Hutchinson CC Sports Information
FORT DODGE, Iowa – This year the Hutchinson Community College football team suffered no letdown against Iowa Central.
One year ago, the heartbroken Blue Dragons were soundly defeated by Iowa Central one week after a gut-wrenching loss to Garden City. On Saturday at Dodger Stadium, the No. 6-ranked Blue Dragons pitched a shutout in a 56-0 statement victory over the 19th-ranked and Iowa Conference champion Tritons.
Hutchinson closes the season with a 9-2 overall record and will await an opponent for the 2019 Salt City Bowl on December 7 at Gowans Stadium.
The Blue Dragons are also 4-2 this season against nationally ranked competition with five of those games played on the road.
The Blue Dragons rebounded from last week's one-point loss to Garden City.
Quarterback Mark Wright combined for 193 total yards with three combined touchdowns. Tray Pettway caught a pair of touchdown passes and the Blue Dragons even blocked a punt for a touchdown for the second-straight week.
Defensively, the Blue Dragons limited Iowa Central to just 147 total yards in the largest margin of victory ever by Hutchinson over Iowa Central. The Dragons made life miserable for the Tritons with 15 tackles for loss, including five quarterback sacks. The Dragons also had two takeaways.
Jurriente Davis had a team-high 11 tackles for Hutchinson. Gereme Spraggins had nine, while Kirmari Gainous and Latrell Bankston had seven each. Gainous also had a fumble recovery and Jakorian Bennett had an interception.
Offensively, the Blue Dragons had 344 total yards (189 rushing, 155 passing).
Wright was Hutch's leading rusher with 70 yards on seven carries and a touchdown. Tiyon Evans had 49 yards on seven carries with a touchdown. Jonathan White added 34 yards on six carries.
Wright completed 17 of 26 passing for 123 yards and two touchdowns. Khari Lane threw for a pair of scores, going 2 for 4 for 32 yards.
Mitchell Tinsley had five catches for 24 yards. Pettway had two receptions for 42 yards and two touchdowns.
The Blue Dragon return game was also huge. Tinsley had four punt returns for 68 yards with a long of 48. Markies Colvin had two punt returns for 74 yards.
The Blue Dragons used a Colvin 51-yard return to set up the first score of the game. On the next play, Erin College bolted into the end zone from 13 yards out for a 7-0 lead with 11:25 to go in the first quarter. Wright scored from 9 yards out with 8:45 remaining for a 14-0 Dragon lead.
Evans made it 20-0 with a 33-yard scoring run in the second quarter. The PAT kick was blocked. Evans then caught his first touchdown pass, taking a 27-yard strike from Wright against double coverage. Jalen Roach caught the 2-point pass for a 28-0 lead with 1:08 to play in the second quarter.
Pettway's 16-yard touchdown pass from Wright made it 35-0 with 11:14 to go.
Special teams then stepped up as for the second-straight week, Art Green blocked a punt and White turned the loose ball for a touchdown. This was from just 5 yards out, and it gave the Blue Dragons a 42-0 lead with 9:59 to go in the third.
Lane then closed out the scoring with touchdown passes of 26 yards to Pettway with 20 seconds to play in the third quarter and 6 yards to Stacey Marshall in the fourth quarter.