By DAREN DUNN
Hutch Post
GARDEN CITY, Kan. -- Dylan Laible threw 5 of 6 for 124 yards and two touchdowns in the fourth quarter to power the Blue Dragons (2-2) past No. 8 Garden City (2-2).
Laible finished just 14 of 31 for 222 yards, but had two touchdowns on five completions in the final frame. He hit Cortez Braham from 44 yards out to give Hutchinson a 17-16 lead with 9:45 left to play.
The Blue Dragons added another touchdown pass with 5:32 remaining when Micah Woods caught his first score of the season.
A defensive battle turned into an offensive explosion for Hutchinson in the fourth quarter.
"Compete and be disciplined," was the halftime message from Drew Dallas to his team. Hutchinson was down 13-7 at the break after a leaping penalty gave Garden City a fresh set of downs from the 3 yard line. The Broncbusters needed one run from Dedrick Talbert to change the outcome of the drive.
Garden City was content to go up 9-7 after a short field goal, but Hutchinson was called for a leaping penalty, a personal foul that carries an automatic first down.
Garden City actually declined the penalty and was set to kick off when officials stopped play for a conference. After deliberation, the ball was marked half the distance to the goal for Garden City. The Broncbusters opted to take the penalty once they realized it carried an automatic first down.
It was the fourth touchdown in as many games that the Dragons have allowed just before halftime.
Hutchinson got a 26-yard field goal from C.J. Moya in the third quarter to pull within three. Garden City answered with a 42-yard field goal early in the fourth quarter.
It was the last time the Broncbusters would put points on the board.
"They tightened down in the red zone," Dallas said about his defense.
Outside of a tough loss to Butler, the defense has been stellar. The defense needed some help from the offense -- and that's what it got.
Laible was on fire in the final 13 minutes of the game. His ability to strike down the field paired well with the running of Anwar Lewis, who followed his 210-yard performance against Fort Scott with a 164-yard night Saturday.
The Dragon offense struggled with just one conversion on third down (1 of 11), but the single conversion came when Hutchinson needed it most. Lewis broke off the first-down run to allow the Dragons to go into Victory Formation.
Lewis was the only Dragon runner to register positive yardage.
He started the night with an 84-yard touchdown scamper. It came on just the second play from scrimmage. Despite the 84 yards, Hutchinson had 78 at the half. The nine other Dragon runs netted negative 6 yards in the first half.
Garden City answered the Lewis run with a 77-yard touchdown from William Knight. Outside of the two big plays just seven minutes in, the rest of the game was a defensive struggle until the Hutchinson offense hit a stride in the fourth.
"They've grown up over the course of the last couple of weeks," Dallas said of his team that started No. 1 in the nation before losing the first two games of the year. "They saw flashes of what they're capable of doing."
Fans had wondered where the spring team that won a national championship had gone. Fans who made the trip to Garden City got to see that team in the fourth quarter.
FINAL: Hutchinson 24 Garden City 16
Martavius French led the defense with 15 tackles, a sack and 1.5 tackles for loss. Davion Westmoreland added 11 tackles and two tackles for loss. R.J. Evans came up with a huge sack late in the game and finished with eight tackles, 2.5 for loss. The defense held Garden City to 3 of 17 on third down.
Juwon Gaston broke up a potential touchdown in the third quarter. His breakup led to a missed 47-yard field goal from William Greig, Garden City's punter who was called into placekicking duty after Jason Hernandez missed an extra point that never got higher than the crossbar and shanked a 24-yard field goal.
Rhett Ricedorff nearly connected with Martiel Singleton on Garden City's final possession, but the ball popped free at the last moment.
Hutchinson returns home next Saturday for homecoming and a matchup with No. 2 Independence (5-0).