Hutchinson CC Sports Information

The Hutchinson Community College football team opens the 2018 Jayhawk Conference season by traveling to the league's defending champions on Saturday night.

The 1-0 Blue Dragons (receiving votes in the NJCAA preseason rankings) play at No. 5 Independence (1-0, 1-0 Jayhawk Conference) at 7 p.m. at Independence's Emmott Field.

The game will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) and sister station KWBW-AM (1450) beginning at 6:30 p.m. with Countdown to Kickoff. Rusty Hilst (play-by-play), Daren Dunn (analysis) and Glen Grunwald (sidelines) will call the action. The game will also be videostreamed on the Blue Dragon Sports Network with the link available at 6:50 p.m.

Hutchinson comes into Saturday's game after a nine-day layoff since defeating Ellsworth 30-12 on August 23 at Gowans Stadium. Running back Erin Collins rushed for 104 yards and three touchdowns, while the Blue Dragon defense held the Panthers to just four field goals and forced five turnovers, four were interceptions.

Independence rode the arm of quarterback Chase Hildreth, who threw for three touchdowns and 201 yards in a victory at Dodge City in a game also played on August 23. The Pirates jumped out to a commanding 38-10 lead in the middle of the third quarter before Dodge City tacked on 10 fourth-quarter points.

For the first time since the late 1980s, Independence owns a two-game winning streak over the Blue Dragons. Indy has defeated Hutchinson in the past two games by a combined total of seven points, including last year's 24-19 victory in Independence in late October.

Before this two-game losing streak, the Blue Dragons had won 28 of the previous 30 meetings with Independence. The last time that Hutch lost at least three straight to Independence came from 1985 to 1989 when the Pirates won four games in a row.

The Blue Dragons have won nine consecutive Jayhawk Conference openers, dating back to the 2008 season. The last time that Hutchinson and Indy met in the Blue Dragons' conference opener was 2011, a 70-0 Hutch won at Gowans Stadium.

Under head coach Rion Rhoades, the Blue Dragons are 44-27 in Jayhawk Conference games, the second-most league game wins in the Jayhawk since 2006.