Navarro Junior College lost their first game of the regular season last fall, 16-10, to Butler Community College. The Butler Grizzlies went wire-to-wire as the #1 team among junior colleges leading up to the NJCAA championship game. Their opponent – Navarro Junior College.
Navarro won 11 straight games after their opening week loss, going into the championship game ranked #2 in the nation. With just over a minute remaining in the title game, Navarro’s Jueventino Sanchez nailed a 28-yard goal and Navarro defeated the top-ranked Grizzlies, 13-12. Butler’s offense had been averaging 40 points per game but were limited to two touchdowns in the championship game.
For Navarro head coach Nick Bobeck, the win was the culmination of three years of hard work. ‘This is very rewarding,” said Bobeck, who is now an impressive 32-3 in his three years leading the Bulldogs. “I’m very proud of the accomplishments of this group of kids. We didn’t play great, but these kids reached down within themselves and found enough inside to get the win.”
Bobeck played at the University of Central Oklahoma where he was an All-Conference fullback. He became a graduate assistant there and briefly joined the Navarro staff as the quarterbacks/receivers coach in 2006. Bobeck then became a graduate assistant at Texas A & M under head coach Dennis Francione. The next year he was selected as the offensive coordinator at Navarro.
On June 13, 2008, Bobeck was named head coach of the Bulldogs. Their 2010 NJCAA championship was their first since 1989. Not a bad resume for a 30-year old.