BLUE DRAGON FOOTBALL |
No. 1 Hutchinson (9-0) vs. No. 2 Iowa Western (10-0)
|
| When: Saturday, November 11, 2023 At: Gowans Stadium, Hutchinson Kickoff: 1:00 PM Radio: KHUT-FM (102.9), 12:30 PM with Countdown to Kickoff (Glen Grunwald-PBP; Rob Dreher-Color) Video: Blue Dragon Sports Network, 12:30 PM X: @bluedragonsport Admission: $12 Reserved; $10 General Admission: Past and present Military personnel with ID admitted free with one guest. CLICK FOR BLUE DRAGON GAME NOTES (PDF Format) |
Hutchinson CC Sports Information
The premiere national rivalry in NJCAA Football renews itself on Saturday at Gowans Stadium as the No. 1-ranked Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons play host to the No. 2-ranked Iowa Western Reivers.
Kickoff for the Military Appreciation Day battle between the Blue Dragons (9-0) and Reivers (10-0) is set for 1 p.m. Military personnel with ID and one guest will be admitted free.
The game will be streamed live and free on the Blue Dragon Sports Network beginning at 12:30 p.m. with Countdown to Kickoff. The game will also be broadcast of Blue Dragon Flagship Station KHUT-FM (102.9).
When the preseason polls were released on August, Iowa Western was No. 1 and Hutchinson was No. 2. The Blue Dragons and Reivers flipped spots in the polls after Week 1 and they have remained Nos. 1 and 2 for 10-straight weeks.
The Blue Dragons captured their fourth-consecutive Jayhawk Conference football championship and 12th in program history last Saturday after a 42-8 victory at Independence. Quarterback Samari Collier threw for four touchdown passes and a career-high 236 yards - Collier was named the KJCCC and NJCAA Offensive Player of the Week.
Defensively, the Blue Dragons intercepted four passes, including a nation-leading seventh by freshman safety Ryan Nolan, and held the Pirates to a negative-13 yards rushing. The Dragons also recorded two safeties in the game.
Iowa Western had a much tougher battle last Saturday before claiming their 12th-consecutive victory. The Reivers trailed Coffeyville 10-0 and 17-14 before rallying to defeat the Red Ravens 20-17 at Titan Stadium in Council Bluffs, Iowa. The Reivers scored the go-ahead touchdown with 7:24 to play after a 10-play, 48-yard scoring drive was capped by Shawn Gary's 10-yard touchdown run.
Last season Hutchinson and Iowa Western met twice.
On Nov. 12, 2022 in Council Bluffs, the Blue Dragons rallied from down 11 points with a little more than 8 minutes to play to defeat Iowa Western 29-28. A little more than a month later in Little Rock, Arkansas, the Reivers defeated Hutchinson 31-0 in the NJCAA Championship Game.