Hutchinson CC Sports Information
Friday, June 25, 2021
Six future Hutchinson Community College student-athletes – 5 football, 1 men’s basketball – will be at Gowans Stadium Saturday night for the Kansas Shrine Bowl football game.
Kickoff for the 48th annual Shrine Bowl is at 7 p.m. The game is being played in Hutchinson for the first time.
Four future Blue Dragons will suit up for the West team – Haven’s Darby Roper, Clearwater’s Tanner Cash, Garden City’s Trey Nuzum and Little River’s Jayden Garrison. Blue Valley Northwest’s Leo Clennan and Lyndon’s Miles Kitselman will be on the East sideline.
Four other future Blue Dragons – Lansing’s Malik Benson, Mill Valley’s Jacob Harman, Holcomb’s Oz Perez and Salina South’s A.J. Johnson – were also selected to play in the Shrine Bowl, but weren’t able to play in the game.
DARBY ROPER, Haven
Roper is a 5-foot-11, 170-pound defensive back who was named Sports In Kansas’ Class 2A Defensive Player of the Year. Roper led the state of Kansas with 10 interceptions this past season as he played an integral part in Haven’s deep Class 2-1A state playoff run.
Roper had 81 total tackles, 65 were solo stops with 2.5 quarterback sacks, 8.5 tackles for loss and seven passes broken up. As Haven’s quarterback, Roper completed 99 of 152 passes for 964 yards and 13 touchdowns. He rushed for 1,119 yards on just 145 carries with 20 touchdowns.
Roper’s mother, Kristi (Rinehart), is a former Hutchinson Community College high jump national champion.
TANNER CASH, Clearwater
Cash is a duel-threat quarterback who threw for 1,268 yards and rushed for 1,425 yards this past season. The 6-2, 215-pound quarterback rushed for 10 touchdowns and passes for 10 touchdowns in his senior season.
Cash holds the Clearwater single-season and career records for touchdowns scored, rushing yards and passing yards. Cash is a three-year all-league performer.
TREY NUZUM, Garden City
The Class 6A all-stater was the top Buffalo offensive lineman in 2020. Nuzum is 6-3 and 290 pounds.
He is a Kansas Football Coaches Association all-state selection in Class 6A.
LEO CLENNAN, Blue Valley Northwest
Clennan is a 6-4, 215-pound all-state defensive lineman. This past season, Clennan had 37 total tackles, 25 solo tackles and six quarterback sacks. Over two varsity seasons, Clennan had 11 career sacks and five forced fumbles.
MILES KITSELMAN, Lyndon
A Class 2A All-State selection, Kitselman is a 6-5, 260-pound defensive lineman. He accounted for 99 total tackles, 43 solo stops and nine quarterback sacks. Kitselman had a senior season-high 15 tackles against Centralia this season.
JAYDEN GARRISON, Little River
Garrison, a 6-2, 170-pound receiver – has had a busy summer. Already, Garrison has played in the Kansas 8-Man All-Star Game in Beloit and last week played in the KBCA All-Star Basketball Game in Salina. Garrison is a Blue Dragon Men’s Basketball signee.
Garrison is a two-time Eight-Man stater and was the Wichita Eagle’s Eight-Man Player of the Year in 2020 as Little River defeated Wichita County in the state championship game. Garrison finished with 31 carries for 236 yards and four rushing touchdowns. He completed 4 of 4 passes for 70 yards and a TD. He also hauled in three catches for 53 yards and a score. Another grab was a crucial 29-yard reception on 4th-and-22 late in the first half to set up a touchdown.