Hutchinson CC holds off No. 1 Iowa Western for the NJCAA national championship

CANYON, Texas (KWCH) – In a thrilling rematch in the second week of the season, junior college football’s top two teams squared off Wednesday night in the NJCAA DI National Championship in Canyon, Texas. For the second time in school history and second time in the last five years, the Hutchinson Community College Blue Dragons are national champions. The third-ranked Blue Dragons fell into a two-touchdown hole early, stormed back, took a two-possession lead in the second half and held off No. 1 Iowa Western 28-23. Hutchinson finished his dream season with an 11-1 final record.

Hutchinson finished the season as the top-ranked team in the country after defeating Iowa Western 38-37 on the road in September. Iowa Western played for higher stakes Wednesday night and threatened to give up early. The Reivers led 14-0 early and maintained that two-touchdown lead in the first quarter.

Hutchinson got on the field early in the second quarter with a 27-yard run from Samari Collier, but trailed 17-7 at halftime. The third quarter belonged to the Blue Dragons as they outscored Iowa Western 21-0 and built a 28-17 lead early in the fourth quarter. The end of the run was a 73-yard punt return by Kordell Gouldsby in the final three and a half minutes of the third quarter.

In the final frame, the Reivers scored a touchdown with just under 11 minutes to play, cutting their 11-point deficit to five.

The last half of the final quarter brought some drama. That included a blocked field goal that kept the Blue Dragons from extending their lead and put Iowa Western in a strong position with time and field position on its side. Hutchinson’s defense answered the call and the Blue Dragons persevered, bringing Hutchinson another title.

On offense, Hutchinson did most of its damage on the ground, led by quarterback Collier, who rushed for 109 yards on 16 carries and a touchdown. Through the air, Collier completed six of 16 passes for 80 yards and a touchdown. Backup quarterback Christian Johnson completed just one of five passes, but that completion was huge: a 34-yard touchdown to Tre Brown in the third quarter.

Iowa Western quarterback Hunter Dekkers completed 29 of 51 passes for 412 yards, but in a performance where there was no pause, the Hutchinson defense stepped up to limit the Reivers’ drives to the end zone as Dekkers only completed two touchdown passes. The Blue Dragon defense also limited Iowa Western’s rushing attack, sacking Dekkers four times, three of them by defensive end Marshon Oxley.

For the season, Hutchinson ended its magical run with a four-game winning streak after suffering its only setback on October 26 against Kansas Jayhawk Community College rival Butler Community College.

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