Back to W’s, HutchCC football finds its grove getting win after loss to Butler, bye week

By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
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The wind howled Saturday through Gowans Stadium as No. 3 Hutchinson Blue Dragons took down the Highland Scotties 44-0.

After coming off a loss against Butler 27-22 and then having a bye week, the team was ready to show up and show out.

“This game, we really just wanted to dominate every phase of the game,” sophomore Waymond Jordan Jr. said. “And also show people who we really are. That loss (against Butler) wasn’t really us. We just really wanted to come back and show who we really are.”

After the loss against Butler, the Blue Dragons went from being ranked No. 1 in the NJCAA to No. 3. While this hurt the team at the moment, it has also encouraged and pushed them to get back to playing with the talent they know they have.

“That was a long two weeks,” Jordan said. “Just sitting there thinking about that loss was a long time and just looking at the polls, they don’t want to give us that one spot or two spots. So we got to make a service.”

After regrouping and maintaining a winning mentality, the Blue Dragons were able to grasp another victory through well-executed plays.

“Judging by the results and our approach as a football team, I was really pleased with their efforts of going back to work,” Blue Dragons coach Drew Dallas said. “We talked about the process and not getting caught up in the wins and the losses all the time, and so it’s really about how we approach it.”

Highland had 62 passing yards during the game, while the Blue Dragons had 234 yards. The Blue Dragons held Highland to 74 yards rushing and had 277 rushing yards themselves.

Even though it was a team effort, sophomore quarterback Samari Collier played a key role in leading the team to victory after missing several weeks of practice due to a shoulder injury and sitting out the game against Butler two weeks prior.

“I thought he played really well,” Dallas said. “He is just super efficient, in the air and also on the ground. So that was the best thing to see him coming back. He played fast and was really locked in and efficient with the football.”

Suffering from this shoulder injury, Collier said he just took it one day at a time.

“It kinda sucked just watching football and not being able to physically play,” Collier said. “But it feels good to get back out there. I’m just happy to be back out with my teammates to get a W. We got three more (games) to go, we (are going to) take some rings.”

In this week’s poll of NJCAA rankings, the Blue Dragons are tied for second with Georgia Military and may have a chance to surpass them with a win against Garden City this weekend.

The No. 3 Hutchinson Blue Dragons will match up against Garden City Broncbusters at 11 a.m. on Saturday, Nov. 16 at Broncbuster Stadium, Garden City.

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