Blue Dragons roll
to Salt City Bowl shutout
over Dakota College
No. 18 Hutchinson 57, Dakota College 0
December 7, 2013
Gowans Stadium, Hutchinson, KS
CLICK FOR GAME STATISTICS
The Hutchinson Community College defense’s late-season surge continued in a big way and the No. 18 Blue Dragons dominated Dakota College in every facet to win the 2013 Salt City Bowl 57-0 on a frigid Dec. 7, 2013 at Gowans Stadium.
The Blue Dragons finish the season 8-4 and extended their school record for bowl wins to six. Hutchinson also set a new five-year team record for victories with the program’s 42nd dating back to 2009.
Temperature at kickoff was a brisk 16 degrees. That was a record low temperature for kickoff for a Salt City Bowl. On the field, the fifth-annual Salt City Bowl produced 18 broken team, individual or combined game records and four more tied marks.
“It was fun,” freshman wide receiver Chris Murray said. “It was cold, but it was fun. We came out here, had a good time and got the victory.”
Salt City Bowl defensive MVP Zack Weekley led an incredible Blue Dragon defensive charge that held the Jacks (8-3) to only four yards of total offense and a minus-41 rushing yards. Dakota College didn’t complete a pass until the third quarter. Only 6 of 61 Lumberback plays were snapped in Hutchinson territory. Dakota College had six first downs, three by Hutch penalties. Seven of Dakota College’s 19 offensive possessions went for negative yards.
Weekley led the Blue Dragons defensively with nine tackles, one tackle for loss and a 33-yard fumble return for a touchdown.
Defensive end Claude George set a Salt City Bowl record with four of a game-record and team season-high seven sacks for HCC. George also had a forced fumble, deflected pass and two quarterback hurries. George finished with eight tackles overall.
“It was nice to go out strong,” Weekley said. “After spending a year and a half with these guys, to have one more game with them and to win it ... was a good time.”
The Blue Dragon defense posted their third shutout of the season, the first time that’s happened since 1999. Over the final
Offensively, the Blue Dragons scored on the very first play from scrimmage – a 60-yard Frankie Seurer-to-Jabril Solomon pass – and practically lived in Lumberjack territory. Hutchinson started 12 of their 19 possession in Lumberjack territory and had 67 of 84 offensive snaps on Dakota College’s side of the field.
Seurer, the game’s Offensive MVP, completed 13 of 29 passes for 189 yards and three touchdowns passes. Seurer guided the Blue Dragons to a Salt City Bowl record 481 yards of total offense. The Dragons rolled up 266 rushing yards and 215 yards through the air.
“We came out here and had a good game plan,” said Seurer, who became HCC’s starting quarterback in Week 8 when Luke Barnes was injured in the first quarter against Fort Scott. “We knew they weren’t one of the best teams we’ve played, but we had to act like they were.”
Sophomore running back Mike Blakely was having a big game until a second-quarter injury knocked him out of the game. Blakely had seven rushing yards on just seven carries and had one reception for 23 yards. Blakely accounted for two touchdowns, one rushing and one receiving.
Sophomore Orange Mooney, playing for the first time in seven games, had a game-high 71 yards rushing on 15 carries. Freshman running back Chase Abbington had a team-high five receptions for 35 yards. He rushed for 69 more and had one touchdown.
Even defensive lineman Marquis Montgomery got into the scoring column when he bulled into the end zone from 1-yard out.
“He’s an awesome young man who provides so much energy and enthusiasm,” HCC head coach Rion Rhoades said of Montgomery. “He had a good year as a defensive lineman, but everyone wants to get in the end zone. Everyone came away from the heaters to watch that play.”
Dakota College quarterback Shazzan Mumphrey completed just 4 of 27 passes for 57 yards and an interception – which was HCC sophomore Christian Goodlett’s fifth of the season. O’Brea Williams was the Lumberjacks’ leading rusher with 57 yards when he returned a partially blocked punt to the Blue Dragon 16.
HCC also got a big lift from the rough day the Dakota College punt team had. In addition to the partially blocked punt by Jacob Brooks, Dakota College had one punt snap sail out of the end zone for a safety and two other that led to punts not even getting off.
The Blue Dragons put up 20 points in the first 7:23 of the game.