NJCAA will begin a phase-in of contact for fall sports including football. However, it is reasonable to believe that if sports is allowed to resume in American society, football will have an opportunity to pick up the pieces and get back to work in preparation for the fall season. NEO will quickly be challenged early next season and how they respond to their early rivals will determine how 2020 will shape up for the Golden Norse.
2020 NEO Golden Norse Football Schedule
Week 1 -Aug. 20 vs. Gordon’s Fine Arts & Sports Academy (Miami, OK)
NEO starts their 2020 season out against Gordon’s Fine Arts & Sports Academy, an academic prep school based in Oklahoma City. This game serves essentially as a tune-up game for the Golden Norse. Formerly Raleigh’s Finest Sports Academy, Gordon’s will quickly be tested by NEO.
Week 2 – Aug. 29 vs. Trinity Valley Community College (Miami, OK)
Last year Trinity Valley beat NEO 27-8 and NEO has gone 4-6 against their SWJCFC rivals since 2012. Led by head coach Sherard Poteete, Trinity Valley went 5-3 in conference play (7-4 overall) and while ranked No. 13 nationally lost to No. 7 ranked Butler Community College in the Midwest Classic Bowl last December. The Cardinals are very competitive in this conference and will set the tone for NEO’s season in late August.
Week 3- Sept. 5 vs. Kilgore College (Miami, OK)
Kilgore finished up the 2019 season as the SWJCFC champions and posted a 6-2 conference record and 8-2 overall. Kilgore played NEO closely last season with the Rangers beating the Golden Norse 28-21. The Rangers tend to dominate over NEO and has won 7 of the last 9 games they’ve played since 2012. Again, NEO will be tested early in the season and if they can win any of these two games, they may have a chance to win the conference title. If they drop both games, they will be looking at the conference title from the backseat early in the season.
Week 4 -Sept. 12 vs. Navarro College (Waxahachie, TX)
This game is NEO’s first road game of the 2020 season and should be a strong matchup for the Golden Norse. NEO beat Navarro last season 35-3 and they hold a 5-4 win advantage over the Bulldogs since 2012 as well. A victory over Navarro, combined with at least a couple of wins in the early part of the season should propel NEO to the top tier of their conference. Navarro is 10 seasons away from their 2010 NJCAA football championship but still remains a power in the conference.
Week 5-Sept. 19 vs. Texas Inst. of Agriculture & Technology (Miami, OK)
NEO hasn’t played Texas A&T since 2015 and in that contest the Golden Norse beat them 53-23. Texas A&T comes in as a relative unknown and could be a dangerous opponent for NEO. Although this is a non-conference game, NEO needs to win this one to build momentum for the rest of the season.
Week 6-Sept. 26 vs. Tyler Junior College (Miami, OK)
The Tyler Apaches had a down year last season finishing 3-4 in the conference and 4-5 overall which is an identical record to NEO. Tyler is another storied JUCO program and last year they beat NEO 26-20. The Apaches have dominated NEO since 2012 as the Golden Norse have a 3-6 record against them. Tyler will be another conference challenge and the only seeming advantage that NEO has is this will be another home game for them.
Week 7 -Oct. 3 vs. Cisco Junior College (Miami, OK)
The Cisco Wranglers finished up the 2019 season with a 3-4 record in conference play but ended up winning two more postseason games. NEO beat Cisco last year 48-30 and the Golden Norse have dominated the Wranglers by posting a perfect 8-0 record against them since 2012. NEO again has the home-field advantage against Cisco and if history is indication, then the Golden Norse should continue their winning streak against their fellow conference rivals.
Week 8 -Oct 10 vs. Arkansas Baptist College (Miami, OK)
A late season non-conference game will force NEO to stay focused and not ignore the Arkansas Baptist Buffaloes. Although the Golden Norse beat them 69-13 last season and have a 6-0 record against the Buffaloes since 2014, Arkansas Baptist did finish out 2019 with an even 5-5 record and this season they could be problematic as NEO’s regular season starts winding down. A win here will continue to help the Golden Norse finish out the season strong as they face their final two conference opponents – both on the road.
Week 9 -Oct. 17 vs. New Mexico Military Institute (Roswell, NM)
A late season road game against the NMMI Broncos will prove to be another conference fight. NNMI was 4-4 in the SWJCFC and posted a winning 6-5 record. NEO lost to the Broncos last season 35-21 and have posted an even 2-2 record against them since 2016 when NMMI joined the conference. This game is a toss-up and will no doubt be a dogfight for NEO after having so many consecutive home games.
Week 10- Oct. 24 vs. Blinn College (Brenham, TX)
Playing the 2009 NJCAA football champions on the road to finish out the season, NEO will find that the Buccaneers will not be an easy opponent to wrap up the 2020 campaign. Blinn was 2-5 in the conference and 4-5 overall but they are still a dangerous program. Even with a down season, Blinn was still able to outscore their opponents 311-263 and they are no doubt looking to 2020 for a sense of redemption.
Week 11 – Oct. 31 SWJCFC Playoffs (Miami, OK)
Week 12 – Nov. 7 SWJCFC Championship (Miami, OK)
Photo credit: The Joplin Globe; NEO vs. Arkansas Baptist