Two evenly matched football teams will meet at 1 p.m. on Dec. 4 in Oroville in the Gridiron Classic Bowl.

The Reedley College Tigers, ranked 11th in the state rankings by the JC Athletic Bureau, will face the 10th ranked Butte College Roadrunners in one of the state's 16 playoff games.

In the other state poll, the California Community College Sports Information Association poll, the Tigers are ranked 10th with the Roadrunners at 11th.

Reedley finished 7-3 in 2021, finishing the regular season with an exciting 34-30 win over regional bound and Valley Conference co-champion Fresno City College on Nov. 13. The Tigers were 3-2 in the conference.

Butte finished the regular season with a 6-4 mark and a two-game winning streak. The Roadrunners dropped a 17-10 decision to NorCal champion American River, who is also regional bound.

The Tigers and Roadrunners go into the bowl games with winning streaks. Reedley started the regular season with three straight wins and ended it with three wins. Butte started with a pair of wins and finished with two more wins.

The teams have six common opponents. Reedley beat Sequoias 42-35 while the Roadrunners got past the Giants 24-20 in the season opener. Both teams routed the College of the Siskiyous. Reedley won 38-6 while Butte won by a 42-7 score. Reedley defeated Santa Rosa Junior College 34-17 while Butte needed two overtimes before winning 27-21. The Tigers fell to Laney 52-27 while Butte posted a 20-10 victory. Both schools lost to Modesto, Reedley by a 35-20 score while Butte fell 38-17. The Roadrunners fell to Fresno City 30-28 while the Tigers posted the 34-30 win.

Three tiger opponents reach the postseason. Fresno City will travel to the College of San Mateo Saturday for a first-round game in the Northern California Football Conference playoffs. Modesto will face Diablo Valley in the Dec. 4 Grizzly Bowl while College of the Sequoias will travel to Merced at 5:00 p.m. on Dec. 2 for the Valley Center Bowl.

By: Will Goldbeck