Texas-Sized Triumph! Blue Dragons Beat Iowa Western for Second National Championship

By Greta Klein
Sports Editor
X: gmklein32

CANYON, Texas – While the year has changed, moments from a prior game were incorporated into another national championship for the Hutchinson Community College football team. Four seasons ago, the Blue Dragons won first national championship against Snow College during the spring of 2021.

Looking to take another national championship back to Hutch, the No. 3 Blue Dragons battled against No. 1 Iowa Western at Bain-Schaeffer Buffalo Stadium. With the electric energy and the player-led atmosphere, the Blue Dragons found their way to a 28-23 win over the Reivers to secure a second national championship.

“I love these guys and I’m super proud of them,” Blue Dragon coach Drew Dallas said. “Just to see it come to fruition, everything that they put into it throughout the year. It’s not easy to win ball games, and it’s even harder in the postseason.”

Throughout the game, there were a few deja vu moments relating to the Blue Dragons’ last championship run. During the 2021 championship, Hutch was down 21-10 to Snow during the third quarter. They found a way, though, and got the win. And just like that time, these Blue Dragons repeated what they had done.

“This was a player-led team,” sophomore Kendrick Walker said. “In the spring, we were always trying to find a leader. The thing about it was, it never was one leader. Everybody got to lead together, and we all lead by example during that game.”

While Hutch came out on top, the journey was nothing less of a comeback. The first half was a struggle, but coming back from halftime, the Blue Dragons came out with a more focused energy.

“All I’m gonna say is there was a lot of talking in the locker room,” Walker said. “But my teammate Avian Rice, he said, ‘Play for the man besides you, if you don’t, play for yourself.’ And that thing stuck with me for the rest of the game, stuck with everybody, and we did that.”

After scoring three touchdowns in the third quarter, the Blue Dragons took the lead. Despite suffering an ankle injury near the start of the third quarter and taking lots of physical contact during the game, quarterback Samari Collier had confidence in his squad to finish well.

“We’ve been through adversity all year,” Collier said. “So just being able to come out with the win is something special. We knew the task at hand, so we had to execute the game plan.”

Having everyone execute their jobs on the field was key during this game for the Blue Dragons. Once Collier hurt his ankle and could not go on, sophomore backup quarterback Christian Johnson stepped in and executed his job right from the start. The second play Johnson was in, he threw a 34-yard touchdown pass to Tre Brown to give the Blue Dragons the lead, 21-17.

Johnson wasn’t the only one making plays and executing their duties. With 3:26 left in the third quarter, freshman Kordell Gouldsby made a 73-yard punt return to widen the lead 28-17.

While the clock ticked down and the Blue Dragons were minutes away from being national champions, they knew there was still work that needed to be done. At about the 4-minute mark, Iowa Western had possession of the ball, giving the Reivers one last chance to score. But Hutch’s defensive line meant business and shut the Reivers down. A quarterback sack with a loss of 7 yards kept the momentum going for Hutch. Several incomplete passes were also made by Iowa Western due to the stress and pressure of the Blue Dragons’ defense. Executing their jobs, the Blue Dragons were able to prevent Iowa Western from scoring and secured a second national championship title.

The Blue Dragons ended their season with an 11-1 overall record. The Blue Dragons will bring home their second national title in five years with both wins being under Dallas.

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