Photos by Ray Hamill/HumboldtSports.com

By Ray Hamill — College of the Redwoods football will remain in the National Division for at least two more years, it has been confirmed.

The local community college made the move from the American Division to the more competitive National Division last offseason and it was a rocky start for the program.

CR lost its first six games of the season, but the team showed a lot of improvement over the second half of the campaign.

Redwoods would win three straight games down the stretch to give itself a chance at winning the conference championship and qualifying for the playoffs, before a final-day 27-15 loss to American River ended the season.

And the late-season surge means CR will be remaining in the National Division, head coach Jason White confirmed this week.

And that means the program can continue to build and will likely continue to recruit better players eager to compete at the highest level in JC ball.

Despite the early losses, White felt his team was competitive going up against the better quality programs in California, including a road victory at Butte, the No. 3 team in the state.

“I felt like we competed all season long,” he said after the final game. “We had a three-game winning streak, we beat the No. 3 team in the state, and I thought those are all good steps.

“I felt we made some steps in the right direction, and we can build on that for next year.”

CR closed out 3-2 in conference and 3-7 overall.

Two of the team’s early losses came by just three and 10 points.

The 2026 schedule will be released in February.