ANTHONY GORGES
Hutch Post
EMPORIA, Kan. — Brodie McCuan was determined not to let his senior season come to an end Friday night in Emporia. He powered his way to a career-high five touchdowns to lead Hutchinson to a 35-0 shutout victory over Emporia in the first round of the Class 5A playoffs.
Hutchinson won the coin toss and elected to receive, then rolled down the field on its opening possession. A solid kickoff return set up a six-play, 58-yard touchdown drive, capped by a 4-yard rushing touchdown from McCuan. The Salthawks took a 7-0 lead just three minutes into the game.
Emporia runs the flexbone offense, which relies heavily on the running game and clock management. The Spartans put together a 17-play drive that reached the Hutchinson red zone, but the Salthawks came up with a defensive stop on downs. Hutchinson maintained its 7-0 lead through the end of the first quarter.
Possessions were at a premium again in the second quarter. Hutchinson put together a 14-play, 74-yard drive, with McCuan punching it into the end zone from 1 yard out to extend the lead to 14-0.
The Salthawks recovered a late fumble in the first half and appeared to be in position to add to their lead. However, a touchdown was called back because of a penalty, and a missed field goal sent Hutchinson into halftime with a 14-0 advantage.
Hutchinson's defense continued to flex its muscles in the second half. Aside from Emporia's final drive, which came with little time remaining, the Salthawks consistently stymied the Spartans' offense.
McCuan added three more touchdowns in the second half. He opened the scoring with a 26-yard touchdown run in the third quarter, then caught a 34-yard touchdown pass on a wheel route. His final touchdown of the night came on a 21-yard rushing play.
“Brodie ran and competed so hard tonight,” Hutchinson head football coach Luke Berblinger said in his postgame interview on KWBW Radio. “Credit to our offensive line doing a great job making holes for him, Brodie executed the run play, ran hard and finished his last run of the night at the goal line.”
No. 9 Hutchinson has won three consecutive games and advances to the second round of the Class 5A playoffs. The Salthawks will travel to face top-seeded Andover next Friday night.
Andover defeated Hutchinson 31-20 in the teams' season opener at Gowans Stadium. The Trojans advanced to the second round with a 57-8 victory over No. 16 Wichita West in their first-round playoff game.
You can hear next week's postseason matchup on KWBW Radio at 98.5 FM and 1450 AM.