By Steve Carpenter
Hutchinson CC Sports Information Director
Much like June 5, 2021, the day of December 18, 2025 will always be a celebrated day in the history of Hutchinson Community College Football.
Why are those days revered in Blue Dragon lore? On those two days in history, the Blue Dragons raised NJCAA national championship football trophies.
Sixth-year Blue Dragon head coach Drew Dallas pridefully looks at those days often, but as the 2025 season opener at New Mexico Military has almost arrived, the title of an old Bob Seger song seems apropos for the occasion. It's time for the Blue Dragons to "turn the page."
Picked No. 1 in both the Jayhawk Conference preseason coaches' poll and the NJCAA Division I Football preseason rankings, the Blue Dragons embark on their 2025 journey starting Saturday in Roswell, New Mexico against New Mexico Military. Game time in at 1 p.m. at Colt Field.
According to Dallas, there wasn't much championship hangover suffered after the team returned from holiday break last January. The focus has been a singular one amongst the players as the entire returning group is hungry for more in 2025.
"We moved on pretty quickly," said Dallas, who is 49-5 in his first five seasons with the Blue Dragons. "Back in January, our guys were really putting in a lot of work and worked hard through the spring semester. They have worked hard to this point.
"The new year brings new challenges. We have some important pieces that we have to replace. We are excited about this group."
The 2025 Blue Dragons return five offensive starters (12 overall letter winners) and four starters on defense (14 total) for the 2025 season.
Some of those pieces to be replaced Dallas referred to are:
+ Running back Waymond Jordan Jr., who was the KJCCC and NJCAA Offensive Player of the Year and the winner of the JUCO Weekly Trophy (the junior college equivalent of the Heisman Trophy), who rushed for 1,613 yards and 20 touchdowns last season;
+ Starting quarterback Samari Collier and his combined 29 passing and rushing touchdowns;
+ The top three receivers from 2024 in Benson Prosper, Tre Brown and Ja'Cory Thomas, who combined for 97 catches, 1,481 receiving yards and 18 receiving touchdowns;
+ Several players from a No. 1-ranked Blue Dragon defensive unit that allowed 15.8 points per game.
"Last year, once we kind of figured out who that team was, we understood them better and we coached off of that," Dallas said. "This football team has been pretty level-headed and consistent since they have arrived. We hope that will be a continued trend."
The 2024 Blue Dragon offense averaged 45.1 points per game last season, the fourth-highest scoring average in team history. The Dragons rushed for 267.9 yards per game, the second-best rush average per game in program history. Overall, the Dragons averaged 463.2 total yards per game, including 195.3 passing yards.
Defensively, the Dragons were stingy, allowing 282.9 yards per game (107.1 rushing and 175.8 passing). The 2024 Blue Dragon defense also came up with 27 takeaways.
POSITION BREAKDOWNS
Quarterback: Yes, the Blue Dragons have to replace a starting quarterback from 2024, but Dallas has the luxury of having a quarterback who saw ample time in that championship season to lock into the starting spot.
Christian Johnson played in 10 games last season, making one start. Johnson had to replace Collier in the third quarter of the NJCAA Championship game in December and completed the comeback from a 10-point halftime deficit in the Dragons' 28-23 victory. His first pass of the game was a 34-yard touchdown strike.
For the season, Johnson completed 65 of 112 passes for 983 yards and seven touchdowns. He rushed for 323 yards and four scores.
"Christian came in last year and led the game-winning drive against Iowa Western in Game 2 last year, but he had a hiccup against Butler in a game where he had great stats, but was bitten by the turnover bug," Dallas said. "Christian learned a lot from that. He operates extremely fast. His decision making is really good.
"The growth he made from last season is extremely high and I'm looking forward to watching him this year."
There are six quarterbacks in the quarterback room, including redshirt freshman Hudson Ferralez, who had a strong spring and fall camp.
Running Back: How things shake out at running back will, according to Dallas, probably not be decided by Game 1, but will go well into the season.
"You start to learn a lot about the running back position when you get into true game reps early in the year," Dallas said. "When they are live, that's the only true way you can judge and learn their play-making ability. We have some really good people in that room."
One of the returning players at running back is Titus Petteway, who had 36 carries for 189 yards and three touchdowns last season.
Others players to watch for is Rashaud Hurt, Daeshawn Carter (19 carries for 80 yards in 2024), Rayvelle Leak, Lekedrin Harvey and Derrell McBride.
"All of those guys had good camps and have shown flashes," Dallas said. "We will see how they continue to progress."
As far as fullback/H-back players, returning player Cole Coonrod redshirted last season, but is in his second year in the program. Freshmen Jabari Harris and Kaiden Seamster will vie for playing time.
Receivers: There are a lot of expectations from the Blue Dragon receivers in 2025.
Derrick Salley Jr. is the leading returning receiver from 2024. Salley had 19 receptions for 317 yards and five touchdowns last season. LT Robinson is back after 16 receptions for 189 yards last year.
Also back is a player who made his name as a return specialist, but looks to play a larger role at receiver is Kordell Gouldsby, who was the 2024 NJCAA Championship Game Most Valuable Player for his 73-yard punt return for a touchdown and his 149 all-purpose yards.
"Kordell has really taken that next step to define himself as a receiver," Dallas said.
A new player to watch for is San Diego State transfer Bobby Shaw.
"You can tell Bobby has been around college football and that will help us." Dallas said. "This is going to be a good group for us."
Offensive Line: All-conference center Mason Thrush returns to lead the Blue Dragon offensive line this season. Also back and Rashad Smith and Dylan Johnson, both have starts at the guard positions from 2024.
Dallas will have to replace both tackles for 2025. Dylan Nolan-Cook and Gus Thuston are transfer players who have had good fall camps.
"There is good athleticism and good size on the offensive line this year," Dallas said. "There are a host of newcomers who are going to continue to push and fight for spots. Right now we just have to figure out who are our best five guys are and what positions they fit in best. Offensive line is not only an individual position, but a group position."
Defensive Line: The Blue Dragons have good returning experience on the interior of the defensive line from 2024 with three players returning.
K.J. Henson was second on the team in 2024 with six quarterback sacks and had 21 total tackles. Jeffrey Manns had three sacks, 34 tackles and a fumble recovery. TaVeon Robinson played in eight games last season and had 13 tackles, including 1.5 tackles for loss and 0.5 quarterback sacks.
"Those three are going to anchor in the interior defensive line," Dallas said. "We have others who will be in the mix as well."
At defensive end, Demarcus Johnson returns after a 27-tackle, 8.5 tackle-for-loss, 4.0 quarterback sack freshman season. Johnson also had eight quarterback hurries, two defended passes and two fumble recoveries. Johnson is 6-feet, 6-inches tall.
Then add Darius Wiley at 6-6 and J'lynn Allen at 6-7 and who have the making of what Dallas described as the "longest group of defensive ends in my time at Hutchinson."
Adding to the depth at defensive end are Ja'Vienane Stevens and Jason Wilson.
"All of those guys give us great length and we have good speed rushers," Dallas said. "This spot is going to be pretty deep. We have going to have some good rotations and we will be able to keep guys fresh."
Linebackers: Another spot with depth is linebacker. Gone are leading tacklers JaQuel Mack and Kedrick Walker, but returning with limited experience is Brady Whitman and Jalen Rice. A pair of transfers in Teegan Haines and Tyler Lassiter will bring some game experience to the position group. Freshmen Jack sells and Keizavion Woods are getting a lot of early reps in practice as well.
"We are going to have a bunch of new faces at linebacker," Dallas said. "There is a big-time mental side to play linebacker in our system. Those guys can handle it. I think we have a lot of linebackers who can play at a very high level."
Secondary: D.J. Jester was a starting cornerback for the Blue Dragons in 2024. He is being moved to safety for this season after 49 tackles, five passes broken up and an interception in his freshman season.
Also back at safety is M.J. Graham (16 tackles, 2 interceptions), redshirt freshman Jonathan Boyd. Brice Summerall (9 tackles) played a lot of nickel for the Dragons in 2024, including several snaps in the NJCAA Championship game.
"That group is really important to our defense with the run fits and coverage adjustments," Dallas said. "This is a smart group and it's a talented group and they are confident in what they are doing."
Earl Parker, Ray Reynolds, L.J. Lynch and MJ Harrell all return at cornerback.
"We have good size at corner and some good skill at corner," Dallas said.
Special Teams: The Blue Dragons must replace all the kickers and punters for the new season, but Gouldsby is back as an all-conference return specialist. The MVP of the 2024 NJCAA Championship Game, Gouldsby averaged 14.7 yards per punt return and returned two four touchdowns. He averaged 28.2 yards per kickoff return.
The kicking game will have an international flavor with Alejandro de la Poza, who is a native of Mallorca, Spain and punter Denzel More of Baskeville, Australia.
The Blue Dragons will have the exact same tough schedule in 2025, but flip-flopped from last season.
After the season-opening road trip to New Mexico, the Blue Dragons will have a home-opening national championship game rematch with No. 2 Iowa Western at Noon on September 13 at Gowans Stadium. That game will be the only home game for Hutchinson until October 18 against Independence.
The November portion of the schedule has games at Butler (Nov. 1), Highland (Nov. 8) and the season finale with Garden City at Gowans Stadium (Nov. 15).