Hutchinson CC Sports Information

For the second time in program history, the Hutchinson Community College football team is playing in the NJCAA National Playoffs, and both times in the Blue Dragons have been the No. 1 seed.

The only difference between this season and the national championship season of 2020/21 is the Blue Dragons will have to play a semifinal matchup to get to Little Rock, and that happened on Saturday at Gowans Stadium.

The top-ranked and top-seeded Blue Dragons (10-0) will play host to their Jayhawk Conference rival, No. 4 Coffeyville Red Ravens (8-2), at 2 p.m. Saturday at Gowans Stadium. The Hutchinson/Coffeyville winner takes on the Northwest Mississippi/Iowa Western semifinal winner on Wednesday, December 14 at War Memorial Stadium in Little Rock, Arkansas in the NJCAA Championship Game.

The game will be streamed by ESPN+ and will be broadcast live on Blue Dragon flagship station KHUT-FM (102.9) beginning at 1:30 p.m.

The Jayhawk Conference champion Blue Dragons enter Saturday's national semifinal as the only unbeaten team in the NJCAA. That mark was on jeopardy midway through the fourth quarter on November 12 at Iowa Western. The Dragons trailed 28-17 midway through the fourth quarter. Hutchinson rallied after a 70-year Dylan Kedzior touchdown run and a 40-yard blocked punt return (the punt was blocked by Jermaine Hamilton-Jordan) by Jaimelle Claytor 40 yards for the go-ahead touchdown with 2:42 remaining in the game, giving the Dragons a 29-28 lead.

Coffeyville is on a roll as well heading into the national semifinals. The Red Ravens fell to 2-2 after Hutchinson rallied for a 14-9 win at Coffeyville on September 24. The Ravens have reeled off six-straight victories, including a 23-7 home win over then-No. 2 Iowa Western to climb up the national rankings to No. 4. Coffeyville defeated Garden City 30-21.

Hutchinson and Coffeyville represent the top two defensive teams in the KJCCC this season. The Dragons are allowing 10.9 points and 265 total yards per game. Coffeyville allows 12.1 points and 277.6 yards per game.

The game also features the 2022 KJCCC Offensive Player of the Year in Hutchinson's Kedzior and the Defensive Player of the Year in Coffeyville's Bishop Fitzgerald.